Today the President will meet with the General he appointed to head up the war in Afghanistan after firing the previous general, David McKiernan, in 2008. The reason for the meeting was disparaging remarks made by the General Stanley McChrystal and his staff about the President and White House advisors. The general and his team granted extraordinary access to a reporter for Rolling Stone, including what appeared to be a well-lubricated night at an Irish bar in Paris.
That led to some catty comments about the president and other civilians officials that have now gone viral.
Relations between the Pentagon and the White House are up in the air, especially when the president is a Democrat without military experience. Obama must assess how soldiers in the field might react to a change in command, and their impression of how McChrystal is being treated.
And by the way: Any successor to McChrystal would have to be confirmed by the Senate. Hearings could produce even more distractions for Obama and his Afghanistan team.
As if that weren’t enough, the President has taken some heat for his time spent on the golf course and social appearances with one of the Beatles with so many national and international crises facing him.
The Gulf catastrophe, Iran’s movement toward nuclear weapons, Israel’s blockade of Gaza, the continuing economic stagnation, his proposal for a carbon tax, immigration reform, his falling approval rate …. the list goes on and on.
More bad news for the President happened last evening in primary elections as anti-big government hopefuls won majority votes. Prosecutor Trey Gowdy has just made six-term incumbent Rep. Bob Inglis the fifth congressional incumbent to fall prey to this year's anti-incumbent tide.
Gowdy has defeated the veteran South Carolina lawmaker in a runoff for the GOP nomination, the Associated Press reports.
Other congressional incumbents fired by the voters this year: Reps. Alan Mollohan, D-W.Va. and Parker Griffith, R-Ala., and Sens. Arlen Specter, D-Pa., and Bob Bennett, R-Utah. Another House incumbent, Republican Gresham Barrett, fell at the hands of South Carolina voters Tuesday: Barrett was running for the GOP gubernatorial nomination and lost to Nikki Haley.
Let’s see…four months to go before mid-term general elections. Can the President keep the House from falling? Not likely. It’s all in the cards he’s played and continues to play.
Ed Hahnenberg
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