Obama And McChrystal

The Torygraph reports that Team Obama is peeved with the outspoken General McChrystal:

According to sources close to the administration, Gen McChrystal shocked and angered presidential advisers with the bluntness of a speech given in London last week.

The next day he was summoned to an awkward 25-minute face-to-face meeting on board Air Force One on the tarmac in Copenhagen, where the president had arrived to tout Chicago's unsuccessful Olympic bid.

...

In London, Gen McChrystal, who heads the 68,000 US troops in Afghanistan as well as the 100,000 Nato forces, flatly rejected proposals to switch to a strategy more reliant on drone missile strikes and special forces operations against al-Qaeda.

He told the Institute of International and Strategic Studies that the formula, which is favoured by Vice-President Joe Biden, would lead to "Chaos-istan".

When asked whether he would support it, he said: "The short answer is: No."

He went on to say: "Waiting does not prolong a favorable outcome. This effort will not remain winnable indefinitely, and nor will public support."

The remarks have been seen by some in the Obama administration as a barbed reference to the slow pace of debate within the White House.

Greyhawk at the Mudville Gazette makes an interesting point:

Seriously, I can think of several alternatives to General McChrystal's plan for carrying out the administration's Afghan strategy, but certainly none I'd want my name associated with in any way, shape, or form. In D.C., no one in the administration (or the Pentagon) is willing to have their name associated with any alternative plan, but apparently many are willing to whisper to reporters that there is one and Biden thinks it's great.

Just something to think about.

We are eagerly awaiting the Obama Plan.

MORE:  The Times wrote about the lowered profile of Gen. Petraeus and included this:

How much General Petraeus’s muted voice will affect Mr. Obama’s decision on the war is unclear, but people close to him say that stifling himself in public could give him greater credibility to influence the debate from within. Others say that his biggest influence may simply be as part of a team of military advisers, including General McChrystal and Adm. Mike Mullen, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

The men are united in what they see as the need to build up the American effort in Afghanistan, although General Petraeus, who works closely with General McChrystal, said last week that he had not yet endorsed General McChrystal’s request for more troops.

Together the three are likely to be aligned against Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr., as well as other administration officials who want to scale back the effort. In that situation, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates, who has worried about a big American presence in Afghanistan but left the door open to more troops, could be the most influential vote.

Gates, Mullen and Petraeus have an encouraging track record.

ERRATA:  I can not shake a thought which ocurred to me while reading "The Gamble", in which WaPo reporter told us about the surge in Iraq and the men who implemented it.  As I recall it, Gen. Petraeus apparently pulled off a rare, if not unprecedented, double - he was first in his class at Ranger School and then first again, years later, at General's School (a special Army program for the next generals).  Petraeus is also wildly intelligent and well-read, a fitness nut, and an architect of the semi-successful surge.

So when the book described the meeting between Gen. Petraeus and candidate Obama in the summer of 2008 I could not shake the contrast - here was a meeting between a rising star with a tremendous record of success in a challenging field and a fellow who had done a fabulous job climbing the slippery pole of politics and not much else.  I assume Petraeus has sufficient respect for the process and the game (See NOTE, below) that he was able to maintain the appropriate demeanor for such a meeting.

NOTE:  We talk a lot about respect for the game about the time when Jeter is leading the Yankees into the playoffs.

Comments

[bishop]

Yes, mostly anonymous sources, coming from Spilius, why doesn't that sound familiar
to me, Biden as the eminence, no that's too ridiculous for words, really.

[Pagar]

I really can't imagine there is much debate going on in the White House. How can there be a debate when they are all on the same side?
Does anyone really think there is a pro Gen McChrystal voice in the Administration? I'd believe there are some in the Pentagon, but not the WH, and I don't expect they are calling many people in the Pentagon.

[glasater]

Coming into Las Vega from the North is a community called Indian Springs where the drone training takes place. And last Monday there was a group of demonstrators along the freeway holding signs that read "drones kill", etc.
It is a weather permitting protest group 'cause yesterday leaving the area and once again driving through Indian Springs the wind was gusting up to 45 MPH and they weren't there.

[glasater]

The wind must have blown them away:)

[A warrior he ain't.]

