Remember the old Beatles’s song “Nowhere Man?” Our bold “Campaign Obama” has morphed into a real “Middle Man.” In health care reform, he’s let the rightwingnuts dictate the conversation (shouting match) and America will be lucky to get a watered-down health care bill, one that will have insurance executives guffawing and salivating all the way to their offshore bonus-infused banks. In Afghanistan, the Generals are licking their blood-thirsty lips for more vampire-fodder; Gen. McChrystal’s Ball at first saw the need for 20,000 additional troops, then when he detected Administration and Congressional hesitation, foresaw the need for 40,000; and now with Joe Biden’s honest assessment of American futility in that stone-age land, the General is saying he’ll need 80,000 additional troops for what Obama has described as our “war of necessity.” WWII….a war or necessity, but Afghanistan? I don’t think even Bush ever described Iraq in such unequivocal terms. Why is Obama even taking so long to come to a decision on McChrystal’s future blood needs if this is a “war of necessity.” Hell, if so, then let’s ramp up America WWII-style and bomb Afghanistan back to the stone age. Oh, yeah, it’s already that.
Obama is quietly and regrettably dissolving into an amorphous decision-making blob. The “Decider” he ain’t. More and more he straddles the middle of the road, seemingly unwilling to offend, always seeking affirmation disguised as bipartisanship. To paraphrase old Texan democrat Jim Hightower, the only things you’ll find in the middle of the road are yellow lines and dead skunks. As they say, (this phrase is a candidate for most overused cliche of 2009), Mr. Obama, “grow a pair.” If you do, at least you should be happy that they’ll be right where you like them: in the middle.
With apologies to the Beatles…just substitute Middle, for Nowhere…like this:
He’s a real middle man,
Sitting in his Middle Land,
Making all his middle plans
for middletons.
Doesn’t have a point of view,
Knows not where he’s going to,
Isn’t he a bit like you and me?
(hell, No!)
Middle Man, please listen,
You don’t know what you’re missing,
Middle Man, the world is at your command!
He’s as blind as he can be,
Just sees what everyone wants to see,
Middle Man can you see me at all?
Middle Man, don’t worry,
Take your time, don’t hurry,
Leave it all till somebody else
lends you a hand!
Making all his Middle plans
for nobody.
Making all his Middle plans
for nobody!
Mediaize 
Unfortunately, looks like you're right. He's got 60 votes, maybe, but seems afraid to use them. The seduction of Olympia was downright tawdry. Maybe the Insuance Lobby will shoot themselves in the foot again and push this thing over the top.
“Three Cups of Tea” has changed my mind about pulling out of A. We really need to stop the Taliban there. We're just using the wrong approach, as usual. Far better and probably cheaper to buy our way into the hearts and minds with real aid, than spend the money on warfare and spend the lives of our soldiers.
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I'm not sure where the comment above was going! Did Mortenson and his book change his or her mind in favor of withdrawing our troops or did it have a supporting effect on the need to STOP the Taliban.I'm not sure Mortenson's idea of promoting peace one school at a time involves 68,000, possibly 108,000 American soldiers to do the job.I think he said ” if you fight terrorism it's based in fear, if you promote peace, it's based in hope”.You cannot expect peace while dropping bombs and white phosphorus on the general public. I say take “three tokes of H” and get the hell out!
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