tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4425587034622601550.post4439225059530154318..comments2023-09-15T04:27:57.129-04:00Comments on Commentarama: Obama Gets It Right--Sort OfAndrewPricehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11312364467936820986noreply@blogger.comBlogger17125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4425587034622601550.post-36524435507986498692010-06-26T02:20:52.344-04:002010-06-26T02:20:52.344-04:00LawHawk,
Who picked the wrong time? Who picked th...LawHawk,<br /><br />Who picked the wrong time? Who picked the wrong place?<br /><br />I see this as a loss for Obama.<br /><br />I know his esteem in the world at large is increased, but in our country? I mean he impresses the dictators of this world, but does he impress us?Joel Farnhamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15856960977033430002noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4425587034622601550.post-51414461081991545512010-06-26T02:16:00.051-04:002010-06-26T02:16:00.051-04:00Joel: Obama does wrong most the time. And I'...Joel: Obama does wrong most the time. And I'm sure McChrystal is by far the better man. The real purpose of the article was simply to demonstrate that for once, Obama did the right thing in the right way. There was no way this could be a "win" for Obama, and the best he could hope for is to keep it from becoming a loss. But in the long run, he loses anyway. McChrystal may have made inappropriate and derogatory remarks that a military subordinate shouldn't be making, but that doesn't mean that what he said was either wrong or untrue. He just picked the wrong time and the wrong place to do it.LawHawkRFDhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17800255923675295515noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4425587034622601550.post-10792863038944294282010-06-26T01:46:16.753-04:002010-06-26T01:46:16.753-04:00LawHawk,
The bigger man takes the biggest humilia...LawHawk,<br /><br />The bigger man takes the biggest humiliation. <br /><br />If Obama had taken the humiliation of his General of ridiculing him, Obama would have been shown as weak to our enemies. <br /><br />Obama took the path of least resistance. <br /><br />This is POLITICAL theatre at it's best. Obama did right, but in the long run, he did wrong. <br /><br />He lost and doesn't know it yet. He lost us. The people that in the long run count.<br /><br />He won't get re-elected. <br /><br />He showed to the world that he is tough, but in our world if he could find it in his heart to forgive McChrystal, he would have won us. As it is.... he screwed the pooch.Joel Farnhamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15856960977033430002noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4425587034622601550.post-96079471082805242010-06-25T19:44:28.566-04:002010-06-25T19:44:28.566-04:00WriterX: I think that's a very good analysis ...WriterX: I think that's a very good analysis of the situation. The ultimate winner is Petraeus, and the long-range winner is the American people.LawHawkRFDhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17800255923675295515noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4425587034622601550.post-31948239472109522912010-06-25T19:42:53.920-04:002010-06-25T19:42:53.920-04:00Andrew: I responded to Tam before I saw your comm...Andrew: I responded to Tam before I saw your comment. But that tells us that he gets to make his own decision. Though it's somewhat of a humiliation from the civilian point of view to be taken out of command, I suspect the men would actually think better of him for his defiance, even though it cost him his command. But at least Obama left the final decision to McChrystal himself.LawHawkRFDhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17800255923675295515noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4425587034622601550.post-35885795114308664232010-06-25T19:39:30.350-04:002010-06-25T19:39:30.350-04:00Tam: He was allowed to resign. He could stay wit...Tam: He was allowed to resign. He could stay with the military, and within the ranks wouldn't lose much prestige. But he may choose to leave. But he was not removed from the military involuntarily ("cashiered" I think is the expression for being kicked out).LawHawkRFDhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17800255923675295515noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4425587034622601550.post-9904952134322357742010-06-25T19:26:05.379-04:002010-06-25T19:26:05.379-04:00Andrew: Petraeus has shown himself to the far sup...Andrew: Petraeus has shown himself to the far superior human being. He stepped down to an area commander because his country needed him and his commander-in-chief wanted him. Obama, on the other hand, had no other real alternatives that wouldn't tick off a major portion of the electorate.<br /><br />I tend to agree to a point about <i>Rolling Stone,</i> but only because their criticism wakes up a portion of the far left to Obama's ideological weakness. Unfortunately, the mag doesn't reach enough serious voters to make much of a difference.LawHawkRFDhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17800255923675295515noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4425587034622601550.post-42362718450994989682010-06-25T19:22:47.426-04:002010-06-25T19:22:47.426-04:00Tennessee: The ultimate irony is the reappointmen...Tennessee: The ultimate irony is the reappointment of Petraeus. It's a tacit admission that he knows more about what to do than anybody in the administration. As I hinted in the article, this is a long-term win for Petraeus and only a short-term respite for Obama.LawHawkRFDhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17800255923675295515noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4425587034622601550.post-43572393951556626322010-06-25T19:19:43.794-04:002010-06-25T19:19:43.794-04:00In this situation, I think General Petraeus is the...In this situation, I think General Petraeus is the only one who