For the past several months Democratic Presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama has been repeatedly and doggedly hounded by broadcast and print media journalists and correspondents to answer their persistent and lingering question of him, and that is, “Why won’t you admit that the ’Surge’ is working? Barack Obama has continually praised the performance of the troops in Iraq while doing so under very difficult and dangerous circumstances, as well as their bravery, patriotism, heroism, and other such platitudes, but not once has he admitted that the ‘Surge’ is succeeding. Senator John McCain was in support of the Surge and Sen. Barack Obama was not in favor of it. Instead of Barack admitting that he is not ‘Nostradamus’ and no one can predict how these things will eventually turn out; still he will not acknowledge that he didn’t get this one right. In fact, the success in Iraq has nothing to do with McCain or Obama but with the successful implementation of military strategy at the Pentagon level and by the Field-Commanders and soldiers in Iraq.
For Barack Obama, the issue may be one of ‘character’ because the American people have been through 8 years of a President who never admitted to mistakes and now it seems, we might be on the verge of electing another man to sit in the Oval Office who is unwilling to admit that he can’t be wrong, also. Senator Obama has to realize that he isn’t going to get it right every time, but he needs to have the moral courage, fortitude, and integrity to admit this to himself, learn the lessons from unforeseen consequences and make better decisions in the future. It is not a matter of McCain wins and he loses because we all lose if Barack is the type of man who is driven by ego, and relishes in his own almost international Rock-Star, Celeb-type political high as opposed to a life of humble public service and leadership. Barack Obama has to accept the responsibility that he has raised the bar in American political discourse and he is going to have to live up to some very lofty expectations; and if he cannot, then he has no one else to blame but himself.
Robert Randle
776 Commerce St. #B-11
Tacoma, WA 98402
August 30, 2008
pbks@hotmail.com
