Ye olde Republicans were sensible supporters of leading from behind. "Leading from behind" really means empowering others, as Obama did with both NATO and the Libyan people. It's exactly what a good leader does. It's what our system is about.
Bad leaders don't want others to increase their power and ability to deal with challenges. Their greater interest is in securing power for their faction. Try pointing out that their way leads to distrust and -- eventually -- a hard kick out of power. The contemporary Republican party remembers that kick, but they don't blame themselves.
On a wall somewhere in Libya, a New York Times photo in one of the weekend editions showed a graffiti: "Thank you France and Britain and US." It's a much more satisfying sight to this American than the set-up photo in which American military toppled a statue of Saddam with scarcely a murmur from Iraqis. The biggest thank-you I've heard from Iraq came from a woman whose family died in an American assault. She managed to say things have gotten a little better, and "thank you... but." She sounded resigned, not empowered.
