The Failed Security Apparatus
"I am less interested in passing out blame than I am in learning from and correcting these mistakes to make us safer. For ultimately, the buck stops with me. As President, I have a solemn responsibility to protect our nation and our people, and when the system fails, it is my responsibility."—Jan. 7, 2010
Those were the words Obama uttered nearly two weeks after Nigerian Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab attempted to blow up a Detroit-bound plane on Christmas Day. Instead of pointing fingers, Obama decided to use the "buck stops with me" phrase, which he had invoked at least once before — after the collapse of insurance giant AIG. He went on to order changes in the way information on terror threats is handled in order to prevent any such incident from occurring again.