Friedersdorf sounds unnerved by the NYT's report that Obama is straddling the line:
He is a hawk. It's terrifying that isn't clear to everyone, because it suggests the neoconservative desire for even more foreign wars is skewing the way that Americans conceive of hawkishness and dovishness. It suggests we're defining "warmonger" down. … President Obama escalated a major war and sent tens of thousands more troops to fight it, even as he joined in regime change in a different country, ordered drone strikes in at least three others, and sent commandos into Pakistan, a list of aggressive actions that isn't even exhaustive.
But he got us out of Iraq, and has avoided a potentially disastrous war with Iran, so far. Obama is what he said he was in his Nobel Acceptance speech: a Niebuhrian.
(Photo: US President Barack Obama greets troops during a visit to Bagram Air Field on May 1, 2012 in Afghanistan. Obama signed a US-Afghanistan strategic partnership agreement during his unannounced visit to the country. By Mandel Ngan/AFP/GettyImages)
The Dish 