Barack's Inner Dick

In his Sunday op-ed piece, Thomas Friedman suggests an approach to the Iran problem that marries the "let's talk" approach of Barack Obama with the "let's rumble" approach of Dick Cheney.

Money quote: "But Mr. Obama’s stress on engaging Iran, while a useful antidote to the Bush boycott policy, is not sufficient. Mr. Obama evinces little feel for generating the leverage you’d need to make such diplomacy work. When negotiating with murderous regimes like Iran’s or Syria’s, you want Tony Soprano by your side, not Big Bird. Mr. Obama’s gift for outreach would be so much more effective with a Dick Cheney standing over his right shoulder, quietly pounding a baseball bat into his palm."