You're holding it wrong.
It's at least a little funny to note how, let's say "unnuanced" some political figures are. It doesn't matter what the situation: You always know what they're going to say. Even when that situation turns completely upside-down, from one year to the next, they will still find a way to fit their one-size-fits all philosophies to both the before and after sides of the equation.
It wasn't very long ago that an international Gaddafi rehabilitation program was underway, apparently spurred by Libya having oil we wanted. Different conservative political figures had different ideas on how to treat Gaddafi.
Trump, the asshole millionaire: We should cheat him out of his money.
I can tell you something else. I dealt with Gaddafi. I rented him a piece of land. He paid me more for one night than the land was worth for two years, and then I didn't let him use the land."
"That's what we should be doing. I don't want to use the word 'screwed', but I screwed him," Trump continued. "That's what we should be doing."
McCain, the hawk: We should sell arms to him.
Senator McCain assured Muatassim that the United States wanted to provide Libya with the equipment it needs for [its] security. He stated that he understood Libya’s requests regarding the rehabilitation of its eight C130s and pledged to see what he could do to move things forward in Congress.
Leiberman, the independent thinker: I agree with what John McCain said.
Lieberman called Libya an important ally in the war on terrorism, noting that common enemies sometimes make better friends.
But that was before the Libyan revolution started. Afterwards, each deep thinker confidently presented their own plan on how to help the rebels:
Trump, the asshole millionaire: We should cheat them out of their money.
“The fact is what we should have done is... we should have asked the rebels, when they came to us, and the came to us... they were decimated. We should have said ‘We’ll help you but we want 50% of your oil.' They would have absolutely said ‘OK,' a hundred percent. In fact, they would have said ‘How about 75%?’”
McCain, the hawk: We should sell arms to them.
With a non-fly effectively put into place over Libya, Sen. John McCain says momentum in the fighting between the Muammar Qaddafi regime and rebel fighters can now swing back to anti-Qaddafi forces, but acknowledges they will need more weapons and better training.
McCain, R-Ariz., said on CBS' "The Early Show" that he hopes the United States, or others in the international community, supplies rebels with arms, as it once did insurgents fighting the Russian occupation of Afghanistan.
Leiberman, the independent thinker: I agree with what John McCain said.
“I wish we had spoken out much more clearly and early against the Gadhafi regime,” the Connecticut Independent said.
Now is the time to step up action against Gadhafi, said Lieberman, who endorsed giving weapons to citizens who are trying to form a new government.
There feels like there should be an appropriate aphorism to describe this phenomenon. Give a man a hammer, and the whole world looks like a nail? Or maybe: Every tool thinks they're the right tool for the job, and politics is nothing if not full of tools.