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TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 9, 2010

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Meghan McCain Rips
Palin's 'Retarded'
Double Standard

'Exactly what's wrong with politics today'

10 hours, 11 minutes ago
Mystery Bush
Billboard Appears

Sign shows up in Minnesota with no sign of buyer

5 hours, 10 minutes ago
Sex Scandal Will Take Down Another NY Governor

David Paterson will resign after New York Times exposé: source

Feb 7, 10 4:45 PM CST
Palin Blasts Global Warming Studies as 'Snake Oil'

... in speech to Calif. logging conference

Feb 8, 10 10:04 PM CST
Tea Partiers Attack... Ron Paul?

Texas congressman draws three primary challengers

8 hours, 49 minutes ago
OPINION

Good Riddance to Rep. Murtha

Late Democrat slammed for corruption, stance on Iraq

11 hours, 9 minutes ago
WILLIAM MCGURN

Look Who Says Bush
Was Right on Terror

Obama invokes Bush policies as defense in Couric interview

11 hours, 27 minutes ago
analysis

Meg Whitman
Is the
Anti-Palin

She's known for her business smarts, not her personality

3 hours, 57 minutes ago
Analysis

Obama Calls
GOP's Bluff
With Health
Care Summit

President thinks Republican ideas will look worse in the spotlight

Feb 8, 10 2:20 PM CST
OPINION

Sarah Palin
Must Heed
Yogi Berra

She has to somehow lead the leader-shunning Tea Party

3 hours, 2 minutes ago
GOP Threatens to Sit Out Obama Health Care Summit

Boehner, Cantor demand Democrats scrap old bill

8 hours, 42 minutes ago
OR MAYBE BORING OLD CORRUPTION

Swingers to Drugs,
Rumors Swirl
Around Paterson

New York governor denies any involvement with sex, drugs

6 hours, 51 minutes ago
Democrats Fault
Rahm Emanuel
on Health Care

Many believe his inexperience in Senate maneuvering stalled bill

4 hours, 18 minutes ago
Shelby Drops
Holds on Obama
Nominees

Alabama Republican says he was just trying to get the president's attention

9 hours, 27 minutes ago

|NEXT STORY »

No Afghanistan Withdrawal, Obama Tells Lawmakers

But still undecided on proposed buildup

By Will McCahill| Posted Oct 6, 09 8:00 PM CDT|

(Newser) – President Obama won’t commit to sending more troops to Afghanistan, but neither will he withdraw any, he told congressional leaders in a White House meeting today that included a sharp exchange between the president and Republican Sen. John McCain. Obama wanted to “dispense with the straw man argument that this is about either doubling down or leaving Afghanistan,” sources tell the New York Times.

With the Republicans in the 30-lawmaker contingent urging an immediate surge, “time is not on our side,” McCain said, adding, “This should not be a leisurely process.” Obama replied: “John, I can assure you this won’t be leisurely. No one feels more urgency to get this right than I do.”

Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., right, House Minority Leader John Boehner, center, and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, left, leave the White House today. (AP Photo)

Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., answers questions following a meeting between President Barack Obama and congressional leadership on Afghanistan today. (AP Photo)

President Barack Obama. (AP Photo)

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32 comments

VIEWING:

Jayster999
Oct 6, 09 8:02 PM CDT

Wow. What a shocker. Obummer will do as he is told, get that straight folks. Reply

-3

IN RESPONSE:

JonmarkP
Oct 6, 09 8:44 PM CDT

Wait, you're the ones who always ejaculate when a President announces even more our our tax money diverted to corporate War Profiteers and the Pentagon. We lose 4,000 human Dixie Cups in the process? No big deal. Make up your mind whether you favor war-for-prifit, or are against it. If that decision is based on which party is in power to supervise the distribution of profits, you're politicizing war-and we know you'd criticize anyone doing that.

IN RESPONSE:

Jayster999
Oct 6, 09 8:58 PM CDT

@JuanMARX: Really? Why don't you point me to one of my posts supporting the military industrial complex? My point here was that Obummer (like all presidents) is subject to the dictates of those who paid his way into office. He knows better than to bite the hand that feeds him. If he does as he is told, he will be rewarded handsomely when he leaves office.

-2

IN RESPONSE:

freethemall
Oct 6, 09 9:18 PM CDT

What the hell are you talking about? Will do as he's told, by whom?

IN RESPONSE:

Jayster999
Oct 6, 09 9:26 PM CDT

@freethemall: If you have to ask, you'll never know.

-1

IN RESPONSE:

polytricks
Oct 6, 09 11:40 PM CDT

@Jayster: If you have to ask, it means you want to know. There's no reason for you not to explain yourself if you want any result other than a false sense of superiority that won't actually change anything.

