Obama and Af-Pak

THIS MORNING I caught up on Obama's speech outlining his plans for Afghanistan/Pakistan. Liberals are howling disapproval and the right-wing is trashing his tone and 'lack of commitment' (shocker!). Basically it looks like he's pissed-off everyone with this speech. When you factor in the huge mess he was handed by the last Administration, it sounds to me that he hit a home run.

Afghanistan is not Iraq and it would do everyone some good to remember that. Iraq was a war manufactured by the Bush Administration and the focus on that war for the past 5 years has come at the expense of efforts in Afghanistan. The new -- dare I say it -- surge is not what Obama wanted to do, but it's what he things must be done.

What I now want to see is how the left and right respond to his decision. The right-wingers used to love to chastize the left for criticizing Bush during a time a war (they even called it Un-American). Let's see if they can resist ripping Obama at every turn during this new phase of the conflict. I wouldn't bet on it!