Bush Bad
O’s GWOT-handling public approval numbers just hit pre-Surge levels. Only 34 percent think we’re winning. The American public hasn’t had this dim a view of American war leadership since January 2007. That’s not just bad. That’s Bush bad. Rasmussen.
Maybe it’s because, from Guantanamo to Afghanistan, he isn’t handling the GWOT. WSJ, on Karzai’s new term and Obama’s as-yet unmade decision:
… The main problem now isn’t Afghanistan’s President. It is that no one in Washington or around the world is sure whether America’s President is committed to his own strategy—or even if he’ll stick with that strategy if he reaffirms it.
As long as those doubts persist, everyone in this conflict will hedge their bets: the NATO allies, on the number of troops they’ll commit and the fighting they will do; Mr. Karzai, in his dealings with Afghan’s regional kingpins and drug lords; and the Pakistanis, in their own battles with the Taliban.
Most important, the American people will quickly lose faith in a war that they conclude their Commander in Chief is ambivalent about fighting. Reports of puzzled commanders and troops in the field are already multiplying as they wonder why they’re risking death by IED if Mr. Obama isn’t sure about the mission.
AP, apparently getting it: “Karzai’s election increases pressure on Obama.” It’s getting bad when even the AP wants to know what gives with the “marathon deliberations.” GOP’s Boehner actually gets in the first and only opinion on those deliberations in this AP article … “The White House has no further pretext for delaying the decision on giving Gen. McChrystal the resources he needs” … a highlighting which I can assure you, based on long experience reading between AP’s lines, is not insignificant.
Topics: Afghanistan, Obama
Posted by Jules Crittenden at 11:35 pm on Monday, November 2, 2009
One Response to “Bush Bad”
Leave a Reply
Trackback URLYou must be logged in to post a comment.
November 3rd, 2009 at 11:18 am
Let’s face it. Obama is afraid to make a decision.