I know that its customary to address the nation before you go on the offensive in a country, but could presidents get a new script. President Obama addressed the nation yesterday to talk about Libya. Almost every word was vaguely similar to President George W. Bush’s Iraq speech and George H.W. Bush’s Desert Storm speech. ”Just cause,” “Coordinated Efforts,” and “Intense Deliberation” all appear either paraphrased or directly quoted somehow in these speeches.
Diplomacy is the name of the game. I would be dumbfounded if a president came out and announced “I took this decision lightly and decided to just do the damn mission ourselves.” Yet, the reassurance should not sound the same with every new conflict. A little originality would be nice.
