Samantha Powers still working for Obama?

Because I wish Obama would talk like Powers does in the final paragraph. Maybe he does, and I just miss it.

Sunday’s rally, and the anti-genocide movement it embodies, is essential. Without it, the Bush administration would reflexively focus on Iraq, Iran, and North Korea and leave Darfur to be managed by its in-house humanitarians. U.S. pressure—applied at a far higher level and in a far more sustained manner—has made a profound difference with Khartoum in the past, leading it to expel Osama bin Laden and to make essential compromises with rebels in the South. But, at this juncture, U.S. pressure is not sufficient to do the job, and other countries must be brought around. And, for that to happen, the burgeoning endangered people’s movement must spread beyond U.S. shores.

Walking away from the rally in Washington, a British friend of mine shook his head and said,“You’ll never hear me say this again, but today made me want my kids to grow up American.”When I asked why, he said,“What happened today could never, ever happen in Europe.” Europeans fond of denouncing both the Rwandan genocide and American imperialism had better prove him wrong.

Update: A comment over at The Plank on Obama's Iowa Speech.

One of the smart regular posters over at Daily Kos observed that Obama made the kind of speech that it has become a cliche for "serious" Democrats to give, albeit one that MSM types judiciously nod in agreement when hearing (which is perhaps why he did it): A self-critical warning to the party that it needs to "get serious" about "national security."

The problem with this is that it keeps Democrats in a defensive crouch, but more importantly, it defers making the ACTUAL "serious" proposals/policies about national security. After all, the specifics are difficult to figure out, and some voters might actually object to them.

If Obama's got something to say about the subject, he should just say it and engender the larger debate himself, rather than banally urging his colleagues to "get serious"--I was under the impression Obama himself was already serious. Well, is he?

Cut-and-Run a pefectly patriotic notion in my book. If the war in Iraq wrong, get out. Otherwise, we have no choice but win. Either choice is getting serious.