David Ignatius: Obama is criticized for right result on Syria

[flpoljunkie]

Be sure not to miss the comments about John McCain near the end.

Obama is criticized for right result on Syria

By David Ignatius, Published: September 18

How did it happen that, less than a year after Barack Obama convincingly won reelection, his every move as president now draws hoots and catcalls from nearly every point on the political spectrum?

Perhaps his Syria policy really is a story of “epic incompetence,” as Charles Krauthammer opined last week. Maybe he has an “unbelievably small” presidency, as Marc Thiessen commented, or that no one is afraid of him, as Ruth Marcus argued. And that’s just a sampling of opinion from my colleagues at The Post.

What’s puzzling about this latest bout of Obama-phobia is that recent developments in Syria have generally been positive from the standpoint of U.S. interests.

Obama has accomplished goals that most Americans endorse, given the unpalatable menu of choices. Polls suggest that the public overwhelmingly backs the course Obama has chosen. APost-ABC News surveyasked Americans if they endorsed the U.S.-Russian plan to dismantle Syrian chemical weapons as an alternative to missile strikes; 79 percent were supportive.

more...

http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/david-ignatius-obama-is-criticized-for-right-result-on-syria/2013/09/18/b2a08acc-1ffb-11e3-b7d1-7153ad47b549_story.html

[JoePhilly]

1. David seems unaware that the media is always running two versions of events.

One version takes a right wing perspective, and then uses it to attack the President from the right.

The other version takes a left wing perspective, and then uses it to attack the President from the left.

That's why the President, on the same show, will be called "weak" from a RW pundit, and then "warmonger" by the LW pundit.

That's how we come to learn that the President is a Socialist and also a Corporatist.

How we come to know that he hates the rich, and that he also hates the poor.

The caricatures are used to grab eyeballs. And the media doesn't really care which version an individual selects to include in their own determinations.

And that's how we reach a point at which Syria turns out better than most predicted, but clearly that outcome can not be thanks to anything the Obama administration actually did.

That's the one thing the right and the left agree on.

[TwilightGardener]

2. Amen.

[karynnj]

5. I think it has gotten worse since the election

The right wing is as negative as ever - but angrier because they genuinely thought Obama would be out. Most of the left before the election was less negative as they had a vested interest in Obama winning re-election.

I would have thought that the left would still have a vested interest in backing Obama now - for the sake of 2014 and even 2016. I wonder if they are seeing more the possibility of the Democrats actually running away from Obama in 2016 -- as the Republicans did with Bush in 2008.

However, Hillary Clinton is the 2016 candidate of something like 65% of Democrats - higher than the 45% - 50% she had this time in the 2008 cycle. On the issue the left has been most critical of - NSA and Syria - her position was not closer to the left.

I know that Ruth Marcus has been extremely strong in her praise for Hillary Clinton. So, it could even be that some are backing essentially the Obama policies - but are attacking Obama for personal leadership flaws that they see.

[bigwillq]

3. Newsflash: Presidents get criticized all the time.

Whether it's warranted or not. Part of the job.

[Liberal_Stalwart71]

4. No different than here on DU where President Obama never gets credit for

anything he does, no matter what it is. Same shit, different day.

[Stellar]

6. here, here!