Feature

Is President Obama in danger?

Reaction to columnist Thomas Friedman's warning that extremists can interpret vitriol as a license to kill

America has crossed a dangerous line, said Thomas Friedman in The New York Times. The far Right's attacks on Barack Obama's legitimacy as president are creating a poisonous political environment like the one in Israel that a right-wing Jewish nationalist interpreted as a "license to kill" Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin. When someone posts a Facebook poll asking "Should Obama be killed?" they are "encouraging the unthinkable."

What a hypocrite, said Peter Wehner in Commentary. Where was Friedman when Democratic politicians and liberal columnists were saying that they hated George W. Bush and challenging his right to sit in the Oval Office? The columnist was even silent "when there was actually a movie made about the assassination of President Bush (Death of a President)"—Friedman "would have a lot more credibility now if he had actually spoken out before."

Hypocrisy is just the first problem with Thomas Friedman's assassination alarm, said Paul Mirengoff in Power Line. The second problem with Friedman's column is that it's "simply foolish." There's "enough harshly worded antagonism" toward any president to make an argument like his.

The Right's acid response to Thomas Friedman only proves his point, said Steve Benen in The Washington Monthly. Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele called Friedman a "nut job" and said his arguments were "just crazy." See? "The Right is playing with fire and doesn't care."

Recommended

South Korean man facing prison time after opening airplane door in midair
An Asiana Airlines flight that had its emergency door opened midair.
Problems in the Sky

South Korean man facing prison time after opening airplane door in midair

Recep Tayyip Erdogan wins re-election in Turkey
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Emerging Victorious

Recep Tayyip Erdogan wins re-election in Turkey

10 things you need to know today: May 28, 2023
The national debt clock in midtown Manhattan.
Daily briefing

10 things you need to know today: May 28, 2023

UK airports facing major delays after passport scanning system fails
A row of shutdown e-passport scanners at London's Gatwick Airport.
Passport Problems

UK airports facing major delays after passport scanning system fails

Most Popular

Disney hits back against DeSantis
Entranceway to Walt Disney World.
Feature

Disney hits back against DeSantis

Censoring ideas and rewriting history
Copies of banned books from various states and school systems.
Briefing

Censoring ideas and rewriting history

What the shifting religious landscape means for American politics
Ballot box
Talking point

What the shifting religious landscape means for American politics