What, pray tell, is the chance they'll get it right?
=============================

[bishop]

For those in the know, does this strategy make any sense, in the LUN, or is it just
self important twaddle

[PD]

Disagreeing with Obama? What is McChrystal, an un-American racist?

[Jack is Back!]

McChrystal is the new MacArthur.

Fortunately, Obama is not the new Truman.

[Captain Hate]

How dare McChrystal not recognize the brilliance of voting "present".

[Captain Hate]

a group of demonstrators along the freeway holding signs that read "drones kill"

Obviously not bee-keepers

[A warrior he is.]

I think Mehar Omar Khan's work is excellent, and thanks for the link, bishop. We must succeed in Afghanistan if it takes change of administration, ours, to do it.
========================

[Rocco]

Good morning

I'm picturing McChrystal grabbing the coward by the scruff of his neck and slapping him silly.

[fdcol63]

Biden is an idiot.

[Old Lurker]

"Biden is an idiot"

Bumper sticker of the week award. And it is only Monday.

[Ranger]

Obama's core problem is a fundimental lack of understanding of how the world works. He doesn't get that it is a dynamic system, constantly changing. He thought that the economy would just bounce back regardless of what he did, so he could let the dems loot the treasury for political pork and it wouldn't stall a future recovery. In Afghanistan he thought just sending 10,000 more troops would do the trick. The fact that the Taliban are an independent actor that would adjust their tactics and adapt to the new situation never crossed his mind.

I hope that Gen McChrystal does the honorable thing and resigns if Obama refuses to give him the resources. If the commander in Somalia had done so after Aspen denied him the forces he needed, we would have avoided the entire fiasco there. What will happen in Afghanistan if we fail to properly resource the fight will make Blackhawk Down look like a day in the park.

BTW, if you want to see what the Biden Plan in action looks like, just read up on the Taliban attack this weekend. That is what happens when you go into defense mode and given the Taliban time to organize and strike where they know you are weak.

[fdcol63]

".. Obama's core problem is a fundimental lack of understanding of how the world works ..."

This is true. But what I think is even more dangerous is the fact that he arrogantly THINKS he knows how the world really works, based on what he was taught by Frank Marshall Davis, Bill Ayers, and the rest of his leftist professors at Occidental, Columbia & Harvard, and his fellow liberals in the Democratic Party.

[bishop]

Major Khan, a possible up and comer like the current Army chief, who is referenced
in Hanif's roman a clef on the Zia assasination, mentions poverty as the main problem, well the ISI has never skimped for
resources, and at least two of their heads
Gul and Mehdi, (sic)were always willing to
stoke up the Taliban. Didn't we try this strategy with the Frontier Corps and what did it get us.

[Janet]

FYI - Consumer Reports is running pro-Obamacare ads. LUN I canceled our subscription.

[Ignatz]

--Biden is an idiot.--

That might not be a bad tag line at the end of every post, like Cato the Elder:
BIDEN IS AN IDIOT.
Or maybe:
BARRY MUST BE DESTROYED.

And with that we're off to the coast.

[Ranger]

This is true. But what I think is even more dangerous is the fact that he arrogantly THINKS he knows how the world really works, based on what he was taught by Frank Marshall Davis, Bill Ayers, and the rest of his leftist professors at Occidental, Columbia & Harvard, and his fellow liberals in the Democratic Party.

Posted by: fdcol63 | October 05, 2009 at 09:28 AM

Very true. My bet is that if Oboma decides not to give Gen McChrystal what he needs, that when things do start getting really bad they will blame him and Petraeus. They will claim that since Petraeus was successful in Iraq, his failure in Afghanistan is for political purposes and McChrystal is helping him. These people have no shame, and they will project their own behavior on to their "enemies" (remember that Obama outright said he would still have voted against 'the surge' even if he knew it would work, because defeating Bush was more important than winning the war).

[Captain Hate]

First of all, thanks to the Telegraph (Laura Ingraham is talking about it now) for further revealing our domestic MSM as the bumbling shills we've known them as; way to completely miss the thrust of the meeting, which shouldn't have been difficult to surmise, idiots. Second, is Mehar Omar Khan's plan what Il Douche is purportedly contemplating? Third, if McChrystal resigns will Petraeus follow suit?

[Jane]

Have fun Ignatz!

[Militant Banana]

Obama: He who must not succeed, either through ineptitude or inaction.

