The problem with the speech tonight is that it largely still focused on the past. “Here’s what we’ve done.” And while I’m happy to cheer the unreported good news from Iraq thus far, the political problem is that people believe the situation in Iraq is going the wrong way. Driving us back down that road doesn’t help.
I was hoping to hear a more forward-looking conversation, not one that dealt with cleaning up past problems. Nobody doubts the president’s resolve. He’s not going to quit.
The question was “How are we going to win.” His answer seemed to be “We already are.” I’m not sure there are many takers for that argument.