Why Obama Will Make An Excellent Commander-in-Chief

sniffles5's picture

There was a fascinating article in Time magazine last week that left me more convinced than ever that, if elected, Barack Obama will make an excellent Commander-in-Chief.

Some background: shortly after the 2004 election, George W. Bush simply lost interest in being the Commander-in-Chief. No more manly carrier landings, no more "mission accomplished" photo ops..just hard work. Since Bush has shunned hard work his entire life, he delegated political, strategic and operational control of the Iraq war to Gen. Petreaus. This was unprecendented in America's history. Theater generals have had operational command before, and often advise on strategic issues, but to give a single general carte blanche control over the conduct of a war was unheard of.

Therefore, it was very interesting when Barack Obama met with Gen. Petreaus to be briefed on the Iraq War. From all accounts, Petreaus gave a masterful presentation on why he should be allowed the same degree of latitude in conducting the war should Obama be elected president.

Barack gently but firmly reminded Petraeus of the concept of "chain of command". Petraeus stood firm, indicating that he needed "maximum flexibility" (shades of Janet Smola!) to accomplish his mission. Obama told him that the American people elected a civilian commander in chief for good reason, that it might not be the perfect solution but it was going to be one that he (Petraues) would have to work with.

Sadly, Time cuts out the details after that exchange, only to say that a spirited debate ensued, but in the end both men came away from their meeting with a great deal of respect for each other.

THAT, my friends, is the type of leadership America has been craving for years.

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You must have skipped history class...
Submitted by jeffro2000 on Wed, 10/29/2008 - 5:53am.

"he delegated political, strategic and operational control of the Iraq war to Gen. Petreaus. This was unprecendented in America's history. Theater generals have had operational command before, and often advise on strategic issues, but to give a single general carte blanche control over the conduct of a war was unheard of."

Unless you've heard of Eisenhower and his control of all Allied forces in Europe from D-Day until... well yeah, we still have bases in Germany. And what was the other guy, oh yeah McArthur in the Pacific. And who did Lincoln turn over the Civil War to after the Union was almost defeated - he has a tomb... oh yeah, Ulysses Grant.

The "mission acc." banner was not a photo op, it was placed there by the boat officers for the CREW as a moral booster from being away from home for almost a year... you know, that's how long diplomatic paths were tried to get the UN to back a single one of the 14 resolutions it already passed when Saddam BROKE the terms of his surrender for the first Gulf War...

Time Magazine. Now there's a journal of critical review. Do you REALLY think that is how the conversation went, or do you realize you were reading a free campaign add that WORKED obviously! One thing is for sure, if Obama pulls out instead of making Iraq the new nucleus of American freedoms and values (you know, all the things you love like abortion on demand, internet porn, etc...)pulling out of Europe and heading Middle East, then we will simply be biding our time until the radicals feel ready to attack us infedels again, but with something even more horrible than jets into skyscrapers. What is sad is there are many right here who think it would be "cool" like the movies, but real...

If you feel angry because I assumed you like abortion, etc... know you know how it feels to be an elected official who gets insulted by people (never worked a day in his life) that have never met him or talked to him, etc...

I just love freedom of speech, Thanks Citizen! It works both ways!

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Time Magazine... Time ?
darrylwd's picture
Submitted by darrylwd on Tue, 10/28/2008 - 1:09pm.

LMAO

The best minds are not in government. If any were, business would hire them away.


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Hey Daryl?
sniffles5's picture
Submitted by sniffles5 on Tue, 10/28/2008 - 2:17pm.

I don't mean to stir up any controversy here, but if you look at your October issue of the Fayette Republican party's newsletter (The Bigoted Blatherer) you'll see that MeanOldConservative has "Shoot the Messenger" duty on the Citizen blogs until Oct 30th. You're on the schedule to "Bear False Witness Against Obama" until then.

I wouldn't even bring it up, but MeanOldConservative gets pretty touchy about people...even well-meaning Republicans like you!... encroaching on his "territory".


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Hey Sniffer...it ain't the messenger, it's the message
meanoldconservatives's picture
Submitted by meanoldconservatives on Wed, 10/29/2008 - 9:53am.

I'll have "shoot the messenger duty" longer than that. Sadly, it must be as long as you post your BS out here. I'm still waiting for you to show me where I said "two wrongs make a right".

You are one easy mark.....


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Thanks for the advice...
darrylwd's picture
Submitted by darrylwd on Tue, 10/28/2008 - 2:34pm.

... but I'm pretty confident in my standing. However, like any wise person, he/she will option all his resources of information.

The best minds are not in government. If any were, business would hire them away.


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