Obama's Walter Sobchak Moment

Booman on dealing with those Somali "brigands," as the NYTimes calls them:

"In the infinite wisdom of the Coen Brothers, we learn the true lesson of kidnapping. However tempting it may be to capitulate to their demands, it only encourages them to kidnap again. You don't sympathize with kidnappers or seek to understand why they might need a million dollars. You don't treat them like a political terrorist organization. You negotiate as a stalling tactic until you hopefully manage a rescue. And if some lives are lost in the process, you don't mourn for the criminals that inflicted so much unwarranted pain on their victims and the families of the victims. You hope that their deaths serve as a deterrent to others who might think they can get rich quick by violating the law."

And this from John Cole:

"Anyone who thinks that several most likely illiterate Somali thugs, armed with AK’s and probably geeked to high heaven on khat, decided to attack a flagged American container ship as a test because there is a perception that Obama is weak, is just a full-fledged idiot and should be institutionalized."

Meanwhile, without getting all weepy about these guys, the Selective Outrage Machine does appear to be in high gear.