Joe Scarborough says progressives didn't really want to take out bin Laden

By Richard K. Barry

Could Joe Scarborough be a bigger idiot? I have my doubts.

Each day after breakfast I turn on Morning Joe because I enjoy MSNBC's evening lineup and I assume, incorrectly, that the morning show will begin to approach the same level of discourse found on the network after 6:00 p.m. I am almost always disappointed, but I never seem to learn.

One of my favorite moments ever on the show was when Zbignew Brzezinski, National Security Advisor under Jimmy Carter, once referred to some choice analysis by Scarborough as "stunningly superficial and embarrassing." That pretty much sums up most things that come out of Joe's mouth.

The latest is Scarborough's opinion that Obama's successful mission to eliminate Osama bin Laden runs counter to the ideology of the president's base and even goes against the president's own ideological leanings.

Here's his statement:

Here, you know, I think Republicans should stand up and certainly salute Barack Obama for making some - again, for making some very tough choices that his own base did not want him to make. That takes courage, that takes leadership, and we saw the results of that courage and leadership saying no to his own base yesterday.

[These are] decisions that he probably did not believe as a candidate, he didn't think he'd have to make. Going against his own ideological leanings to do what he believes he has to do. 

What the fuck is he talking about?

The conceit of the right is so frequently that only they are capable of making hard choices and difficult decisions rooted in reality - that the "real world" is not a place in which progressives comfortably reside. And when progressives do make difficult decisions, it's somehow surprising.

Unlike Mr. Scarborough, I am not going to speak for all those who may consider themselves a part of Obama's base. As for myself, as a member of the club, I'm pretty proud of my president. I suspect a lot of other progressives feel the same way. The thing had to be done.

Having the ability to do the difficult tasks required as Commander-in-Chief is not a "right" and "left" thing. It's a leadership thing.

In the event that you want to be as annoyed as I am at the moment, here's the full clip:

(Cross-posted at Lippmann's Ghost.)