[PD]

BARRY MUST BE DESTROYED.

Perhaps a little violent sounding. I like "driven from office in disgrace."

McChrystal shares the name "Stanley" with Obama's mother. I wonder if Obama has mommie issues with him.

[fdcol63]

As Ignatz said:

Obama delenda est.

[Sue]

I am so angry at Obama I could spit nails, but I am even angrier at the voters who bought into this man was something other than what he was and is. And MSM for allowing it to happen.

God bless our troops and their families. They are going to need it.

[fdcol63]

I like "driven from office in disgrace."

Something involving donkeys and cross-dressing Mexican midgets would be great. LOL

[Sue]

Ignatz,

Have a great week!

[MayBee]

Surely Obama could have kept McChrystal from making the speech in London, no?

[bishop]

I don't think that will happen, Ranger, because the terms of the debate have been
set. The Iraq surge was a much more murkier
thing at the outset, colored over by the
'civil war' as opposed to the tribal awakening that was happening. Now the problem doesn't begin and end in Afghanistan, which is something Effendi Khan should know from his experience in Sierra Leone, it lies in Pakistan.

[When have nomads been anything but subsistence?]

I agree, too, about the poverty. They barter, and everything is weighed on scales. Baksheesh has a broader meaning than begging or graft, it can be that which evens off an otherwise uneven trade, an extra trade, or side barter.
====================================

[Janet]

I agree Sue @ 9:49
Whenever my head is about to explode I go out and buy cigars, jerky,...something for our Troops. Our church sends care packages monthly. I HAVE to take a positive action or the foolishness I read about daily will get me too down.
--Biden is an idiot--

[Sue]

Speaking of jerky, you can buy jerky at Bass Pro Shops and donate them in store to the troops. We were there last weekend and I noticed the signs and bought up as many as they had on display. Best money I've spent in ages.

[Rob Crawford]

And last Monday there was a group of demonstrators along the freeway holding signs that read "drones kill", etc.

And yet not one of the demonstrators was injured by a drone.

[Sue]

My husband had no idea why I was buying $200 worth of jerky. The look on his face was priceless when I pushed my cart up to the checkout. ::grin:: He pulled out the debit card and paid up when I explained to him what they were for.

[RichatUF]

The administration has a love letter in the NYT for Gen. Petraeus as well.

[bishop]

So logically, he's an inspiration for the House freshmen. lord love a duck, no I'm not linking the Politico piece, because I have my limits. It was right next to the piece of the GOP complaining to Steele
about his statement on Medicare, that is in the LUN

[Ranger]

Yes, the NYT piece is the begining of the "we can trust the generals" push to justify no more troops, and to damage Petraeus as a potential candidate. Like Rush says, they will tell us who they fear most.

[Janet]

That's great Sue.

[RichatUF]

Ranger-

The sort of going hollywood campaign that Biden wants requires the sort of intelligence that the Obama Administration has seen fit to investigate and criticize (and most likely burn as they allow international fora to make the prosecutions). Obama wanted to cut and run in Afghanistan too, he should just get it over with instead of drawing the process out.

And yea! A second stimulus is on its way.

[Joseph Brown]

Listening to the Generals? Wow, what a concept!
Seems like I remember some Generals telling another arrogant head of state and former corporal, "Mein Fuhrer,.......

[Ranger]

RichatUF,

Of course he does. But, he also knows that Presidents who lose wars don't get re-elected, so he needs to drag it out past November 2012. That is what is putting him in this dilema. If he doesn't give the military what they need, and the situation gets really bad before then, he is screwed. But if he gives them what they want, and things improve, he won't be able to justify cutting and running if he wins re-election.

[clarice]

Yesterday I read a poll--believe it was Ras--which indicated by a very wide pargin the voters trust the generals over the pols.

Surely the WH read it, too.

And the generals figured out the clown in chief long before the voters did.

[narciso]

Wasn't this part of the plan, that Panetta vetoed, in order to give Pelosi cover. Look we saw the downsides of the Khan plan in Ramadi, at Tell a Far, in Baghdad proper, without reinforcement, the civilian are
hostages to any Salafi revenge.

[Pofarmer]

I feel like we are being prepped for a pullout in Afghanistan.

