David Ignatius uses a peculiar adjective to describe Obama’s portrayal in Bob Woodward’s new book: “poignant.” An odd word choice, considering Ignatius’s otherwise apt description:
By Woodward’s account, Obama was looking for an exit from Afghanistan even as he sent 30,000 more U.S. combat troops there.
That’s an untenable position. If the president doubted his strategy, he shouldn’t have sent the troops. If he believes his war plan stands a chance of stabilizing Afghanistan so that he can transfer responsibility to the Afghans starting next July, then he must rally the public so that it understands and supports what he’s doing.
Woodward shows us an Obama who is halfway to war, doubting his strategy even as he asks young men and women to die for it. That’s the one thing a president must not do: Sacrifice lives for a policy he doesn’t think can succeed.
Poignant or shameful? Poignant or irresponsible? Poignant is George Bush, an increasingly reviled figure in the White House making a decision for the sake of the country and the Free World that he knew would politically harm him and his party.
The Obami are so lacking in common sense and self-awareness that they apparently like Obama’s portrayal. Honest:
Many of Obama’s senior advisers have already obtained and read the book, “Obama’s Wars,” and are satisfied with the image it conveys of the president, a senior administration official said Wednesday.
“The President comes across in the [Afghanistan] review and throughout the decision-making process as a Commander in Chief who is analytical, strategic, and decisive, with a broad view of history, national security, and his role,” the official said in an e-mail.
They are incapable of being shamed — beyond embarrassment. Not even the “absorb 9/11″ part seems to upset them. Well, to a crew that thinks ObamaCare is a political winner, the economy is in recovery, and the Tea Party is a fringe group, I suppose you can’t be surprised by a book documenting that Obama cares more about politics than winning the war (“I can’t lose the whole Democratic Party,” Woodward quotes him as declaring). And yet it is shocking. We simply don’t imagine — and find it hard to stomach — a presidency conducted on these terms.
