To your metaphor - I think another problem is that Obama doesn’t even fit it.
Chess masters - any kind of strategist, really - wouldn’t telegraph to his opponent what he plans on doing.
Obama, of course, thinks that foreign policy negotiation and diplomacy is akin to an episode of Oprah, where he is more than happy to gush.
If I were a serious Commander-in-Chief of a purely antiwar bent who truly wanted to get the US out of the mistake of Iraq, I still would never publicly talk timelines and demand such obvious strategic concessions in the face of an enemy calculating his move on every word I say.
Obama’s trip and his clumsy comments don’t demonstrate any kind of strategic cunning to me.
CNN were fawning all over Obama today, but lets get real. Obama militated against our strategy on Iraq right from the beginning. Thanks to people not following his plans he has been able to step in and reap the benefits derived from people not listening to him.
Obama has been very presumptuous too. Events on the ground could very well overtake his schemes. There is still the aftermath of the attack on Iran to deal with. The recent American participation in the talks with the Iranians over their nuclear progam was an ultimatum which the Iranians have ignored.
If Obama becomes president he is going to have to deal with events is not capable of dealing with.
[quote]thunderbolt23 wrote:
I think you overstate his case.
He is in the Middle East because of criticism that he is out of touch with the situation there. His move is defensive and reactive. That doesn’t mean it was necessarily bad - but it wasn’t original or all that canny.
Moreover, Obama isn’t helping his Commander-in-Chief prospects by making a ton of pronouncements about Iraq and Afghanistan prior to going over there, a mistake McCain has been exploiting.
Obama, since maybe the Iowa primaries, has been a reactive politician. McCain hasn’t done much to capitalize on it - I think he is waiting on the respective conventions to take place before he begins to get more aggressive - and yet, Obama should be much further ahead in the polls.[/quote]
Cleary a very liberal black man “should” be much further ahead in the polls. Yes, that squares with the wingnut logic in here.
[quote]Zap Branigan wrote:
He is only perceived as being a sharp politician because of the media fawning all over him. If they would turn a critical eye to him he wouldn’t look like a political genius anymore.[/quote]
Also compared to the other candidate, he seems to know what the hell he’s talking about. McCain, not so much, hence the gaffes, and policy contradictions. McCain doesn’t study, and doesn’t run a tight ship, so he seems clumsy and confused. (Being factually wrong on simple stuff doesn’t help either.)
Also again, we are talking about a very liberal black man running for president who is ahead in the polls of the media’s candidate, mccain. (note the media tries its best to cover for mccain when he flubs—not so much with Obama)
Cleary a very liberal black man “should” be much further ahead in the polls. Yes, that squares with the wingnut logic in here.[/quote]
You wouldn’t recognize logic if it caught on fire and landed in your lap. I do, however, give you credit for completing a sentence, which I know has been a goal of yours.
It’s convenient therapy to blame Obama’s lack of success - at this point, and in the future, if he doesn’t win - as racism holding him back. As usual, the stupid liberal-left - but I repeat myself - will blame anything…anything…other than the substantive weaknesses of the candidate.
You did get one thing right, however - Obama is very liberal, and without a doubt, that will be a drag on the Messiah’s goal of becoming President of the US.
[quote]100meters wrote:
Zap Branigan wrote:
He is only perceived as being a sharp politician because of the media fawning all over him. If they would turn a critical eye to him he wouldn’t look like a political genius anymore.
Also compared to the other candidate, he seems to know what the hell he’s talking about. McCain, not so much, hence the gaffes, and policy contradictions. McCain doesn’t study, and doesn’t run a tight ship, so he seems clumsy and confused. (Being factually wrong on simple stuff doesn’t help either.)
[/quote]
Obama has had fewer gaffes in large part because his organization is much more careful in controlling media access. Neither candidate speaks with a whole lot of substance about most issues, even their signature ones and I think this may even be to a somewhat greater extent than normal. Obama is all flash and very little substance while McCain is low flash, low substance. Regardless of the personal positions of the reporters and news directors, Obama would get more coverage anyway because he’s simply more telegenic.
[quote]etaco wrote:
I wonder what his plans are for the Iraq-Pakistan border situation.[/quote]
zing. I think many of the other Rep Candidates could have beaten Obama handily. I think the election is McCain’s lose and that he has a very good chance of losing it. There are so many holes in Obamas campaign and they are not being exploited. McCain is just not coming off as very sharp or aggressive.
“…There are so many holes in Obamas campaign and they are not being exploited…”
That’s EXACTLY what I’m not understanding, DH!
Why???
In another thread, I proposed that the Republicans are being sort of quiet and “un-Republican” like (think of the almost daily barrage that Clinton got not only when running, but when he was in office).