[Rick Ballard]

Bishop,

If the short version of Maj Khan's advice is 'select Pashtun feudal lords and support them fully within the confines of their assigned fiefs' then I'd say it has a chance. Especially if we continue and increase the Predator 'whack a mullah' strategy with vigor. I certainly agree with his assessment that Afghanistan is not a nation and his understanding that change among illiterate and not particularly intelligent tribesmen is unlikely to outpace a slow snail.

He does not assess the source of funds to maintain and increase his proposal - Afghanistan cannot do it internally any more than it can maintain any type of national security force. The bill still might be cheaper than McChrystal's proposal.

[fdcol63]

We're being prepped for dhimmitude.

[Dave (in the People's Banana Republic of MA)]

Capt. Hate, I just heard a little bit of Ingraham's show. Gen. McInerney called Obama "President Zero".

[Rob Crawford]

We're being prepped for dhimmitude.

Nah. The left will make us serfs long before the Islamists make us dhimmis.

(Tho' I guess it's an open question as to how well we'll be able to resist dhimmitude once we're reduced to serfdom.)

[JM Hanes]

McChrystal is not the only one embarrassing the President in London. General Sir David Richards , head of the British Army, publicly issued "an unprecedented warning," endorsing McChrystal in all but name, and reminding us that Afghanistan is, as Obama once claimed, the "necessary" war:

He said: "Failure would have a catalytic effect on militant Islam around the world and in the region because the message would be that al-Qaeda and the Taliban have defeated the US and the British and Nato, the most powerful alliance in the world. So why wouldn't that have an intoxicating effect on militants everywhere? The geo-strategic implications would be immense."

Meanwhile, on this side of the pond, Jim Jones is all over the Sunday tube, "contradicting" McChrystal with John King, saying troop levels in Afghanistan are "robust" and telling Boh Schieffer, "Ideally, it's best for military advice to come up through the chain of command. The president should be presented with options, not just one “fait accompli.” Things are definitely better than they were. of course. "And I want to be very clear: Afghanistan in not in danger—is not in imminent danger—of falling."

TEAM MCCHRYSTAL:

The head of the British Army and Obama's CENTCOM commander, who literally wrote the book on COIN ops, I'm going to give McChrystal the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs,, who "hand-picked McChrystal to lead the fight in Afghanistan after firing Gen. David McKiernan in May." In fact, this one is such a no brainer, Team McC. has even got retired Gen. Anthony Zinni.

TEAM OBAMA:

Joe Biden and Jim Jones.

Who knows where Bob Gates really thinks? He'll back whichever President he serves. Come to think of it, who even knows what Jim Jones really thinks? He's had to backtrack and turn himself into a pretzel for Obama more than once already.

Jennifer Rubin points out that Obama's relationship with Petraeus is not exactly warm and cosy, so Obama has recruited a General he's apparently more comfortable with, and has "made a big show of bringing in" that old JOM favorite, Colin Powell.

[Captain Hate]

Kim, unfortunately I missed that part but I'm glad that people aren't walking on eggshells regarding calling Preznit Failure out any more. Even if SNL has to do it in baby steps (he's not lefty enough; lol wut?) they're at least further ahead of the curve than David "hey Clinton knew how to treat interns" Letterman.

[hit and run]

Sue:
Speaking of jerky, you can buy jerky at Bass Pro Shops and donate them in store to the troops.

FWIW, if anyone wants to donate popcorn to the troops -- while helping hit and run jr raise money for cub scouts in doing so, you can email me.

[narciso]

Ah yes, Colin, a regular counsel ofstrength,
than again even Zinni, is saying nay to dissing MacChrystal's plan.

[JM Hanes]

Forgot the link to Jim Jones.

[JM Hanes]

TM:

I guess I was writing while you were updating, but you might want to add General Sir David Richards to your count.

[Ranger]

Hmmm... Wasn't Powell's big controbution to American military policy "Go big or go home"? Now he's backing Obama's "Stay small" approach? Colin really must be terrified of what people are going to say about him endorsing such a loser when the wheels finally come completely off the Obamabus.

[fdcol63]

I guess it could have been worse. Obama could have appointed Merrill McPeak to something important.

[Jim]

obama is trying to vote "present" and McChrystal has put him on the spot.

