The War Obama Wanted to Fight

There will be lots more to say on Afghanistan if Obama ever gets around to deciding whether or not to send in more troops....as his hand-picked general has requested, we might add. But for starters, it is useful to revisit Obama's position during the campaign when he recited the Democrat party talking points word for word. Iraq was the wrong war, no WMDs, no al Qaeda, Bush lied, etc. Also, he would have liked the chance to have a beer with Saddam, Uday and Qusay. (I made that last one up.) The dilemma he faced, however, was the dilemma all liberals face: namely how NOT to appear weak on national defense.

The answer was to focus on Afghanistan. The Taliban were an easier enemy to explain. Al Qaeda had definitely been hanging around and you didn't have all that Shia- Sunni- Kurd complication. So one would think that Obama would now be eager to take General McChrystal's advice. (And by the way, doesn't he remember that the surge in Iraq was successful?) So what is holding him back?

Well here is his current dilemma. If he doesn't support an increase in troop levels he will be perceived as having lost Afghanistan and will be a one-term President. He will be tagged rightly with a "weak-on-defense" label and it will stick. On the other hand his biggest fans on the far left will never forgive him if he doubles down. They are already dragging out the Viet Nam analogies and will turn on him quickly. There is some speculation that Obama will make a "split the baby" decision and send in some, but not all, of the 40,000 troops requested. There would be no other way to interpret this than as a weak-kneed decision. So will Obama risk alienating the Code Pink crowd? That is the question and the answer will say a lot about him.

NOBEL "PIECE" PRIZE

RedStateVT has to give credit where credit is due. In that regard, even President Obama appeared genuinely taken aback by the decision to award him the Nobel prize. He certainly realizes that he does not merit it.



The Nobel Committee disgraces itself for what is transparently a political ploy. But bear in mind that this is a group which seems to know no shame having previously awarded the prize to that great peacemaker Yasser Arafat, a.k.a., the Mahatma Gandhi of the Palestinian people.



And then there is that other notable recipient, Jimmy Carter, coddler of dictators around the world. In 2008, Carter famously placed a wreath on the grave of Arafat. Could it be that Obama realizes that he doesn't want to be in company with the likes of these two?

Times Crimes

RedStateVT was a loyal follower of the New York Times for decades, reading it every morning on the commute into Manhattan. For nostalgic reasons we are deeply saddened to see the slow and steady decline of the paper. The Times and others may blame the rise of the Internet, the 24 hour news cycle or sun spots, but the fact of the matter is that the wound is self-inflicted. The reflexive liberal ideology of the Times has been well documented and, in fact, there are web sites devoted to pointing out how its biases have compromised the paper's integrity and driven readers away.



Recently the Times has been called to task for failing to report on the ACORN and "Green Jobs Czar" Van Jones scandals. In an internal post-mortem of why the paper did not write about these events, Public Editor Clark Hoyt said it has been suggested that the Times: "has trouble dealing with stories arising from the polemical world of talk radio, cable television and partisan blogs." And further: "a newspaper like The Times needs to be alert to them or wind up looking clueless or, worse, partisan itself." Yes, by all means, it would be wrong to appear either clueless or partisan.... RedStateVT has a tip for the Times. Don't get left behind again! Sean Hannity has picked up the story of "Safe Schools" Czar Kevin Jennings and is now calling for his removal. The positions Jennings has taken will curdle milk. So with Jennings the next czar to possibly face the wrath of the proletariat, the question is: will the Times learn from its past mistakes and write the story? (A quick search of the on-line Times today shows nary a mention.)

"Corporal" Sanders' Utopian Vision

For fellow Vermonters.....heck for anyone! I ran across this clip of Vermont's crazy old uncle in the attic, Corporal Sanders, talking about his vision of American capitalism. (Predictably, he also uses the opportunity to blame George Bush for assorted transgressions.) The bulk of the video finds Bernie extolling the benefits of cradle-to-grave health care, free education, and more vacation time for workers. You'll love the image of working families frolicking at the sea shore.

http://sanders.senate.gov//legislation/issue/?id=3884AF85-AD3D-4E6E-A150-155E90F26FC8

TIDBITS

In nearly nine months in office, President Obama has found time to meet with Hugo Chavez, Daniel Ortega and Vladimir Putin. But this week he won't see the Dalai Lama, a peaceful religious leader who has long been a friend to the U.S. and an advocate of human rights for China's six million Tibetans. (WSJ, 10/6/2009)

A photograph of the Iranian president holding up his identity card during elections in March 2008 clearly shows his family has Jewish roots. A close-up of the document reveals he was previously known as Sabourjian--a Jewish name meaning cloth weaver. The short note scrawled on the card suggests his family changed its name to Ahmadinejad when they converted to embrace Islam after his birth. (WSJ, 10/5/2009)

While most Americans normally ignore parliamentary detail, with health care looming, voters are suddenly paying attention. The Senate is expected to vote on a health bill in the weeks to come, representing months of work and stretching to hundreds of pages. And as of now, there is no assurance that members of the public, or even the senators themselves, will be given the chance to read the legislation before a vote. (Washington Examiner, 10/6/2009)

With economists forecasting that unemployment could hit 10 percent before job growth returns, perhaps in mid-2010, Democrats face month after month of bad news on the jobs front in a midterm election year, when a president’s party typically loses Congressional seats. Charlie Cook, a longtime nonpartisan election analyst, said last week that he was raising the odds of Democrats losing their House majority to about 50-50. (NYT, 10/5/2009)

THE ACORN DOESN"T FALL FAR FROM THE TREE

Anyone catch the Fox News special last night on ACORN? Here's a link from the Fox website (http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,558224,00.html) but it is unclear at this point when it will be re-run. The recent footage of ACORN workers appearing all-too-willing to facilitate crimes pales in comparison to ACORN's past "issues." These include credible accounts of voter registration fraud, threats to companies that don't play ball with ACORN and the revelation that the brother of ACORN's founder embezzled a million dollars. It is a chilling account. Bill Clinton recently revived his wife's dopey accusation from years ago of a "vast right wing conspiracy." Turns out, the real ideological conspiracy has been playing out for years under the ACORN banner.

It's worth reminding readers that Vermont's own dynamic duo: Pat Leahy and "Corporal" Sanders were among a tiny number of Senators who voted recently NOT to cut off government funding to this corrupt organization.

KNUCKLEHEADS OF THE DAY

RedStateVT is pleased to recognize the following as Knuckleheads of the Day:

Dan Rather - the disgraced newsman's defamation suit against CBS is thrown out in a unanimous ruling. Rather vows to appeal! We wonder how he will find the time given his continuing efforts to prove that GWB skipped out a week early on his Texas Air National Guard service.

Woody Allen - the disgraced director signs on in support of disgraced director Roman Polanski. You cannot make stuff like this up!