The Daily Strike-4/12/09-Easter Sunday

Good Sunday evening and welcome to the Daily Strike. A busier Easter Sunday than usual because of that pirate attack in Somalia. Let's get to it.

PIRATE ATTACK: President Obama today took his first major action as the literal commander-in-chief today, ordering the Navy to take out Somalian pirates who had kidnapped American captain Richard Phillips. The Navy was able to kill three of the attackers, and the other one is now in U.S. custody. Apparently Obama, who has not said much publicly about this, had been talking to top military people and reading briefings. He laid out a guidance to the Department of Defense to use force if necessary. Phillips, thank God, escaped pretty much free of injury.

Earlier in the week, Newt Gingrich had criticized Obama for not taking more aggressive action against the Somalian pirates. I'm sure Newt will be effusive in praise not that the situation is resolved. This is another extraordinary example of the unending responsibilities of the Presidency. You never think about having to issue these types of commands when you're campaigning in Iowa. I'm just happy that the captain was able to escape. Attorney General Holder may file charges against the pirate in custody.

EASTER SUNDAY: The President was able to take a break this Sunday morning to attend an Easter ceremony at St. John's Church across from the White House in Washington DC. I know this because while driving Lady Strike's friend to the bus station, we happened upon a police blockade at 16th Street, and saw a crowd gathering to catch a glimpse of the President. We tried to stop, but alas, we could not find a parking space. This was the first time the President has attended church services since the day after inauguration.

SUNDAY TALK SHOWS: The most interesting nugget in the Sunday Talk Shows today came from General Ray Odierno, the commander of U.S. forces in Iraq. He said that it's a "10" on the one-to-ten scale that troops will be back by 2011. Let's hope that a "10" is more reliable than a "slam dunk." Odierno also said that he has a strong working relationship with Obama. Odierno, back in 2007 at least, was more combative than General Petraeus when dealing with anti-war lawmakers at home. He probably wasn't Obama's biggest supporter in the Presidential election. Yet, Odierno said Obama is very attentive, he listens and is incredibly intelligent.

The increasingly absurd Democratic Senator Evan Bayh (IN) was on Fox News Sunday today. He explained his opposition to Obama's budget, saying that it was nothing personal, but that the plan will just lead to too much debt in the long term. Of course, Bayh voted to give millions of dollars in tax breaks to the richest 100 families in the country when he supported the Kyl-Lincoln estate tax amendment.

My other favorite Sunday talk show moment was Paul Krugman pointing out the incredible hypocrisy of Republican lawmakers, who during the stimulus debate claimed that government spending couldn't create jobs, but now decry cuts in the Pentagon budget because it will cause "job losses." Enjoy.

That's it for tonight. See you tomorrow morning for the Weekly Strike. Please leave your comments.