Is it possible for a sitting president to ignore a war his own country is waging?
According to the Boston Globe, it depends on who that president is.
The war in Afghanistan has presented a rare look at two different presidents faced with the same situation in the same theatre.
Following initial Allied success, 2003 saw the Taliban regroup for a long-term fight, and by late 2007 Bush had begun to draw up plans for a troop surge. Two years later, generals on the ground say our presence is still not enough.
Now, with President Obama in charge, those in the mainstream media portray his leadership in a starkly different light than that of former President Bush.
The Boston Globe is a prime example of the double standard (continued).
Prior to the intial surge, the paper pounded on President Bush's lack of leadership.
In January 2006, the Globe wrote that the "administration became so distracted with the Iraq war that it cooled in its efforts to diminish the Afghani drug trade." Later, in August of that same year, the Globe printed an op-ed from Rep. Barney Frank accusing the White House of "ignoring" violence in Afghanistan. Readers were continually told that US forces were "stretched thin" and the budget was too great a burden.
January 2007 saw the Globe keep the drumbeat going: the White House had "for years resisted calls by members of both parties" do more in Afghanistan.
Just before Obama's inauguration, the Globe printed a stunningly vicious attack on Bush, accusing him of "serial blunders" in every facet of MidEast policy, from Israel to Iran to Afghanistan. The editorial dated January 11, 2009, pulled no punches:
Obama has an enormous cleanup task ahead of him; he cannot put off for a single day the work of peacemaking and rehabilitation in the Mideast.
Yet, nine months later, the zeal for Obama to clean up the MidEast has cooled.
In August, as General McChrystal submitted a report with dire warnings of failure, the Globe kept playing Blame Bush for Everything and further lamented, "Our peace-promising president inherited a losing hand from his predecessor."
Gone was the need for swift action. In its place: a perpetual whine that Bush had made action impossible.
As August drifted into September and Obama still had no plan, the Globe spun this as the prudence of a master diplomat. They printed a quote from former President Clinton that Obama was "wise" to take it slow; there were elections coming up and important decisions to be made, so it was best for Obama to drag his feet.
Then news began to break that contradicted the election excuse - General Stanley McChrystal, Obama's hand picked leader of the Afghan mission, claimed that Obama wasn't talking to him at all.
Was the Globe worried about this? Not really.
On September 30, the Globe ran interference for Obama by printing an AP article that parroted spin from the White House. Suddenly, it was no longer acceptable for lawmakers to criticize a president's war policy; Congress is now just "game playing" for political points.
Apparently to the Globe, failure is in the eye of the beholder, and with their favorite politician in charge, failure is always someone else's fault.
Editor at Large
Comments Policy
I expect nothing more from the Boston Globe..
October 3, 2009 - 08:41 ET by JTPOr other any other transcribers.
"Live for yourself...there's no one else more worth living for.
Begging hands and bleeding hearts will only cry out for more"- Rush--Anthem
Great quote...
October 3, 2009 - 19:18 ET by Jnoble..from a great song from one of my all time favorite bands. I was trying to explain the Rand influence in early Rush's albums to a friend the other week...songs like 'Anthem', '2112', 'Something For Nothing', 'A Farewell To Kings', 'The Trees', 'Freewill', 'Mission'.
Bravo
October 3, 2009 - 08:49 ET by dboWell researched/well done Candance.
Well done, Candance
October 3, 2009 - 08:55 ET by BlondeI love your last sentence:
Apparently to the Globe, failure is in the eye of the beholder, and with their favorite politician in charge, failure is always someone else's fault.
Now you need a pic for your Bio!
I hope he fails, too.
It would be really
October 3, 2009 - 08:55 ET by BKeyserIt would be really interesting for an team of undercover film-makers to get into a newsroom, under the guise of (I was gonna say "reporters" but I'm not sure that wouldn't stand out as an obvious sting operation) political fundraisers and have a sit down with the editers and publisher -a la O'keefe and Giles- to see how they'd react to pointing oout this type of hypocracy to them.
Nice job candance! We're so proud :-)
Advise from Bubba?
October 3, 2009 - 09:25 ET by BayshoremanPerhaps the Boston Globe might do a little more homework and find that Clinton's military "expertise" and go-slow approach was directly responsible for the massacre of U.S. Delta Rangers in Mogadishu ("Blackhawk Down"), the rise of Al Qaeda and a host of other blunders.
So much for sucess
October 3, 2009 - 09:37 ET by CobraMan"Our peace-promising president inherited a losing hand from his predecessor."
So much for success in Afghanistan being a part of Obama's "legacy" in his next election campaign.. The Globe just handed (or should I say "repeated") Obama an excuse for failure in Afghanistan, which is rather ironic as Obama based his entire previous campaign on the premise that Bush made a mess of things and he, Obama, will "right what was once wrong." Obama your entire reputation as a Commander in Chief is dependent upon your ability to "win" in Afghanistan, and soon.
Obama, you BETTER do something that will have a positive effect in Afghanistan, and quickly as you need to start campaigning soon for your next election. Do you really want your opponents to run under the campaign slogan: "Obama: worse than Bush!" and/or "Obama: Bush Lite."
The Citizens of each State shall be entitled to all Privileges and Immunities of Citizens in the several States.
The US Constitution
Unless you're a fetus.
The US Supreme Court
with their favorite
October 3, 2009 - 09:57 ET by Free Stinkerwith their favorite politician in charge, failure is always someone else's fault.
That neatly sums up every newscast since January 1981 (at least).
