Look Left, Look Right

Obama’s speech on Afghanistan reminded me of Churchill in one sense – it was dead.

One didn’t have to be a cadet on Tuesday to feel a bit of nausea upon hearing Obama’s speech. It was the least truthful address that he has ever held. He spoke of responsibility, but almost every sentence smelled of party tactics. He demanded sacrifice, but he was unable to say what it was for exactly.
An additional 30,000 US soldiers are to march into Afghanistan — and then they will march right back out again. America is going to war — and from there it will continue ahead to peace. It was the speech of a Nobel War Prize laureate.

Of course, nothing cheers a US military audience more than invoking Vietnam. “This won’t be like the last time your elected leaders forced defeat down the throat of victory.”
After so many prime time speeches, it’s hard to watch Obama without tuning out to play the “left-right game”. It’s pretty simple, just predict what direction the Presidential metronome will look next. “Look left … look right … look left… look right.” Try it – you’ll be right 95% of the time.
Last night, he was playing it, too.
(second link fixed)
Update – Donald Rumsfeld comes out swinging;

In his speech to the nation last night, President Obama claimed that ‘Commanders in Afghanistan repeatedly asked for support to deal with the reemergence of the Taliban, but these reinforcements did not arrive.’ Such a bald misstatement, at least as it pertains to the period I served as Secretary of Defense, deserves a response.”
“I am not aware of a single request of that nature between 2001 and 2006. If any such requests occurred, ‘repeated’ or not, the White House should promptly make them public. The President’s assertion does a disservice to the truth and, in particular, to the thousands of men and women in uniform who have fought, served and sacrificed in Afghanistan.”
“In the interest of better understanding the President’s announcement last night, I suggest that the Congress review the President’s assertion in the forthcoming debate and determine exactly what requests were made, who made them, and where and why in the chain of command they were denied.”