Obama's Surge Squirm

The success of the surge has been a “pain in the you know what” for Barack Obama. Katie Couric over at CBS drilled him on it by asking three straight questions about it because she didn’t understand how he could still be against the surge even though it worked. Click here for the whole interview and judge for yourself. Obama has taken his lumps for it but I guess he figures that’s better than reversing himself on the surge and looking plain wrong in his assessment. Obama tries to argue the surge was successful not JUST because of increased military presence. He points to a number of other factors but the average American doesn’t pick up all of that. They see it as much simpler than that so Obama can make his argument about how other elements came together too but there’s a certain tune out factor.

Look, I can already write the script for the first presidential debate. Obama will be hammered by McCain on how he didn’t support the surge and then refused to acknowledge its success. Obama will counter that this war should never have been waged in the first place and he was right on that. He’ll also play the “Maliki Card” by saying the Prime Minister of Iraq agrees with his time frame of withdrawal.

This all comes down to judgment. Will the American people be comfortable enough with Obama sitting in the Oval Office making these crucial foreign policy decisions? More broadly, this election is about Barack Obama. It has always been about Barack Obama. Ultimately Americans are going to have to decide whether they trust him as Commander in Chief. The McCain camp hammers him on lack of experience and judgment everyday. Will it take its toll on Obama by November?

In the meantime, a toast! Click here for the drink of choice.