I was watching CNN coverage of the Gates hearing for a little while today. And if you let CNN be the guide, the most newsworthy aspect to all the issues covered today for the incoming Sec Def is that he said we're not winning the war in Iraq.
If you recall, just before the election, our esteemed President said we were winning.
Stop the presses! We've got a hot one! Sec Def is using a different set of talking points! Oh, well, I guess there's no telling what dynamic bureaucratic in-plays are in store between the Pentagon and 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue now!
I can't believe this is passing for news. My question is who cares? We've known for a long time that the President is either delusional or believes that the entire war effort rests on his ability - nay, his will to express boundless optimism in the face of overwhelming contrary evidence. It doesn't matter what's there. It doesn't matter if the magical pony is waiting for you when you wake up in the morning. It only matters that you believe it's there and that the morning is just around the corner. So I'm not surprised the President wants to say we're winning and continues to do so.
And I'm not surprised the new Sec Def is taking a different tack. The only question is does it really matter that they have different talking points?
Why are the media so obsessed with talking points? Why do they dwell so much on the process of politics and not the policy? Everything, I mean absolutely everything, is a horse race.
Joe Klein criticized Barack Obama the other day for saying we should set a timetable for troop withdrawal. He didn't criticize the idea, which he said may be the right idea. He criticized Obama for saying it. Oh, this makes him look weak on national security! This sure will hurt Obama's chances in the Red States!
This is what kills me about the debate on Iraq. Everyone's so focused on coming up with a "face-saving" policy for those who supported the war and one that the President will accept. To echo Matt Yglesias here, maybe we should, you know, um, focus on the best policy for the United States and not worry so much about people's political careers. Maybe instead of finding a face-saving policy we should find a troop-saving policy.
And maybe the media should stop worrying about its political power play coverage. Stop talking about the horse race. Let's talk about minimum wage. Let's talk about the donut hole in prescription drug benefits. Or how about we stop debating what to call the war in Iraq and start talking about people's ideas about what to do in Iraq? Start educating the country. I'm pretty sure people don't need Candy Crowley to pucker her face and find innumerable ways to end words with "-fest" (wonk-fest, love-fest, hate-fest, etc.).
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