That turned out to be the right call, although a number of things had to happen before the short-range missile flew.

Number one was informing the Chinese government that U.S. airspace had been violated. Then, asking for an explanation. Then, informing the Chinese Ambassador in Washington that the explanation was ridiculous (civilian aircraft).

After those steps and the balloon drifting out to the Atlantic, the shoot-down occurred.

But wait. It seems American intel picked up the balloon over Alaska days ago, and the Biden administration kept it quiet until it hovered over Montana looking for vacation property. That's true. So why the delay?

Because President Biden is not the "decider," as Bush the Younger once described the President's job. He is a frontman who does what his advisers tell him to do. And this balloon thing involved a bellicose country armed to the teeth with nukes. So, caution was appropriate. But as public outrage grew, the Biden crew had to act.

All Americans should understand how weak Mr. Biden is and that top-level decisions come from insider consensus, not the Commander-in-Chief. The Chinese and Putin surely know that.

This balloon thing will most likely subside without any payback, as it's not that important to the communists.

What will not subside is the chaos of the Biden administration.