The Splurge

President Obama was in town today, to the delight of the minority of Arizonans, to discuss his plan to resuscitate the housing market. This bothers some conservative commentators, who accuse of him of continuing his campaign, as opposed to staying in Washington. They cluck about the burden on the taxpayers who have to pay for this whistle-stop American tour.

As usual, they have their shoes on the wrong feet. After all, Obama's predecessor did set the record for the most vacation time ever taken by a sitting president; at least the gentleman from Illinois is getting some work done.

However you may feel about his policies, Barack Obama has achieved one remarkable thing, that being the way we no longer think about the war in Iraq. Bush had "the surge". Obama has "The Splurge".

Whether the surge worked or not, Republicans will always seek to claim credit for success in the war in Iraq. (If a kid flunks third grade three times, should his parents throw him a party when he finally graduates?) Conversely, to the extent that it works, Democrats will be able to own The Splurge. The GOP, remember, wanted no part of it.

With this first stimulus bill being signed into law, the United States has committed more money to our flagging economy than we've spent on the war in Iraq in nearly six years. The shock and awe of that reality ought not distract us from Bush's disastrous errors.

Our troops are still being forced to act like cops, kicking in doors, handcuffing the bad guys. That's a waste of resources - let the Iraqis do that. The surge worked, remember? Get out of there already, and if their society can't deal with freedom after this much time has passed, is that really our fault anymore?

We should not be slogging through our seventh year of a pointless occupation of Iraq, and Afghanistan's significance is fleeting as well (at least as far as our national consciousness is concerned). Let the neighbors of those countries bear responsibility for their respective regional security, with clear consequences attached.

Whatever else Obama does with regard to our military, another thing should also be clear: The Commander in Chief calls the shots. Anyone in uniform who wants to argue policy differences with the White House, even if his name is David Petraeus, should be shown the door.

Americans overwhelmingly support a drawdown of troops in Iraq. We're funny that way. Call it "The Urge", and put in on top of the pile in our new president's in-box.

pH 2.18.o9