[dolaBeetCeage]

http://www.cnn.com/2011/10/26/politi...html?hpt=hp_t2

President Barack Obama addressed a broad range of political topics during an appearance on NBC's "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" Tuesday, insisting among other things that he's not spending too much time yet focused on next year's potential GOP campaign rivals.

During a wide-ranging interview, Obama criticized Washington's harsh political climate, telling Leno that "the things that folks across the country are most fed up with, whether you are a Democrat, Republican, (or) independent, is putting party ahead of country or putting the next election ahead of the next generation."

Well you can criticize the climate in Washington all you want but when are you, as the leader of our country, going to do something about it? Bitch and moan about Republicans all you want but it won't fix the way both parties put the party ahead of the country or elections ahead of the country.

The president hit back at GOP critics of the American role in the NATO-led Libya campaign, insisting that the United States did not, as many have claimed, "lead from behind."

"We lead from the front," Obama asserted, highlighting the U.S. role in pushing a U.N. resolution backing NATO's intervention, as well as the U.S. military's role in establishing a no-fly zone over Libya.

"The difference here is we were able to organize the international community," Obama said. "There was never this sense that somehow we were unilaterally making a decision to take out somebody. Rather, it was the world community."

The Libya operation "is a recipe for success in the future," the president declared.

Obama also defended his choice to withdraw all U.S. troops from Iraq by the end of the year -- a decision blasted by GOP critics concerned the move will imperil U.S. gains in the region.

I still think Libya was not our problem and we shouldn't have interfered because I don't think we did anything to fix the situation from what it sounds like the new government is going to be.

With the Iraq withdrawal - I don't understand why Republicans are so mad about it. Pres. Bush negotiated this withdrawal date. We've known this date for 3 years now so I'm not sure why Republicans are surprised and why they are criticizing him for withdrawing the troops. Maybe Jon Stewart is right - the war hawks are getting empty nest syndrome.

It doesn't matter if we leave this year or in five years. Iran is going to take over - they are already there. But I don't understand Republicans criticizing Obama for withdrawing according to the previous Republican president's timeline. I would think they would have criticized him for trying to keep troops there past Dec.