facing up

The first time Barack Obama's name figured on this blog was in May 2007 when the unlikely candidate for the Democratic nomination was quoted as saying that the country that had successfully faced down the tyranny of fascism and communism now had to challenge the tyranny of oil.

To some, this would have seemed a bold, even hyperbolic, remark. The idea that this represents the considered view of the 44th President of the United States is one of many cheering developments.