QUOTE OF THE DAY – AT 7:20 A.M. ET:  Surprisingly, from generally liberal columnist Richard Cohen of the Washington Post, on Obama's strange, value-free, feelings-free "intellectualism":

Foreign policy is the realm where a president comes closest to ruling by diktat. By command decision, the war in Afghanistan has been escalated, yet it seems to lack an urgent moral component. It has an apparent end date even though girls may not yet be able to attend school and the Taliban may rule again. In some respects, I agree -- the earlier out of Afghanistan, the better -- but if we are to stay even for a while, it has to be for reasons that have to do with principle. Somewhat the same thing applies to China. It's okay to trade with China. It's okay to hate it, too.

Pragmatism is fine -- as long as it is complicated by regret. But that indispensable wince is precisely what Obama doesn't show. It is not essential that he get angry or cry. It is essential, though, that he show us who he is. As of now, we haven't a clue.

COMMENT:  Isn't it remarkable that a Washington columnist can ask, almost two years after a president's election, who he is.  That is no compliment to Obama.  Great men and women declare their principles, and seek a certain nobility.  They're remembered for standing for something that we can admire. 

What does Obama stand for?  What would he be willing to die for?  To go to war for? 

My great fear is that he does stand for things, and that he may be very smart, politically, to not tell us what they are.

June 22, 2010