An e-mail response to that story about the candidates’ preferred games-of-chance (McCain is a craps player; Obama likes poker):
Shortly after the Iranian hostage crisis began, Pres. Carter announced that the US would not resort to military force against Iran. My initial thought was, “Has that man never played poker in his life?” (And his handling of the crisis eventually turned me into a conservative).
I actually take some comfort from the fact that Obama plays poker. I’m not much of gambler myself, but foreign policy requires some sense of weighing and taking risks.
I play poker, and all things being equal I would prefer to have a poker player in the White House. But setting a timetable for withdrawal from Iraq — the policy Obama favors — is like playing poker with your cards face-up.