If obama doesn't make a decision (continues to vote "present") he will try to disavow accountability and the msm will support him. Whatever happens will be everyone's responsibility but obama's. But, McChrystal has forced the issue and whatever happens has become obama's responsibility. He owns it whether he votes "present" or makes a decision.

[fdcol63]

I liked both Powell and Rice before they went to State. Seems like good people always get infected with Leftism at Foggy Bottom.

[Sue]

Ras has Obama back up to 52% approval. ::sigh:: What the hell are they approving of?

[fdcol63]

It's rather scary that David Axelrod now claims that they were bested by the "politics" of the IOC members.

The IOC are pikers compared to Iran, Russia, China, Syria, Pakistan, et al.

[narciso]

Except McPeak is looking a bit askance at Obama's other policies that don't concern
Israel, like the F-22

[Porchlight]

What the hell are they approving of?

Sue, this from Ras worries me more than the approval:

Support for the health care reform plan proposed by President Obama and Congressional Democrats is up to 46% this week. That’s a five point gain from a week ago.

Transferring the short term focus from health care to Afghanistan/Iran/Olympics will have consequences. The dealmaking is going on as we speak.

[RichatUF]

"Never let a crisis go to waste". Obama could use this as an opportunity to promote some perfumed princes to CENTCOM, clearing out Gen. Petraeus and even replacing Gates. He'd be justified (though really unpopular for a while) in canning Gen McChrystal at this point if the leaks are coming from his camp. It'd be interesting how a Gen McChrystal resignation would play at NATO and would that spur some countries to evacuate their forces.

Or more generally: Forces are going to have be surged in the region either as part of a "new" counter-insurgency campaign or as an exclamation point on Obama's failure as Nato bails. The Germans and British have their own problems and the mission is more unpopular over there as it here. They'd probably take the brunt of the terrorist wave which would follow though.

North over at DotR has a write up from the British persective. more here

[Sue]

Porch,

I'm going to assume some of the erosion in support of the healthcare bill was democrats in favor of the public option. Now that it is being floated again, he will have gained back some of that support.

Does today's Ras numbers include the weekend polling?

[Porchlight]

Good question, Sue. The health care poll page says the poll was taken Oct. 2-3. So, some but not much weekend polling.

For the daily approval index, I'm assuming the 3-day rolling average represents Fri-Sat-Sun.

On the upside, Ras also noted this:

Sixty-three percent (63%) of voters nationwide say guaranteeing that no one is forced to change their health insurance coverage is a higher priority than giving people the choice of a public option.

[narciso]

Speaking of NATO, you know who's been quiet as a churchmouse, has been Admiral Stavridis
SACEUR, considering they are his alliances forces operating there.

[Bill in AZ]

"Ras has Obama back up to 52% approval. ::sigh:: What the hell are they approving of?"

Hunting season - no conservatives at home to answer the phone.

[Sue]

Bill,

I am hoping it is because it is a weekend poll.

[clarice]

UN arms control head Baradei ("there's no nukes here in Arablandia") says nuclear Israel is the biggest threat to world peace.
Tell me I'm dreaming.

[bishop]

That DoL piece links to Christina Lamb, in the LUN, who's been pretty good on the subject, her sewing circles of Kabul, has been an important text, but referring to Andrew Sullivan seems to detract from that

[Fresh Air]

Sue--

Weekend polls skew Democrat. College football, hunting, etc. Check the internals. It's probably even more lopsided than usual.

TM--

You called the surge "semi-successful"? You are either being sarcastic or deliberately obtuse. I'm going to assume it's the former.

[Sue]

I am laughing so hard tears are in my eyes...

...anyone else listening to Rush?

[PeterUK]

"I have a cunning plan.

[DebinNC]

NYT: "The change has fueled speculation in Washington about whether General Petraeus might seek the presidency in 2012."

Since the only change is on Obama's part..choosing to "mute the voice" of Petraeus by putting more chefs in the kitchen,..how does that "fuel speculation" on Petraeus running for office? It's almost unbelievable that Team Obama would try to Alinsky Petraeus by hinting his advice is more self-interested than principled. To say such a move would backfire is a huge understatement, but the idea Obama might try it is truly frightening for what it says about him and his "brain trust".

