JUST TELL HIM THE DEFINITION AND HE'LL FIT IT:

Obama's Authorization of Force Against Pirates Is a Defining Moment (Kenneth T. Walsh, April 13, 2009, US News)

It didn't play out minute by minute on the nation's television screens as so many other crises have, but the dramatic rescue of American hostage Richard Phillips on the high seas yesterday was still a defining moment for President Obama.

Obama's decision to authorize he use of military force to free Phillips, captain of the cargo ship Maersk Alabama, from a band of pirates demonstrated that the new commander in chief will apply American muscle in a crunch.