ARE THE OBAMANS WAKING UP? – AT 9:02 A.M. ET:  Military writer Ralph Peters has been extremely tough on Obama, and properly so.  Now he detects change in the Obaman approach to terror.  We've detected the same thing.  Is something good happening, or is this just pre-election gimmickry?  From the New York Post:

Something big is happening. Big enough to alarm the White House. So big that the administration did an abrupt about-face regarding terrorism.

Terrorism's serious now -- driving major policy reversals. The administration just won't tell us why.

A week ago, failed Times Square bomber Faisal Shahzad wasn't even a Muslim, but a 40-something white male and, as Mayor Bloomberg insisted, probably an opponent of ObamaCare.

Yeah, these billionaires sometimes don't get it.  We were also told by administration talkers, including the very four-starred David Petraeus, that this was just a lone wolf.  Nothing to see, nothing to see.

Then wham! Over the weekend, the Obama administration unleashed a reverse-course media offensive -- deploying Attorney General Eric Holder, terror czar John Brennan, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and plentiful back-channel messages from staffers.

And...

...the administration's biggest policy reversal to date came from Holder, the longtime advocate of terrorist "rights," who offered one of the most belated acknowledgments in history when he told a TV network, "We're now dealing with international terrorism."

Holder, of all people, now wants Congress to change the rules for Miranda rights, giving the government more time under a "public-safety exception" to permit extended questioning of terrorist suspects before arming them with lawyers.

And the meaning, according to Peters:

First, the administration has plainly realized that the terror danger is much higher than it believed one week ago.

Second, it means that Shahzad really has been talking -- almost certainly tipping us that there are more America-bound terror trainees out there (or already here) and letting us fit together important pieces of the intelligence puzzle.

Third, the White House obviously fears more terror attacks sooner rather than later.

This sudden policy shift and media mobilization by an administration that's usually lethargic on security issues means that folks at the top are worried about the political costs of a successful terrorist strike.

Given the nature of this White House, I'd imagine that last point got their attention.  Big time.

Since Inauguration Day, reality denial has been an integral part of this administration's culture. But reality's a persistent intruder. For reasons we don't yet know in detail, the failed Times Square bombing appears to have brought the White House at least part way to its senses.

Some revelation about the terrorist threat has shocked the president. It's about time.

COMMENT:  Well, let's see what the administration's attitude toward terror is after the election.  Clearly, the Obamans have been jolted.  But the left wing of the Democratic Party hasn't been jolted.  And that's the Obama base.

If there's been a permanent change for the better, we applaud.  But right now we applaud with only one hand, waiting for real action.

May 10, 2010