Obama: 'We are at war'

Holding himself and others accountable is not Obama's strong suit.

Promises are made and broken.

False statements are dismissed as if they were never uttered.

Failures are accepted as if the act of governing is some sort of rehearsal.

Michael Scherer, TIME, examines Obama's reaction to the content of the report on the attempted Christmas Day bombing, "Obama's Report on Flight 253: No Finger Pointing, But Plenty of Blame."

No finger pointing.

Yeah, that's a problem.

When someone almost manages to blow a plane with nearly three hundred people aboard out of the sky, finger pointing is in order.

I don't buy Obama's line that so many people are to blame for this major security lapse, that no one should be blamed for the failure.

Are we at war, like Obama said yesterday?

If Obama means that, he has to be prepared to act like we're at war.

He needs to grow a spine and hold people accountable. He needs to be finger pointing.

Last summer, Obama had no trouble pinning blame on the Cambridge police and accusing them of acting stupidly. He did that without a report.

Yet when it comes to our security, then Obama doesn't want to pass blame even when the failures have been identified.

What sort of commander in chief hesitates to get the weak links out of the ranks?

From Obama's Remarks "on Strengthening Intelligence and Aviation Security":

I have repeatedly made it clear -- in public with the American people, and in private with my national security team -- that I will hold my staff, our agencies and the people in them accountable when they fail to perform their responsibilities at the highest levels.

Now, at this stage in the review process it appears that this incident was not the fault of a single individual or organization, but rather a systemic failure across organizations and agencies. That's why, in addition to the corrective efforts that I've ordered, I've directed agency heads to establish internal accountability reviews, and directed my national security staff to monitor their efforts. We will measure progress. And John Brennan will report back to me within 30 days and on a regular basis after that. All of these agencies -- and their leaders -- are responsible for implementing these reforms. And all will be held accountable if they don't.

Moreover, I am less interested in passing out blame than I am in learning from and correcting these mistakes to make us safer. For ultimately, the buck stops with me. As President, I have a solemn responsibility to protect our nation and our people. And when the system fails, it is my responsibility.

Over the past two weeks, we've been reminded again of the challenge we face in protecting our country against a foe that is bent on our destruction. And while passions and politics can often obscure the hard work before us, let's be clear about what this moment demands. We are at war. We are at war against al Qaeda, a far-reaching network of violence and hatred that attacked us on 9/11, that killed nearly 3,000 innocent people, and that is plotting to strike us again. And we will do whatever it takes to defeat them.

It's Obama's job to pass out blame when it's deserved, but he's not interested.

That's nuts.

He says he's demanding accountability, but then he says he's not going to engage in finger pointing.

He says the buck stops with him. Nothing could be emptier than that. A year into his presidency we've learned Obama will do anything and say anything to dodge the buck.

Obama accepts no blame.

No need to keep score of his many lies and failures. That's pointless. Obama's presidency is an endless string of mulligans.

Obama is so damn lucky that Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab failed, too; but Obama's luck is going to run out.

He needs to stop playing these games. War isn't a game.