Well said.

Just imagine what the world would look like right now if we had had thoughtful leadership for the eight years we didn't.

Most people who are overly critical of the President's desire to make smart, well-informed decisions have never been in charge of anything, much less a behemoth bureaucracy.

I don't agree with him on everything, but I respect him greatly for that.

You put into words what my gut tells me is the truth about this president. From the beginning, I figured he would not be a Progressive version of Bush (i.e. extreme, shoving policies down society's throat, etc.) despite his own Progressive leanings. I think this is a good approach, and it will pay off in the long term. At the same time, I find it fascinating that so many would-be supporters fail to see how much this administration has so far accomplished.

What I like is his willingness to take his time and look at all of his options, both inside and outside of the military. The sides have already been chosen. They're just waiting for a decision to be against, and he's not even giving them that quickly enough. Change We Can Believe In!

I just finished reading Sullivan's complete post and I have to say that he nailed it. I just wish that this was required reading for all the pinheads out there.

He talks about how;

He is allowing it to unfold within the public arena.

If this debate is to be had by the public then then the mainstream media need to do their part and present it that way. Unfortunately we all know that this is never going to happen. This needs to be discussed in backrooms and on blogs and needs to be spread.

Yep, imagine if we had McCain right now.

There would be no healthcare reform in sight.
There would be 40k troops on the way to Afghanistan.
There would be no hope for the economy.
And there would be no hope for the future.

Don't forget, there would be no stimulus either.

You're right, no stimulus. Instead, there probably would have been another huge tax cut for the wealthy which would not be used to hire more workers.

I hope this deliberative process, which is going on about Afghanistan, produces an end to this hopeless quagmire.

This is all true and very nice. And yet we are probably not going to have any real or meaningful health care reform. Again.

"...it's obvious that this president makes decisions based upon empirical analysis of known realities..."

Like, corporate power and special interests hold too much sway in Washington and there's not much that can be done

Like, America has a tradition of being an empire that should continue with acts of colonialism like the continued occupation of Afghanistan (remember, none of the four options being considered include a withdrawal option---

And that he is looking for an "exit strategy" in one or all of the options doesn't mean much because plans for Iraq had or has an "exit strategy." That "exit strategy" involves permanent military occupation in Iraq and the continued operation of one of the largest U.S. embassies in the world (an embassy that was built with slave labor).