Sean Hannity ratcheted up his campaign of phony outrage over President Obama's use of a “hostage” metaphor, asking on his show tonight, “Can we find rhetoric where he's been that harsh against real terrorists?”

Leave aside the fact that Presidents Reagan and Bush used rhetoric similar in describing their political opponents. This is an absurd question. Of course Obama has “been that harsh against real terrorists.” He has referred to Al Qaeda as a “small band of murderers who slaughter the innocent and cower in caves” and called their ideology “hateful.”

Below is a sampling of “harsh” rhetoric that Obama has used in describing terrorists.

From his September 11 statement this year (emphasis added):

The perpetrators of this evil act didn't simply attack America; they attacked the very idea of America itself -- all that we stand for and represent in the world. And so the highest honor we can pay those we lost, indeed our greatest weapon in this ongoing war, is to do what our adversaries fear the most -- to stay true to who we are, as Americans; to renew our sense of common purpose; to say that we define the character of our country, and we will not let the acts of some small band of murderers who slaughter the innocent and cower in caves distort who we are.

From his response to bombings in Iraq in October 2009 (emphasis added):

I strongly condemn these outrageous attacks on the Iraqi people, and send my deepest condolences to those who have lost loved ones. These bombings serve no purpose other than the murder of innocent men, women and children, and they only reveal the hateful and destructive agenda of those who would deny the Iraqi people the future that they deserve. These attempts to derail Iraq's progress are no match for the courage and resilience of the Iraqi people, and their determination to build strong institutions.

From remarks Obama made to FBI employees in April 2009 (emphasis added):

I have no illusions that this is simple or easy. Many of you made enormous sacrifices and are incredibly dedicated. Living our values means that we must hold ourselves to higher standard than our enemies. We face a long struggle against a determined adversary. We know that al Qaeda is not constrained by a constitution, or by allegiance to anything other than a hateful ideology and a determination to kill as many innocents as possible. But what makes the United States of America so special is precisely the fact that we are willing to uphold our values and our ideals not just when it's easy, but when it's hard; we've been called to serve in such a time.

Obama has not just used “harsh” rhetoric against terrorists -- he has presided over a global military campaign against terrorism, including strikes against Al Qaeda and Taliban leaders in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Yemen, and Iraq.

Prior to his election, his statements made his intent clear:

From a June 2007 Democratic candidates' debate:

I don't believe in assassinations, but Osama bin Laden has declared war on us, killed 3,000 people, and under existing law, including international law, when you've got a military target like bin Laden, you take him out. And if you have 20 minutes, you do it swiftly and surely.

And it's unfortunate that I think during the initial push into Afghanistan that we let him slip away because we were distracted.

From an August 2007 speech:

“There are terrorists holed up in those mountains who murdered 3,000 Americans. They are plotting to strike again ... If we have actionable intelligence about high-value terrorist targets and President Musharraf won't act, we will.”

From a November 2006 speech (emphasis added):

The final lesson is that in an interconnected world, the defeat of international terrorism - and most importantly, the prevention of these terrorist organizations from obtaining weapons of mass destruction -- will require the cooperation of many nations. We must always reserve the right to strike unilaterally at terrorists wherever they may exist. But we should know that our success in doing so is enhanced by engaging our allies so that we receive the crucial diplomatic, military, intelligence, and financial support that can lighten our load and add legitimacy to our actions. This means talking to our friends and, at times, even our enemies.