Quotes of the day

“‘If you are a liberal Democrat who won the nomination with the support of the anti-war left, this had to be one of the most difficult decisions he’ll ever make,’ Gingrich said. ‘And he did what he felt was right for the country.

“‘I think he knew when he did it he was going to split his own party, and I think that took considerable courage on his part,’ he said.”

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“President Barack Obama’s speech on Tuesday night deserves to be cheered. Over the objections of his vice president and despite opposition from his political base, the president is sending an additional 30,000 troops to Afghanistan to fight terrorists…

“The Democratic Party’s antiwar faction is upset over the president’s decision. It’s almost as if they didn’t think Mr. Obama meant it when he said of Afghanistan during the presidential campaign that ‘this is a war we have to win’ and a ‘war of necessity.’…

“Fortunately, the antiwar left has little power to stop the president from making good on his commitments. Notwithstanding Mr. Obama’s vote against funding the war in Afghanistan in May 2007, the White House can win a battle over war funding by standing with a coalition of victory-centered Republicans and Democrats who don’t want their president embarrassed.”

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“‘There will be conditions,’ said Rep. John Murtha, who will manage what’s anticipated to be a $35 billion to $40 billion request for new Pentagon and State Department funding in support of the president’s policy. And the Pennsylvania Democrat believes Obama and Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) each has an interest in avoiding outright conflict that would surrender the issue to Republicans.

“‘I know Nancy is very uncomfortable if this were to pass without a majority of Democrats. Very uncomfortable,’ Murtha told POLITICO.”

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“But by specifying a date to begin troop withdrawals, Obama has placed a sword of Damocles above his own head. When July 2011 comes, the likelihood is that Afghanistan will still be, to one degree or another, an awful mess. Then Obama will need to decide whether to begin the exit or not. If he does, the right will pummel him for cutting and running before the job is complete — and in the process, risking a damaging reversion to chaos. If he does not, the left is likely to explode. Mark my words, in this scenario we might well see Obama challenged in the 2012 Democratic-nomination fight from his left.

“Sound far-fetched? Maybe, but it shouldn’t. With his speech last night, Obama took ownership of the Afghan war — and, though his arguments were more rigorous and cogent than George W. Bush’s would have been, he ended up in a distinctly 43-ish place. (His people are even calling the troop escalation a ‘surge,’ for heaven’s sake.) How long will it take before the members of Obama’s base start muttering: ‘Change, my ass’?”

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