LAUNCH IMMINENT? - AT 10:42 P.M. ET:  From AP:

SEOUL, South Korea — North Korea has begun activating observation cameras and radars around the coastal site in the northeast, a South Korean report said Sunday, as the communist country prepares to launch a rocket in defiance of international warnings.

The top part of the rocket mounted at the Musudan-ri launch pad has also been uncovered, the Yonhap news agency reported, citing an unnamed South Korean official. The report did not say whether a satellite was mounted on top.

COMMENT:  The president is still in Europe, with a major visit to Turkey coming up.  It's doubtful he will break off his trip and return home if the launch occurs.  But it will mark the first major foreign test of his presidency.  We can only hope that the media, which has gone gaga over the glamour aspects of his trip, will calm down and examine how Obama handles himself when faced with the real world, not the make-believe ballroom he's in right now.

April 4, 2009