looks like the bigger figure in this whole scenario. I completely agree that what McChrystal did was stupid (and what did he expect he'd get when he voted for Obama?), but I'm not sure Obama had much choice other than to replace him after he *cough cough* resigned. His only saving grace was that he did it quickly. And now the President has to listen to Gen. Petraeus, a man he took glee in insulting two years ago? Karma is a wonderful thing. <br /><br />Great post, LawHawk!Writer Xnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4425587034622601550.post-49068029172646870812010-06-25T19:19:15.372-04:002010-06-25T19:19:15.372-04:00Stan: Petraeus has that rare combination of milit...Stan: Petraeus has that rare combination of military genius and the ability to get along with the civilian authority without being obsequious (unlike the general who chose the other route from McChrystal--abandon your military side and prosecute the Navy SEALs).LawHawkRFDhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17800255923675295515noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4425587034622601550.post-23564497137552707512010-06-25T18:33:52.886-04:002010-06-25T18:33:52.886-04:00Tam, He was removed from command, but was not remo...Tam, He was removed from command, but was not removed from the military. Whether or not he ultimately resigns, that I don't know. But he wasn't "fired" in the sense of being discharged.AndrewPricehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11312364467936820986noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4425587034622601550.post-46317900948446524062010-06-25T18:10:38.165-04:002010-06-25T18:10:38.165-04:00Was Gen. McChrystal discharged from the military, ...Was Gen. McChrystal discharged from the military, or was he just removed from his position in Afghanistan?Tamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16892551860593187175noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4425587034622601550.post-66553404391490318632010-06-25T17:28:58.958-04:002010-06-25T17:28:58.958-04:00I have to echo the idea of the irony of turning to...I have to echo the idea of the irony of turning to Petraeus -- especially in light of Obama's failure to join the vote sanctioning Moveon.org for their General Betrays ad.<br /><br />By the way, be careful attacking Rolling Stone, they seem to be the only shop in town that's doing journalism against the Obama administration. How sad is that, that these things are being uncovered by Rolling Stone!AndrewPricehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11312364467936820986noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4425587034622601550.post-57586767449179548402010-06-25T17:21:40.469-04:002010-06-25T17:21:40.469-04:00Hawk - you had me at "Obama is an empty suit ...Hawk - you had me at "Obama is an empty suit with an empty head." That said, I totally agree with the need to fire him and Obama's right to do so. Interviewing with Rolling Stone? What was he thinking? Talk about poor judgement. The irony of turning to Petraeus is indeed delicious, and if this sorry episode brings us a step closer to make Barrack a one termer, I could not be happier.Tennessee Jedhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10604275115906776992noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4425587034622601550.post-32614764625170063392010-06-25T17:20:17.662-04:002010-06-25T17:20:17.662-04:00I have to agree Lawhawk, Barry swerved into a righ...I have to agree Lawhawk, Barry swerved into a right decision. I am most happy for the young soldiers that have a real warfighter in Gen Petraeus as their leader in the field. His first move as of today is changing the rules of engagement – hallelujah, and I actually heard Barry elude too victory…wow! …what a difference a day makes.StanHhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07395708786509590321noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4425587034622601550.post-81766875180573430322010-06-25T17:08:42.185-04:002010-06-25T17:08:42.185-04:00Andrew: And as always, he has to satisfy the wing...Andrew: And as always, he has to satisfy the wings of his party which are either hesitant about war. or totally against war in all cases on principle. And as usual, he tries to satisfy both and ends up satisfying neither. In the long run, this will hurt Obama more than it will help him. Jeffrey Lord at <i>The American Spectator</i> suggests that each time a waffling president wins the first round (e.g. MacArthur and Truman), he then loses every round thereafter with the public, though he may end the career of the general involved. Ultimately, the public comes around to MacArthur's way of thinking: There is no substitute for victory.LawHawkRFDhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17800255923675295515noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4425587034622601550.post-37254776774288564132010-06-25T16:41:48.961-04:002010-06-25T16:41:48.961-04:00I agree. I think that McChrystal is wrong here. ...I agree. I think that McChrystal is wrong here. He's violated military protocol that requires that American soldiers not criticize their commander in chief in public. And I would feel the same if it was a Republican or Democratic president.<br /><br />It is too important to our nation that our military remain nonpartisan, for this to be condoned. When the military becomes just another political institution, and politics trumps chain of command, that's when you end up with dictatorships and banana republics.<br /><br />That said, I think that this will reflect very poorly on Obama. He was sold to the public as a different Democrat -- one who didn't have their well-documented yellow streak. But after his dithering about Afghan policy (which is becoming a total failure -- as I'll discuss in a couple days), this will only remind people why they don't trust Democrats in charge of our military.AndrewPricehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11312364467936820986noreply@blogger.com