Did Obama Just Convince Gaddafi To Dig In?

From the reports on the ground, it sure sounds like it. Via WSJ's Best of the Web, NBC's Jim Maceda reports from Tripoli:

I can tell you that the whole, the atmospherics here of the government officials and minders is very different. They had gone to ground for a number of days: very quiet, very tense [since Obama spoke]. They're looking much more themselves: much more bellicose, much more defiant in the past 24 hours. I would think, it's an educated guess but I would say that Gadhafi, after hearing that speech, . . . now is feeling a lot better. That they're feeling that they dodged a bullet.

If NATO's taking over, they like that. They've got much better relations with NATO than with the United States in general. And they love the idea that the US position as stated by Obama is that they're not looking for regime change. Soon as he heard that, I'm sure Gadhafi was quite excited. He thinks he can probably negotiate his way out of this as he has over the past 41 years in other situations.

Seems like Gaddafi is channelling Jersey Shore's Ronnie Mangro, who, after busted for multiple violations of his relationship with Sammi Giancola, came out with this bit of Zen:



"I'm definitely not a saint. If I walked into a church, I'd probably burst into flames to be honest with you ... But I think that I can probably talk my way out of the hole I dug. I mean, how deep is a grave?" - Ronnie Magro

No doubt Ghaddafi is thinking along the exact same lines.

Heckuva job, Baracky...