IN RESPONSE:

polytricks
Oct 6, 09 11:48 PM CDT

@freethemall: I don't know what Jayster is talking about, but one thing to look at is the people with whom President Obama surrounds himself. They're largely the same people President Bush and President Clinton had. I see the President as a spokesperson. He doesn't have enough time to look at everything, so he has people do his research (and to an extent, his thinking) for him...just like our Congressmen and women. The problem I see is that President Obama was supposed to change things. However, change is impossible if the people who work for you are the same.

IN RESPONSE:

RockyPneumonia
Oct 7, 09 6:29 AM CDT

Always amusing when people who most assuredly supported Bush say stupid things like "Obama will do what he's told."

IN RESPONSE:

Netstorm2k10
Oct 7, 09 7:50 AM CDT

Good gravy people, the Presidents are puppets. How hard is that to figure out? If you don't believe me, then why hasn't Obama done anything different? Where is the change? The presidency has been a puppet to the wealthy and powerful since Madison.

IN RESPONSE:

DarkFrancis
Oct 7, 09 8:41 AM CDT

Jay, your arguments are usually limp as thawed lettuce, but when you preface your wetslapped missives with infantine name-calling...how do you think that advances your position?

| 0 minutes ago

Netstorm2k10
Oct 6, 09 8:05 PM CDT

Change you can believe in. Reply

| 0 minutes ago

RogerMohajir
Oct 6, 09 8:35 PM CDT

By doing nothing, Obama manages to appease both the surrender monkeys and the surge psychos while looking "strong" for resisting pressure from both. Masterful politics, but is it leadership? Reply

IN RESPONSE:

JonmarkP
Oct 6, 09 8:46 PM CDT

He doesn't look strong-he looks just like the centrist Republican he is.

-1

IN RESPONSE:

emptycalm
Oct 6, 09 8:51 PM CDT

He just looks like he doesn't know what to do. I would hardly call it masterful politics.

IN RESPONSE:

fancygapva
Oct 6, 09 9:17 PM CDT

That is the question, or one of them at this point.

| 0 minutes ago

Timinator2K
Oct 6, 09 9:07 PM CDT

Obama has threatened to supply the Taliban with iPods full of his inspirational speeches if they don't accept our surrender..the Taliban has gone into hiding. Reply

IN RESPONSE:

kokuaguy
Oct 7, 09 1:53 AM CDT

I really tried to keep myself from giving you tumzup -- I tried so hard but I just couldn't stop myself. Now I've got to go take a long, hot shower. Well, that might not be a bad thing, actually.

IN RESPONSE:

freethemall
Oct 6, 09 9:25 PM CDT

If that's all it would take, why didn't big bad ass GWB do it while he had the power? I guess he was really just a big pussy too, uh?

IN RESPONSE:

dax
Oct 6, 09 10:54 PM CDT

LSA wrote "Send 3 bombers over there and the war will end in hours." ---- Do share the details of your brilliant strategy.

IN RESPONSE:

kokuaguy
Oct 7, 09 2:02 AM CDT

LSA, your first post when you joined newser ( May 31) mentioned your fears of a watermelon patch on the White House lawn .... I find it hard to believe that it wasn't even "de-emphasized" back then, but thankfully newser has evolved since that time. I personally find your username abusive and on that basis alone I'm making a special appearance on newser to campaign for your username to be permanently banned from this site. And given your record here, I have little doubt you will be as well. With aloha, Kokuaguy

IN RESPONSE:

RockyPneumonia
Oct 7, 09 6:33 AM CDT

OOOH! Look, everyone! He used President Obama's middle name, just as if he were stupid enough to think it means anything!

-1

IN RESPONSE:

RockyPneumonia
Oct 7, 09 6:35 AM CDT

dax, LSA means that it would make him feel like a Real Man, with testicles and everything.

-1

IN RESPONSE:

RockyPneumonia
Oct 7, 09 6:38 AM CDT

RobN, your comment might -- just might -- have been accurate if he'd chaired the Defense Committee; ongoing military actions are not the purview of the FA Committee.

| 0 minutes ago

dax
Oct 6, 09 10:51 PM CDT

Obama did not initiate the war in Afghanistan. Nor did he oversee 6 years of a neglectful policy that brought us to this seemingly intractable position our country now faces.---- If Obama appears to be inert under the glare of 24/7 media scrutiny, it is not because there is a clear path of action. This is a very complex situation with serious and negative consequences for withdrawal, escalation, or intensification. --- Forgive the man for deliberating the issue. ---- Meanwhile there are breaking developments that may help better define our country's path. One recent positive development reports success on the part of government backed Pakistani civilian militias in the Swat Valley in reclaiming their land from the Taliban. ---- Sometimes it's best to pick your way through the mine field. Reply

IN RESPONSE:

RobN
Oct 6, 09 11:03 PM CDT

"Nor did he oversee 6 years of a neglectful policy that brought us to this seemingly intractable position our country now faces." He did, however, chair the Senate Foreign Relations committe that held zero hearings on Afghanistan. I can only assume he either didn't feel it was neglectful until it became his responsibility or he was just too busy looking for his next job.

