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Obama and Afghanistan

The first question in any war must be the cost in human lives and whether the war is worth it. Still, the political effect of the Afghanistan (Af-Pak) conflict, and President Obama’s Nobel Prize acceptance speech, cannot be completely ignored. Is Obama straying too far from his base, and will it cost him in future elections?

Yes and no. By sending more troops to Afghanistan, and seeming to adopt the Bush-ean concept of a just war in his Nobel speech, the President has certainly moved toward the political middle or even right rather more than expected.  Undoubtedly some on the left will be disappointed, and may choose to sit on the 2010 elections to the Democrats’ detriment, in Pennsylvania and other states.

But I doubt it will hurt him much in the long run. Basically, Obama is taking a principled stand, one which I think most people on both sides of the aisle appreciate. Unlike (say) health care or the stimulus bill, he’s pretty clearly following his own lead rather than that of Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid, or other Democratic power brokers.

The bottom line, as I’ve suggested before, is that Obama remains an inexperienced but also a creative leader, difficult to pigeonhole and—whatever happens in 2010—likely to prove more resilient than many in both parties currently expect. Or at very least, less predictable.

December 15, 2009 at 2:39 pm

--Michael Livingston

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