QUOTE OF THE DAY - AT 8:13 A.M. ET:  From Wesley Pruden, in The Washington Times:

The rage in Tehran's streets suggests that time may be running out for a brutal regime, but that same clock is ticking for Barack Obama and what to do about the Iranian bomb. A reprise of the Cairo speech won't work; the Muslims are masters of endless, empty rhetoric themselves, and know how to figure the discount on words. The consequences of taking out the Iranian nuclear works, or enabling Israel to do it for him, would be awful, exceeded only by the consequences of allowing the mullahs in Tehran to get their bomb. Then everybody in Arabia would want one. The Saudis would buy one from Pakistan; certain intelligence sources say a deal is already in the works to deliver it once an Iranian bomb is in place. If the Shi'ites have a bomb, it's only logical, as logic is measured in that miserable corner of the world, for the Sunnis to get one. Every thuggish eighth-century theocracy must be fully armed.

COMMENT:  I suspect that the issue of time will soon come to dominate this White House.  The president is running into opposition, his poll numbers slipping, at least for now.  The 2010 congressional elections are shaping up to be very competitive, unless the Republicans, as is their tradition, snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.  The Iranian bomb is on its way, and North Korea is growing increasingly belligerent. 

Obama hits the six-month mark within weeks, with not a single success in foreign policy to show for it.  He and his political handlers must soon come to the conclusion that time isn't on the president's side.

June 23, 2009