No controversial Op-Ed pieces; no “blow-away” revelations; I even mentioned that Anne Coulter was being very UN-Coulter-ish!
It’s hard to buy COMPLETELY the “Liberal Media” control issue (although I’m sure it comes into play).
[quote]Mick28 wrote:
Mufasa wrote:
“…There are so many holes in Obamas campaign and they are not being exploited…”
That’s EXACTLY what I’m not understanding, DH!
Why???
In another thread, I proposed that the Republicans are being sort to quiet and “un-Republican” like (think of the almost daily barrage that Clinton got not only when running, but when he was in office).
No controversial Op-Ed pieces; no “blow-away” revelations; I even mentioned that Anne Coulter was being very UN-Coulter-ish!
It’s hard to buy COMPLETELY the “Liberal Media” control issue (although I’m sure it comes into play).
Mufasa
Psst…Mufasa did it ever occur to you that the right wants Obama to win this one? Think about it.
Contrast with the constant protests everywhere Bush goes. Seeing how McCain is yet-another-Bush as far as non-Americans are concerned, it’s fair to assume that he wouldn’t have been made so welcome by Germans. He certainly wouldn’t have drawn up anywhere close to Obama’s figure.
As phony as it is, the guy managed to sell the “hope” and change" piece masterfully.
Contrast with the constant protests everywhere Bush goes. Seeing how McCain is yet-another-Bush as far as non-Americans are concerned, it’s fair to assume that he wouldn’t have been made so welcome by Germans. He certainly wouldn’t have drawn up anywhere close to Obama’s figure.
As phony as it is, the guy managed to sell the “hope” and change" piece masterfully.[/quote]
Sometimes I can’t even beleive what I’m seeing. I can’t get over what a bunch of idiots we have become. The turnout internationally makes me feel a little better knowing the rest of world is losing its intellegence as fast as we are over here.
The other thing that bothers me is that this was supposed to be a fact finding mission. It’s far from it. It’s a series of political rallies and a freshman senator pretending to be the president. He’s already negotiating with other world leaders? A freshman senator. I can’t recall seeing anything like this.
I am going to go ram my head into the wall.
I absolutly can’t believe this guy has a shot at the presidency at this point in his career. As much as I detest the Clintons…I am not even going to say it.
It’s pretty apparent that the Republicans are going to have some amazing Obama images to overcome if they are going to hit him with the experience card.
There is NO WAY that parts of that Berlin speech are not showing up during the campaign.
Interestingly, the “Chess Master” strategically decided to have rock concert in Berlin, but opted not to visit wounded soldiers in Landstuhl and Ramstein.
The military installations have rules regarding the bringing of a campaign entourage and the taking of photos:
[i]A U.S. military official tells NBC News they were making preparations for Sen. Barack Obama to visit wounded troops at the Landstuhl Medical Center at Ramstein, Germany on Friday, but “for some reason the visit was called off.”
One military official who was working on the Obama visit said because political candidates are prohibited from using military installations as campaign backdrops, Obama’s representatives were told, “he could only bring two or three of his Senate staff member, no campaign officials or workers.” In addition,
“Obama could not bring any media. Only military photographers would be permitted to record Obama’s visit.”
The official said “We didn’t know why” the request to visit the wounded troops was withdrawn. “He (Obama) was more than welcome. We were all ready for him.”[/i]
Obama spokesperson’s answer:
The senator decided out of respect for these servicemen and women that it would be inappropriate to make a stop to visit troops at a U.S. military facility as part of a trip funded by the campaign.
[quote]thunderbolt23 wrote:
Interestingly, the “Chess Master” strategically decided to have rock concert in Berlin, but opted not to visit wounded soldiers in Landstuhl and Ramstein.
The military installations have rules regarding the bringing of a campaign entourage and the taking of photos:
[i]A U.S. military official tells NBC News they were making preparations for Sen. Barack Obama to visit wounded troops at the Landstuhl Medical Center at Ramstein, Germany on Friday, but “for some reason the visit was called off.”
One military official who was working on the Obama visit said because political candidates are prohibited from using military installations as campaign backdrops, Obama’s representatives were told, “he could only bring two or three of his Senate staff member, no campaign officials or workers.” In addition,
“Obama could not bring any media. Only military photographers would be permitted to record Obama’s visit.”
The official said “We didn’t know why” the request to visit the wounded troops was withdrawn. “He (Obama) was more than welcome. We were all ready for him.”[/i]
Obama spokesperson’s answer:
The senator decided out of respect for these servicemen and women that it would be inappropriate to make a stop to visit troops at a U.S. military facility as part of a trip funded by the campaign.
[/quote]
What a fucking dick…He couldn’t get face time on the TV so he said fuck the troops. It’s nice to know the military can count on their commander in chief.
He’s my new swear word, which is perfect timing because I need to go take an ‘obama’.