[Thomas Collins]

Clarice, in the demented world of the conciliatory internationalists, Israel is the biggest threat, because it will defend itself vigorously, and wouldn't hesitate to use nukes if subject to a nuclear attack or a severe conventional attack (or an imminent one). Golda Meir was willing to go nuclear in the 1973 war.

To the conciliatory internationalists, Israel's willingness to defend itself it unacceptable.

The US is no longer considered the greatest world threat to the conciliatory internationalists because Obama is in the process of degrading our nuclear capabilities and turning us into wuss nation. As a side note, my support for Palin in 2012 is driven largely by my belief that we will need a Jacksonian in charge in 2013 to reverse Obama's policies re degrading our military forces. Obama won't have succeeded in his goal of turning us into wuss nation by 2012, but he will have done enough damage that it will be time for a Jacksonian who can see clearly that playing paddycake with the rest of the world is a recipe for disaster. I think Palin is the one among the GOPers most likely to see that.

[Barbara]

email from Michael Yon Online 05:55 a.m. 10/5/09

Greetings,

This weekend we lost eight more soldiers in a firefight. I learned about it while they were still fighting, but did not report the attack until just before the media broke the story the next day. Still unreported, to my knowledge, sources tell me that FOB Keating was destroyed and that troops were under siege for up to 24 hours before Air Force Pararescue got them out. (Subject to confirmation.)

The fighting will only intensify. We can beat these guys, but not under current conditions. We need more troops and more gear now. The enemy has massive home field advantages and we have not offset those advantages.

Please click for a video of the last two firefights that I got into with British forces.

Your Writer,
Michael

[SWarren]

Sue,
I and my hubby are ROTFL. He keeps opening each segment with it.

[Original MikeS]

If Obama refuses to make a serious commitment in Afghanistan, jihadists around the world will probably think what I think.

What I think is that Obama is a wimp and can be pushed out of Afghanistan. Even before that happens, I think Obama's weakness will be spun as a "victory" for al Qaeda and a vindication of bin Laden's original plan to draw the U.S. into a quagmire.

[Fresh Air]

Barbara--

Stand by for Zero to bug out.

[Barbara]

Correct link for Michael Yon's video of firefights
Video of Firefights - Michael Yon's Website

also LUN

[Charlie (Colorado)]

an architect of the semi-successful surge.

Why is it "semi-successful" now?

[Barbara]

Fresh Air -

I'm afraid so, but at what a cost. I've seen this before; there is NO excuse for it now.

[bishop]

Ditto, Tom, she's the only one in the party who has any guts on this issue, as with many
others, Golda, Maggie, Indira up to a point,
Elizabeth (both of them) seems to be pattern
here. The fact that most of the casualties from yesterday were stationed in her home state, brings the point home. Jindal's seems to have crawled and tendered his second post Op Ed on Health Care, but who's been carrying the banner for the last month and a half.

[Sue]

SWarren,

::grin::

[JM Hanes]

Sue:

The Ras numbers often surprise me. Three day rolling polls have their virtues, but I do think they are something of a lagging indicator. My guess is that it takes a couple days for news and news analysis to filter down or sink in, which may be especially true over the weekends. Likely voters are probably paying more attention than the general public, but I doubt they're watching the blow by blow the way most of us do. It's also possible that they're paying attention to the different things, at least till the momentum on a story picks up, and may actually be reacting to circumstances (jobs, housing?) closer to home.

It seems to me that Obama almost always gets a bounce when he heads overseas, even if he comes home with nothing to show for it. Given the general mood on Afghanistan, Obama's lack of a public stand may not be hurting him yet. In the past, I've gone back to try to match up public opinion with specific events on the ground, and it's really hard to identify any particularly close running correlation.

In any case, I check the strong approval/strong disapproval index every day, but it's the disapproval number I'm really watching now. My rule of thumb has always been that the country divides into rough thirds, left, right and center. 30% will always approve, 30% will always disapprove, and with a few notable exceptions (9/11, Obama inauguration), if a President pulls in 70% he's got everybody who is out there to be gotten. I don't expect that Obama's strong approval line will ever drop much further; it just needs to wobble along around 30%.

At the moment, the strong disapproval is similarly wobbling too. If/when it leaves mirror image mode, and heads upwards independently, we'll know there's been a substantive shift in public opinion. I don't think we're there yet, but I sense some movement in the political/media class, and I wonder if we may be approaching a tipping point in want of a catalyst. Another serious Presidential misstep could do it, or something that joins him at the hip with Congress and its dismal numbers, a 2nd stimulus perhaps.

