Obamapalooza

A few thoughts about coverage of the World Obamathon.

First, I've heard many times now that Obama was "either smart or lucky" to have embraced a 16 month timetable and then have it endorsed by al Maliki and the Iraqis generally. As if no one could have guessed that the Iraqis wanted us to get the hell out ASAP. As if no one could have thought that the Iraqis might be more willing to take advantage of Bush's lame duckery than say American pols or reporters. What a bubble mentality. Has anyone been reading those polls of Iraqi opinion over the last, I dunno, 5 years! It doesn't take a genius to recognize that, once you dropped the silly Bush/GOP line about Iraq's endless supply of rose petals, a relatively quick withdrawal would look pretty good to our Jeffersonian friends in Baghdad. (Note to self: "Jeffersonian democracy" celebrated independence as virtue and eschewed foreign entanglements.)

Second, isn't it funny how a week ago every single press report on the Obama trip claimed it was fraught with minefields or walking on a highwire, and now every single press report claims that he had a pretty "low bar" to hurdle and that he seems to have just barely done it. True, Obama does make it look easy.

Finally, I loved Chris Matthews's repeated pitch, made after each early visit (Kabul, Iraq, Israel, etc.) about how Obama had done so well he should just call it a vacay and head for home. Yeah, we wouldn't want him to blow his chances by trying to deliver a speech in front of 200,000 adoring Germans waving American flags. Who knows if that guy can deliver a speech? It might make him look small.