The Left Rallies to the Aid of Obama's Legacy
Well, the talking points on Obama and Syria must be out on Jornolist, and we see the results at Kevin Drum's place, among others. Apparently, Obama's handling of Syria marks him as a great President:
If you want to give Obama credit, give him credit for something he deserves: being willing to recognize an opportunity when he sees it. I can guarantee you that George W. Bush wouldn't have done the same. But Obama was flexible enough to see that he had made mistakes; that congressional approval of air strikes was unlikely; and that the Russian proposal gave him a chance to regroup and try another tack. That's not normal presidential behavior, and it's perfectly praiseworthy all on its own.
In the meantime, it's rock solid certain that Assad isn't going to launch another gas attack anytime soon, which means that, by hook or by crook, Obama has achieved his goal for now. No, it's not the way he planned it, but the best war plans seldom survive contact with reality, and the mark of a good commander is recognizing that and figuring out to react. It may not be pretty to watch it unfold in public in real time, but it's nonetheless the mark of a confident and effective commander-in-chief. It's about time we had one.
Wow, this is so brazenly absurd that if I hadn't lived through the last several decades, I would never have believed it was possible to make something like this stick. I am so glad that I am not a Red or Blue team member such that I would have to occasionally humiliate myself to support the team like this.
norse:
Tribalism at it's worst. Seriously, what's our hope of getting it officially recognized as a form of disabling mental illness?
September 12, 2013, 10:16 amRick C:
What's funny[1] is that there are already rumors of new gas attacks, so whichever moron wrote that--I couldn't be bothered to check--is probably already wrong.
[1] You know what I mean. Gas attacks: not funny. Dumb partisan saying something dumb: funny.
September 12, 2013, 10:19 amJames:
Whoever uses gas attacks now will have to deal with Putin, which will be much worse than dealing with the US or UN.
September 12, 2013, 11:02 amJames:
Having such a bumbling administration just kept us out of bombing Syria (hopefully anyway). The Bush comparison is humorous, though, since he had gotten congressional approval, UN backing, and had lined up dozens of allies to help. Of course, Obama's approach of painting himself in the corner with accidental comments and hoping that bumbling would save him is much better for our country.
September 12, 2013, 11:06 amAugust Hurtel:
I don't think he wanted to bomb Syria. He could have done so if he wanted to. He hasn't been squeamish about doing stuff without Congress. So, if Drum wanted to lionize him, he should lionize him for strategic lying, which the left seems more or less okay with, along with any massacres done by the people they consider cool.
September 12, 2013, 11:23 amDaublin:
Obama made the right decision to stay out. However, the episode as a whole makes him look rather bumbling. Reading text like in that quote is rather sickening. Is there anyone on the left that wants leftist policies to prevail, or is it really just a cult of personality?
Part of the bumble is that the president's threats only had any credibility because of a previous president who had actual balls. Sometimes I think Obama is systematically trying to make Bush's decisions look good. Can anyone picture Bush making an *offhand* threat to bomb a country outside of certain circumstances? And then on top of that, declining to do it when the other country said "prove it"?
Another part of the bumble is that we have lost credibility in the statements our president makes about foreign policy. Part of the rationale for acting in Iraq and Afghanistan is that other countries would know we are serious when we draw a line in the sand. Obama has undone a lot of that good.
September 12, 2013, 11:42 ammesaeconoguy:
This commentary is so bizarre I can't come up with any possible logic behind it.
September 12, 2013, 4:15 pmSam L.:
That is some Hellacious Kool-Aid they've been drinking.
September 12, 2013, 5:12 pmCT_Yankee:
So Obama took so long fumbling and failing in his attempts to get support for his own plan that the world moved on, finding a solution without him, possibly even in spite of him? Being shunned and ignored this bad by Congress and the American population at large is surely a legacy that will be difficult for any future president to live up to.
September 13, 2013, 7:24 amsolo:
Typical for Obama - wait till the crowd moves on, then run to the front of the parade to look like you are leading them. This passes for leadership among the few DC journalists still blindly dazzled by the One.
September 16, 2013, 6:03 am