[Ranger]

Another interesting observation from the Campaign Spot:

http://campaignspot.nationalreview.com/post/?q=NWQwNTljZjM0MmM5NmE4YmIyOTc3NTAyOWI5ZGMyYjg=>Shinseki's Defenders Label McChrystal a Threat

So a general saying publicly that we need more troops to accompish the mission is bad when it's a Democratic president, but a general saying publicly that we need more troops to accomplish the mission is good when we have a Republican president. Got it.

[Sue]

Rush Hudson Limbaugh, mmmm...mmmm.mmmm...

[Dave (in the People's Banana Republic of MA)]

PeterUK, I was expecting your link to be a picture of Baldrick, but instead I got Baldjoe.

[Original MikeS]

On other issues the Obama Administration has argued some implausible premises.

They argue that spending more money on healthcare will drive costs down.

That drilling for oil in the U.S. makes us more dependent on foreign oil.

That increased government spending will drive down the deficits, etc.

Soon the Administration will adopt as a premise, that withdrawal from Afghanistan doesn't mean the Taliban and al Qaeda will return to power and it will not help al Qaeda's recruitment efforts world wide.

[bishop]

So who's Blackadder in this sketch.Although there is more than one candidate for Major. Darling. Yeah that Limbaugh chant will drive
them right up the wall.

[matt]

the next trope of the Left is that it's just like the Russians in Afghanistan. Heard it today from liberidiot friend.

Russian casualties - 14,500 Killed in action
ISAF casualties - 1,100 killed in action.

These people make me sick.

By the way, the British Chief of Staff said almost exactly the same thing as McChrystal the day before in an interview with the Telegraph.This type of public dispute is unprecedented.

I am sure Obama is considering dismissing McChrystal. With what they did to McKiernan, these decisions reflect very poorly on the president. History will not treat him well.

You have to love his huevos, though. Calling Biden's plan "Chaos-istan" is a classic.

[Dave (in the People's Banana Republic of MA)]

What's Limbaugh doing, for those of us w/out access to AM radio?

[bishop]

It seems he did like Kennedy and he paid someone to read "Ghost Wars", and didn't
get the bookreport. You can't come to another conclusion with this type of action

[Sue]

Dave,

A parody of the children doing "Barack Hussein Obama, mmm...mmm...mmmm" but replacing it with Rush Hudson Limbaugh, mmmm. He also had a song which I'm trying to find the lyrics to right now. It was too funny.

[bishop]

It's the Limbaugh song, sung by the children's choir

[Dave (in the People's Banana Republic of MA)]

"Chicago is out!?!?
Chicago is out!?!?
mmmmm... mmmmm... mmm."

[Gregory Koster]

Dear JMH: "It seems to me that Obama almost always gets a bounce when he heads overseas..."

Change that to "gets bounced" and I'll buy it.

Many thanks for your nice comments to me much earlier

[Rocco]

Don't forget to vote ACORN style, (for Dave's Entry #35: "The Last Fundraising Dinner") in the IOWAHAWK $33.18 STEEL CAGE ART DEATH MATCH

[Gregory Koster]

What's really dismaying is that the principal guarantor to American interests in the Middle East these days is Israel. If you this the US is in difficulties, imagine being in Israel. Would you want to take the gamble that Iran will fire its nukes somewhere else besides Israel just to wake The Once up? Or, do you want to face a world inferno if you launch your own attack to knock out Iran's nuke capacity?

Makes cap and tax and Obamacare seem bearable, though that's only because Iran & nukes are coming up to the line while c & t and Ocare are still back a ways.

Sue, a little while ago you mentioned your capacity to spit nails. Don't blame you, but hang on to that skill. After 2012, the new Congress will rescind the Presidential Libraries Act, leaving The One no choice but to build the Barack Obama clubhouse, where he and Jimmy Bumpkin can harangue each other on who was more effective in holding down the US. It would draw more people than Six Flags and Disney combined, particularly if they put in a 'throw-baseballs-at-a-dummy-of-The-Once-while-listening-to-Limbaugh's-parody range.

It's difficult, but we gotta stay cheerful these days.