IN RESPONSE:

dax
Oct 6, 09 11:11 PM CDT

RobN "He did, however, chair the Senate Foreign Relations committe that held zero hearings on Afghanistan" ---- that was a subcommittee on European Affairs and Afghanistan was not under its purview.

IN RESPONSE:

polytricks
Oct 6, 09 11:38 PM CDT

@dax - Every story it's the same comments. Because President Bush screwed up, that means President Obama gets a chance to screw things up, too. That's not the way it should work. He campaigned as the peace candidate. There's no shame in admitting he is not doing what he said he'd do.

IN RESPONSE:

kokuaguy
Oct 7, 09 2:07 AM CDT

At zipperguy, Obama never campaigned on any other platform than careful withdrawal from Iraq and victory of the Taliban and Al-Quaida in Afghanistan. Don't engage in that kind of spin here. There were only two "peace candidates" in the 2008 election: Ron Paul and Dennis Kucinich. And yes, I supported Obama (after I supported Clinton.)

IN RESPONSE:

kokuaguy
Oct 7, 09 2:08 AM CDT

That should be: ... VICTORY OVER AL-QAIDA and the TALIBAN ....

| 0 minutes ago

RobN
Oct 6, 09 10:54 PM CDT

I think the problem is that his generals are looking for a military solution and the president is looking for a political one. He'd like very much not to go all in, but at the same time, regardless of who started it, you don't want to lose it on your watch. A prime example of why I don't know why anybody would work that hard to be president. Reply

IN RESPONSE:

dax
Oct 6, 09 11:04 PM CDT

I disagree. Obama may be a politician, but he understands the significance to our country, of the outcome in Afghanistan. --- Keep in mind that generals don't always just look for a military solution (e.g. the Pat Tillman cover up). By the time they attain the rank, most generals are quite familiar with politics. The president has to sift through all of the threads of information and all of the "motives" of those giving the advice. Hell of situation.

IN RESPONSE:

dax
Oct 6, 09 11:14 PM CDT

With an uninspired response like that, you are in no position to be labeling anyone "dumb" or "stupid." Go to bed and sleep it off.

| 0 minutes ago

View all 32 comments »

John McCain • troop surge • White House • troop withdrawal • congressional Democrats • Afghanistan war • President Obama • meeting • Congressional Republicans

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No Afghanistan Withdrawal, Obama Tells Lawmakers

But still undecided on proposed buildup

Dems Treat Obama Like GOP Did Bush in Final Year

... and shoulders will get colder as mid-terms near

Dems Treat Obama Like GOP Did Bush in Final Year

... and shoulders will get colder as mid-terms near

Left, Right Assail Obama Plan

GOP faults timetable; Dems fault surge itself

Left, Right Assail Obama Plan

GOP faults timetable; Dems fault surge itself

Obama Issues Orders for More Afghan Troops

Briefed military last night, will reveal number and other details tomorrow

Obama Issues Orders for More Afghan Troops

Briefed military last night, will reveal number and other details tomorrow

John McCain • troop surge • White House • troop withdrawal • congressional Democrats • Afghanistan war • President Obama • meeting • Congressional Republicans

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No Afghanistan Withdrawal, Obama Tells Lawmakers

But still undecided on proposed buildup

Related Newser Stories

DAVID BRODER

Dems Treat Obama Like GOP Did Bush in Final Year

... and shoulders will get colder as mid-terms near

Dems Treat Obama Like GOP Did Bush in Final Year

... and shoulders will get colder as mid-terms near

AFGHANISTAN SPEECH REACTION

Left, Right Assail Obama Plan

GOP faults timetable; Dems fault surge itself

Left, Right Assail Obama Plan

GOP faults timetable; Dems fault surge itself

Obama Issues Orders for More Afghan Troops

Briefed military last night, will reveal number and other details tomorrow

Obama Issues Orders for More Afghan Troops

Briefed military last night, will reveal number and other details tomorrow

John McCain • troop surge • White House • troop withdrawal • congressional Democrats • Afghanistan war • President Obama • meeting • Congressional Republicans

MOST POPULAR STORIES

[ By Views ]

[ By Comments ]

from our news partners

Just For Laughs

Associated Press

About

Help

Tools

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What is Newser?