So my sincere hope—and it is sincere, with no political agenda (for what it’s worth, I think following the advice I’m about to give would help you politically)—is that you don’t begin your remarks tomorrow night, as you did your weekly address Saturday, by taking credit for fulfilling a campaign promise. Your oath as president was to “preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States,” and it is in that capacity that you now make foreign policy judgments, not as a former candidate keeping well- or ill-considered campaign promises.

When you speak tomorrow, you might also do what you neglected to do Saturday: You might praise General Ray Odierno, who, with General David Petraeus, turned the war in Iraq around in an amazing feat of generalship, and then did a terrific job of managing, under your direction, a delicate drawdown and transfer or responsibility to our Iraqi partners.

I trust you will also—as you didn’t Saturday—praise the Iraqis who fought and died alongside us. And I trust you will—by contrast with Saturday—spend more time praising our servicemen and women for their performance and their valor, than assuring them that we stand ready to help them overcome challenges when they come home (as we of course do).