Well, it was just campaigning.
While Obama ran against the Bush Doctrine during his campaign, he is now the driving force behind the regime change. And although Hussein's occupation of his home country ended under Bush, Kadaffy's occupation of his home country ended under Obama. Obama has his own head to claim.
Walter Russell Mead:
There is one conclusion we ought to draw from the inglorious end of the Great Loon: the Bush agenda in the Middle East is alive and well. The United States is, as Bush and Cheney so forcefully announced, a revolutionary power in the Middle East no longer seeking to prop up the status quo at any cost. (The Saudi exemption still holds.) Regime change remains on the table; the military forces of the United States stand ready to take out thugs whose viciousness has become insupportable, or who align themselves against the vital interests of this country.
What of going forward? Will Obama fully embrace the Bush Doctrine and do the hard work of helping foster democracy in Libya?
As I argued earlier in the year:
Going forward Obama will forced down another predetermined path. He will direct the US to help install a democracy in Libya. If he fails to do so his invasion of Libya will be seen as a failure.
Some presidents engineer events as Bush did through the Bush Doctrine, while others are lead by events. In this case Obama is being lead by the ongoing forces of the Bush Doctrine.
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