Obama Needs to Decide if He's in It to Win It

Hasn't proved he's truly committed to the fight
By John Johnson,  Newser Staff
Posted Oct 30, 2009 8:20 AM CDT
Obama Needs to Decide if He's in It to Win It
President Obama speaks at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building on the White House campus in Washington.   (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

These White House strategy sessions on Afghanistan are all well and good and full of questions, writes David Brooks, but they sidestep the big one: Is he committed to the effort? We know President Obama is a smart guy. What we don't know is whether he has the "tenacity" and single-minded focus to be a good war president. Obama's "most important meeting" isn't the one today with the joint chiefs. "It’s the one with the mirror."

He must look within for "some firm conviction about whether Afghanistan is worthy of his full and unshakable commitment," writes Brooks in the New York Times. "If the president cannot find that core conviction, we should get out now." Brooks cites a nagging sense among military experts that Obama's "gut" just isn't in this fight. "Some of the experts asked what I thought of Obama’s commitment level. I had to confess I’m not sure either." It's time for Obama to let us know.
(More President Obama stories.)

Get the news faster.
Tap to install our app.
X
Install the Newser News app
in two easy steps:
1. Tap in your navigation bar.
2. Tap to Add to Home Screen.

X