How Obama Lost The Election

by Spengler - September 3rd, 2008 - Asia Times

I sat in on a session with three leaders of Veterans for Obama, a group of retired young officers who had served in Iraq and Afghanistan, courtesy of the New Republic's writer on the scene, David Samuels. With passion and enthusiasm, these young people spoke of their hopes for nation-building in Iraq. The George W. Bush administration should have put twice the resources into the beleaguered country, they harangued me - not just soldiers, but agronomists, traffic cops, lawyers, judges, and physicians. The Department of Agriculture should have mobilized, along with the Department of Justice.

Nation-building? Doubling down on the US commitment to Iraq? Isn't that trying to out-Bush the Bush administration, while Obama campaigned on getting out of Iraq and spending the money on programs at home? Unblinking, one of the soldiers said, "That's [their program] what we think Barack will do." They believed in a more expensive version of the administration's program, and faulted Bush for half measures - and somehow they believed that Obama really agreed with them, all the public evidence to the contrary. And they believed in Barack with perfect faith.

This is an amazing article. It absolutely savages Barack Obama. I don't know the author, however he does not appear to be someone who has a political agenda. I would be curious to know if that is simply careful positioning or if he really is unbiased.

To some extent I am surprised at the conclusion when contrasted with the paragraph above about the young officers. I too have observed people who clearly disagree with Obama's plans on some issue express total belief that he agrees with them as these men do. How does Obama manage that? How can people get so mesmerized with his voice that they do not register what he is saying. It may be a lot of allusion, but the meaning is clear. Yet smart people seem to be able to ignore the clear meaning and rapturously believe that their desires are Obama's desires.

The point Spengler makes at the end of the article seems especially important for someone with the power of oratory that Obama displays. Barack Obama passed up picking Hillary Clinton because his wife dominates him and he is weak. No matter whether you agree with Obama or not, it is clear he had a better chance to win with Clinton than with Biden. So how can Obama convince himself that Biden is a good choice?

I find it hard to argue with Spengler's conclusion. It is because he is weak. Like Spengler I am convinced that the American people can smell weakness. I have recently started to believe that McCain has a chance after all. Earlier this year a couple of people expressed the opinion that the election was Obama's to lose. More and more it looks like he is finding a way to lose.