Pages: 1 2 |
|
 Print This Post
|
Like his “it-all-depends-what-the meaning-of-’course’-is” argument, Reid’s interpretation of General Petraeus’ position and his willingness to accept his counsel both seem highly selective:
Or perhaps a little more bluntly:
But these are quibbling matters. Whether or not General Petraeus was on board, the point is Reid was really advocating a more nuanced approach, which he explained, in full detail, the day after the more famous speech.
(Note: I realize the prospect of listening to Harry Reid for seven minutes is right up there with going downtown to watch haircuts, so those of you who want to cut to the blow-dry might want to jump to the last minute or so.)
Okay, perhaps not as detailed as we would have liked but at least he made sure, over and over again, that we got the generalities. (Note to Harry: Repeating oneself is bad enough, repeating vague platitudes about “failed-policies-of-the-past-and-the-need-for-a-new-strategy”– like someone else we know — is downright pathetic.)
Anyway, Harry’s solution, while short on details, still speaks volumes: re-involve (say) the United Nations and other spectacularly successful diplomatic initiatives (speaking of policies of the past), enlist the aid of the Iraqis themselves (which had always been part Petraeus’ plan) and schedule a drawdown of troops at precisely the same time the surge was working. That last point, for anybody paying attention, was the money shot. Everything else was filler.
This, in a nutshell, is how Harry Reid won the war. It’s regrettable that President Obama didn’t single him out in his Iraq speech, but perhaps he’s still smarting from the “light-skinned” and “no Negro dialect, unless he wanted to have one” remarks Reid made about him in his book.
Presumably Harry’s people will shortly be issuing an explanation on that one too, something like:
At the time of writing Sen. Reid was deeply concerned with dermatological issues and cultural linguistics as it pertained to minorities. He was simply pointing out what Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton and Robert Byrd had been saying for months regarding then candidate Obama’s qualifications for office. This finally forced candidate Obama to abandon the failed policies of the past, so evident in his books, of overtly blaming white America — in very dark-skinned and Negro dialectal fashion — for all the problems of the world and position himself instead is kind of a mixed race Henry Fonda.
Given the sheer volume of Senator Reid’s gaffes, missteps, outright fabrications and slanders—all very much part of the public record–his staff should expect to be very busy issuing such statements for a while… at least until mid-November.
(HT: Weasel Zippers)
