DOES HE GET IT? - AT 8:04 A.M. ET:  Related to our Iran story just below is President Obama's comment at last night's press conference:

Unprompted by reporters, Obama also defended himself from accusations that his recent overtures to Iran - most notably, a video-taped New Year's greeting - hadn't succeeded since Teheran had dismissed them.

"Some people said, 'Well, they did not immediately say that we're eliminating nuclear weapons and stop funding terrorism.' Well, we didn't expect that. We expect that we're going to make steady progress on this front," Obama maintained.

He pointed to Iran as one area among many where "persistence" will be key, and suggested it would be a mantra of his administration.

"That whole philosophy of persistence," he said, "is one that I'm going to be emphasizing again and again in the months and years to come as long as I'm in this office. I'm a big believer in persistence."

COMMENT:  Oh please.  I mean, really.  This is the new mantra?  Does it replace last week's mantra?   Hey, the president is a big believer in persistence.  Pass it on.

The problem is that persistence is what we don't need right now, in dealing with Iran.  We need speed.  That nuclear program isn't going to stop because of our "persistence."  The more we "persist," the more time they have.  And there doesn't seem to be any kind of policy to back up the "persistence."  More and more, the president sounds like he's running an elementary school, with moral lessons for eight-year-olds.  He's running a country, and life and death are involved.

March 25, 2009