Leid Stories - 11/12/14

Governor Militarizes, Sharpton Mitigates, Ahead of Grand Jury Decision

Obama Picks Up Speed. Like All Things Going Downhill?

Gov. Jay Nixon of Missouri yesterday left no doubt that the City of Ferguson will be re-militarized upon the announcement of the grand jury’s decision whether to indict Police Officer Darren Wilson for killing Michael Brown. He announced at a news conference that, whatever the grand jury’s decision, there’ll be more than enough law-enforcement personnel on hand, including the National Guard, to “safeguard safety and speech.”

The Rev. Al Sharpton did some pre-emptive PR of his own, firing off a news release blaming Nixon for mishandling the protests after Brown’s death and for not appointing a special prosecutor in the case—which, as Leid Stories repeatedly pointed out, neither Sharpton nor the lawyers handling the case had called for.

 

The thorough thrashing that the other wing of the flightless governmental bird handed President Barack Obama on Nov. 4 seems not to be slowing him down. Indeed, since the beatdown the president’s been a man on the move, determined to get things done, even if all by himself.

Obama’s new burst of energy over immigration, net neutrality, the war against ISIS (and Iraq and Syria), Ebola, the Trans-Pacific Partnership/Asia “pivot” and other long-simmering issues belies the fact that he seems to be following his old script, both in terms of focus and method. This new speed of his, is it the kind that happens when going downhill?