~That's gonna leave a mark
October 3, 2009 - 10:01 ET by choselife3xLove the new bullwhip, Can.
Keep 'em coming and pass the popcorn..
For Some
October 3, 2009 - 10:26 ET by ahusserunfathomable reason. The left has never had a real problem with Afghanistan. The went ballistic over Iraq but seem very complacent about the other theater. I still don't know why that is. Seem kind of Schizophrenic to me.
"Somehow, I told you so, just doesn't quite say it." Will Smith in 'I, Robot.'
Afganistan of the Persians, Alexander the Great...
October 3, 2009 - 13:23 ET by Ten7sAfganistan of the Persians, Alexander the Great, Gengis Khan, the Muslims, the Moghuls, the British, the Russians, the Soviets, the Taliban...
Bush Administration
Objective: Deny Taliban base of operations
Strategy: Hold key areas, help build good native Afghan government from strongholds, monitor tribal areas - interviene when necessary
Tactics in Tribal Areas: various, mostly involving special forces, arial technologies, and hearts and minds operations...
Obama Administration
Objectives: build conventional nation in Afghanistan, score political points, goals fuzzy in Obama's mind
Strategy: force way into Tribal areas, seperate Taliban from people, impose government
Tactics: mostly general military, hearts and minds
Assessment: Bush Administration's approach will work in Afghanistan with a medium sized military presence. Obama's approach will require a huge military commitment. Neither will create a nation in Afghanistan. Obama's will likely trigger a wider war involving the Tribal areas and other nations, e.g. Pakistan.
President Bush as a student of History knows this. President Obama as a student of his-own-essence does not.
Great observation!!!
October 4, 2009 - 08:00 ET by BayshoremanGreat observation!!!
As August drifted into
October 3, 2009 - 14:45 ET by Dan The Man 2As August drifted into September and Obama still had no plan, the Globe spun this as the prudence of a master diplomat.
Now that was interesting and if the diplomats of the UN are masters then yes Duh One is a master like them, except there is no expertise in his diplomacy.
Well, candance...
October 3, 2009 - 19:48 ET by JerCongratulations, good luck...blah blah blah.
I guess this means I'm no longer in the running for the blogger opening.
[shuffles off,...wiping away tear and wistfully thinking of "what could have been"]
Jer
Candance That was a
October 3, 2009 - 20:05 ET by Scuba DudeCandance
That was a really good piece. I am worried that my nephew will be even further pushed into the LOTUS camp because he is going to school in Boston and I am sure there is never a discouraging word mentioned about LOTUS in any of the media outlets up there.
On another note, I am REALLY pissed off at my congress critter Michael McMahon. He did not hold any town halls over the summer. I went onto his website back then and sent a message asking how he could support the healthcare bill and why has he not had any town halls. Well this past Thursday I received a mailing from him dated 9/28/09. Let me transcribe the mailing:
Thank you very much for contacting me to share your concerns about healthcare reform. I have heard from hundreds of constituents over the summer about this critical issue. No matter what part of the spectrum people are on, people have asked for me to host a town hall meeting to discuss this important legislation.
My position has consistently been that I would have a town hall meeting with my constituents when both the House and the Senate had pieces of legislation drafted so constituents can be fully aware of the various proposals for reform. With the national speech of President Obama outlining his goals to change the healthcare system, coupled with the recent release of the Senate proposal along with the House Committee-passed version of H.R. 3200, we now have much greater clarity to foster productive discussion.
I am please to announce my town hall focused on the recent health care debate on Monday October 5. This event is free and open to the public. The town hall will discuss healthcare reform legislation pending before the House and Senate. You are encouraged to come to learn more about the health care bills currently under debate in Congress.
The even will be held at P.S.80, in the Michael J. Petrides School Auditorium. The school is located at 715 Ocean Terrace, Staten Island, MY 10301-4542.
Please limit the use of signs or props during the town hall to ensure all in attendance are able to see, listen and participate without obstruction.
There are many components of the House and Senate bill such as removing bans on insurance coverage for pre-existing conditions, allowing New Yorkers to shop competitively between states to find the lowest insurance policies, and reforms to Medicare and Medicaid to save taxpayers money. While I have looked at both the House proposal and the Senate proposal, there are also considerable pieces of the legislation which causes me great concern, I am reluctant to take on this overhaul of such a large part of our economy during this trying economic time and I am far from convinced that this legislation will go far enough to "bend the cost curve" to reduce the cost of your monthly medical bills.
I look forward to you sharing your views on these critical issues, hearing what you oppose or support and listening to how you think we can reform the healthcare system, expand coverage and lower healthcare costs for Staten Island and Brooklyn families.
Again, thank you for reaching out to my office and I hope to see you at the town hall
Sincerely,
Michael E. McMahon
Now, this letter is dated 9/28/09 and I only received it in the mail on 10/1/09 for a town hall happening on 10/5/09. Also, if you noticed, he gave the date and the place of the town hall but neglected to tell you the TIME.
I went onto his website to vent on this but lo and behold the only way you can contact this POS is by calling him. Typical effing Democratic tactics. I am going to call on Monday to find out what time the meeting is at, I have a strange feeling it will most likely be held at around 5 when most people are still at work or heading home from work. If it is held in the evening I am very tempted to buy a video camera and start filming this debacle he is holding.
What do you folks think?
The Obama Administration: THE most fiscally irresponsible Administration EVER
Vidoe
October 4, 2009 - 05:19 ET by jackssnBuy one, borrow one, just do it and post it here. I for one would love to watch it.
Thanks again for your efforts.