Spin it to win it

President Barack Obama has been utterly shameless in his willingness to assign blame for the country's woes. Whenever he drones on about America's economic woes, inevitably he'll mention the tax cuts, two wars and prescription drug benefit that were enacted before he took office. Never mind the fact that it took him 2-1/2 years to accomplish what President Bush did in eight, which is increase our national debt by $4 trillion. Facts are for mere peasants apparently.

But what's really galling is the President having the temerity to spin the drawdown of US forces in Iraq by the end of 2011 as his keeping one of his "central promises." That's all fine and good, except for one minor flaw. You see, it was President George W. Bush who, in 2008, negotiated withdrawal of our troops by the end of 2011. Also conveniently omitted from President Obama's announcement was the fact he had attempted to negotiate an extended stay beyond 2011. So instead of being humbled by his failure to secure an action deemed necessary by many American military officials, the Obama campaign sent out the following spin letter this past Saturday.

Friend –

I’m James Kvaal, the new policy director for President Obama’s 2012 campaign. You’ll be hearing from me occasionally about the President’s policies and those of our opponents, and how we can all help bring about change for our country.

Yesterday, we accomplished one major change when President Obama announced that all American troops in Iraq will be home before the holidays (but only after you failed to keep them there longer. - ed.).

With that action, the Iraq war will end. And one of the President’s central promises will have been kept (But who knows how y'all would have spun this had you successfully negotiated to keep U.S. forces in Iraq into 2012. I'm sure you would've figured something out, because you think the electorate has short memories. Ah heck, let's be honest. You would've just blamed Bush - ed.).

Both as Americans and as supporters of President Obama, this is something for us to reflect on, and be proud of.

The war in Iraq was a divisive, defining issue in our country for nearly nine years, and was the catalyst for many Americans to get involved in politics for the first time.

Now, thanks to the actions of this President (Uhhhhh, I'm sorry. WHICH President?!?! Let me remind you - ed.), we can say that conflict is coming to a close.

The end of this war reflects a larger transition in our foreign policy as, in the President’s words, “the tide of war is receding.” The drawdown in Iraq has allowed us to refocus on the fight against al Qaeda, even as we begin to bring troops home from Afghanistan. And of course, this week also marked the definitive end of the Qaddafi regime in Libya (Ahhh. So regime change is now OK, huh? Good to know - ed.).

These outcomes are an example of what happens when a leader sets a plan and sees it through (Yes, thank you, President Bush! - ed.). In the last campaign, the President committed to getting American troops home while leaving behind a stable and secure Iraq. You rallied around that vision, and now that promise has been fulfilled (However, if sectarian violence is ratcheted up once again, as some military officials fear will be the case, I think you know where the blame will be placed - ed.).

On behalf of this campaign and supporters of the President across the country, I want to thank the more than 1 million Americans who have served in Iraq (Finally something in this letter that isn't complete bilge - ed.), and all those who worked to make this possible

Thanks,

James

James Kvaal
Policy Director
Obama for America

I don't know about you, but I find it so incredibly arrogant that this administration so blatantly tries to spin its failures as something that is good for this country. God help us all.

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