From Michelle Malkin:

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President Obama is scheduled to make a public statement this afternoon on the Christmas Day jihadi attack at around 3pm Eastern.

Sure bet: He won’t use the word “jihad.”

Via AP:

The White House says President Barack Obama is preparing to make his first public statement on the Christmas Day terrorist attack and describe U.S. efforts to protect the nation’s skies.

Obama is scheduled to speak soon after 3 p.m. EST about the government’s steps to protect the nation’s travelers and the reviews he has already ordered.

Deputy press secretary Bill Burton said Monday the president believes it is critical that the government learn from the attack on a Detroit-bound airliner and take the necessary measures to prevent future acts of terrorism.

Yes, try to suppress your snort: “Deputy press secretary Bill Burton said Monday the president believes it is critical that the government learn from the attack.”

No word yet on whether the DHS clown-in-chief will appear by his side.

As she insists on the plot being isolated, al Qaeda has formally claimed credit.

The Christmas Day would-be bomber says there are more like him coming.

And Foggy Bottom performed as usual in its visa procedures: Miserably.

Question: Will Obama perpetuate the myth of the poor, oppressed jihadist? Or has he learned nothing?

***

Update 3pm Eastern. Obama doesn’t bother to wear a tie. He hastily reads a belated statement describing the incident like a small-town sheriff’s deputy rather than the leader of the free world. He ticks off investigative steps in a perfunctory, plodding, bloodless manner. “We will continue to every element of our national power to disrupt, dismantle, and defeat the violent extremists…anywhere where they are plotting attacks against Americans.”

Eyes down on his paper the whole time — not looking at the camera and directing his statements at our enemies.

He talks about “resilience” as a foreign concept, not something he believes in in his heart.

Rushes through the end of his statement with a postscript about the violence in Iran.

Couldn’t get off the podium fast enough.

Inspiring.

“We will not rest.” Now, back to his vacation…

From American Power:

Too Little, Too Late? Obama Assailed for Response to Terror Attack

From ABC News, “Did Obama Respond Too Late to Terror Plot? Critics Assail President? Democrats Say the President Reacted Appropriately, Security Reviews Are Important“:

The Obama administration has come under fire from critics who said the president waited too long to address the nation publicly about the Christmas Day terror plot, and that his administration has not been tough enough on terrorism.

The mostly partisan attacks came after Friday’s attempt by a Nigerian national to blow up Northwest Flight 253 as it approached Detroit. Terror plots in the past have tended to unite the two parties, but recent attacks have departed from that norm.

President Obama has ordered a sweeping review of how the suspect managed to board the flight from Amsterdam, but that has done little to appease his critics.

Michigan Rep. Peter Hoekstra, the ranking Republican on the House Intelligence Committee, blamed the Obama administration for taking its eye off the threat of terrorism from abroad.

“I think there’s enough blame to go around here,” Hoekstra said Monday in an interview with ABC News. “The bottom line is we ended up with a bomb on a plane with a detonator ready to go off. That’s totally unacceptable. There’s probably failures at every step of the way, in Nigeria, in the Netherlands, and in the overall procedures. Early on in this administration, I think that this administration sent a clear signal that they believed that the threat to the homeland was not as significant as what it really is.”

RTWT at the link.

Plus, at Politico, “Handling Problems the Obama Way.” (Via Memeorandum.)

See also, Michael Goldfarb, “Damage Control in 5 Easy Steps!,” and Flopping Aces, “Is Obama’s Weak Approach to War on Terror Inviting More Attacks?“

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