With my attention on more pressing issues lately, admittedly I have lost a lot of interest in the following the adult playground chatter and pre-teen behavior (“He did it.” “No, he did it.”) found in most political discourse. I dunno if it has something to do with the crappy hours of my job or the simple fact that a vast majority of my time spent at my other job (summer camp) is spent dealing with some of the same issues found in Washington DC: children that spend a great deal of time perfecting the art of passing blame.
Just beyond the noise of progress in my own life, I have been faintly hearing more complaints about something RNC Chairman Michael Steel said and how he needs to step down. Ahh, nothing has changed. I’m glad I haven’t missed anything important (smh).
Apparently Steele’s latest crime of the century has to do with a comment he made recently at a Connecticut fundraiser suggesting that the war in Afghanistan is “a war of Obama’s choosing”.
Democrats were warned by people like Katrina vanden Heuvel, editor of The Nation back in 2008 not to make Afghanistan “their war”. In her piece, she brings up a bit of recent history that has magically been wiped off the minds of numbers of people as of late. She mentions how then Sen. Obama was calling for an end “to the war in Iraq to focus on what he calls the ‘central front in the war on terror. — Afghanistan.”
It was also the same Sen. Obama who called for a troop increase in Afghanistan in his Op-Ed piece in the NY Times almost 2 years to the day (7/14/08).
Since those days, President Obama has been true to his word by increasing US troops in that country at least several times since being elected. As President, Obama could easily withdraw all US troops if he wanted. But between him and his diehard supporters, what then President Bush was doing was wrong and Afghanistan was oh so right. Never mind the fact that June was the deadliest month for coalition troops. The lives of our troops and the civilians who have become casualties are really not worth making a big deal over. So just as it was under Bush, Obama knows full well what he is doing, so shut up.
Back to Steele: So how is what Steele said so controversial? Did not Obama take ownership of this offensive that was started by Bush? Was it not okay to define the offensive in both Iraq and Afghanistan “Bush’s war” (for those with short memories, do a quick Google search). Did not Obama tell the nation many times that instead of withdrawing (which he has the power to do and still has not exercised that power), how he would “effectively” fight this war?
Yup, this is Obama’s war. And it is about time his fan base allow him to be the President they claimed they wanted in the first place: one that would take ownership and not pass blame.
“I am the President, and the buck stops with me.” (President Barack Obama)
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