Last night, President Obama told the world he was taking over where Dubya left off and was becoming the new War Prezzy.
We cannot help but be disappointed in Obama's lack of courage to stand against the niggling Right Wing and stand down in the Middle East -- but we also understand Obama has always been infatuated with Afghanistan and that he even promised during the election that he'd finish there what had been started before...
We are aware Obama must remain strong and neutral -- neutered, really -- if he hopes to get any real work done in a second term when he will answer to no one and can finally fix the world.
We worry, however, that these early missteps -- spying on us, healthcare and Guantanamo -- may be mortally wounding any chance he has of re-election by wholly alienating his base and firing up his haters to a point that he has split the difference too often to meet the middling middle.
We are aware Obama must remain strong and neutral -- neutered, really -- if he hopes to get any real work done in a second term when he will answer to no one and can finally fix the world.
We worry, however, that these early missteps -- spying on us, healthcare and Guantanamo -- may be mortally wounding any chance he has of re-election by wholly alienating his base and firing up his haters to a point that he has split the difference too often to meet the middling middle.
Hi David,
It’s interesting to watch the whole world mocking Obama for an “exaggerated bow” while meeting the Japanese emperor which was interpreted as a way of proving himself different than other American presidents.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1228039/Obama-branded-Groveller-Chief-exaggerated-bow-Japans-Emperor-Akihito-son-ruler-authorised-Pearl-Harbour-attack.html
It left me wandering whether he truly did it as a gesture of courtesy or wanted to just impress the country he was visiting…
I just hope he remembers his objective of creating a different, new world as well as his courtesy in future…
I am eager to see how President Obama winds down this war -- with the capture of bin Laden? I am also really hoping the healthcare bill will go through with a public option. That's the entire reason my mother voted for him :)
Definitely strange.
I, too, hope Obama's secret plan is to do the surge and then declare victory and head for home, Gordon. I don't think that will happen, though. When he's done in Afghanistan, he'll just reshuffle the troops to other places in the Middle East because he'll be too terrified of the Right Wing to not have some kind of heavy force ready to strike down any thought of terrorism.
I, too, hope for a public option -- but I am not hopeful it will happen -- merely because it would be a big, massive, win for Obama and the Republicans cannot allow that to happen.