Left's view on Libya: Is this Bush's third term?
Kucinich has been joined by a small chorus of voices from the left in Congress in condemning the president. These include: Barbara Lee (who was the lone vote against the Afghanistan invasion after 9/11); Michael Capuano (last seen telling a union rally "you need to get out on the streets and get a little bloody"); Maxine Waters (who repeatedly pulled a proto-Joe Wilson by calling President Bush a "liar") and Sheila Jackson Lee (a House Foreign Affairs committee member who last year said "Today we have two Vietnams, side by side, North and South").
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This cast of characters is a fair representation of the far left in the minds of the right. And yet they are now among Obama's fiercest critics. That should be a reality check that resonates with centrist and independent voters.
But you've got to give Obama's critics on the left points for ideological consistency. They are apparently not swayed by simple partisanship. Some of their newfound allies on the right, however, will have a harder time making that case.
For example, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, a potential Republican presidential candidate, took aim at the Libya intervention, calling it "opportunistic amateurism without planning or professionalism." A few days earlier, as Alana Goodman pointed out in Commentary, he had been criticizing Obama's inaction, saying, "This is a moment to get rid of [Gadhafi]. Do it. Get it over with."
Libertarian, and longtime critic of the neo-cons, Ron Paul can at least claim consistency in his circulation of a congressional resolution "expressing the sense of Congress that the President is required to obtain in advance specific statutory authorization for the use of United States Armed Forces in response to civil unrest in Libya." Among its supporters to date is Detroit Democrat John Conyers -- Ron Paul's philosophic opposite on almost everything. The Beltway buzz was that committed partisans finally found something upon which they could agree.
Obama can be criticized for delay in his decision to impose a no-fly zone. He can be criticized for communicating more with allies in advance of multilateral action than with members of Congress. He can be criticized for lack of military experience before entering office and insufficiently clear directives after.


