can y’all smell what pres obama’s cooking?

[kpete]

Can Y’all smell What Pres Obama’s cooking?
by @zizii2

No I’m not talking about the acrid smell of Boehner’s singeing flesh as he roasts in PBO’s Veto threats as well as the bonfire that is Congress. That is subject for another diary. No, I’m talking about PBO’s Foreign Policy chestnuts roasting beautifully.

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He says it all the time:
“We can’t prevent all evil in the world, but how we choose to respond, that’s entirely up to us“.

****

This is a trait many on the left have vilified PBO for especially when he decided not to haul GWB, Cheney and the GOP cabal through hearings for lying us into a disastrous war in Iraq. The left has never forgiven him for that. PBO always operates with the simple question, how does that backward glance actually make things better for those who are in pain NOW and tomorrow. And that also confounds beltway stenographers (as Chuck Todd unhelpfully reminded us yesterday).

So with that principle in mind. It’s getting clearer that PBO sees many of the world’s hot conflicts as being irresolvable because of fear of losing face than on any real intractable substance. Conflicts fester because no one wants to take the risk to get on the dancefloor lest they expose their vulnerable flank. At the most basic level world civilizations and high and mighty rulers in their guts have never grown past kindergarten behavior.

****

Syria as precursor

The world watched Pres Obama take a risk by holding off military strikes against Syria and be mocked for being “weak” by myopic political adversaries, so-called allies, and the entire American corporate commentariat. More importantly PBO did not react to the mockery by reversing his position to show stupid machismo. Stuck to his goal.


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Much, much more for us who are aching for some positive perspective:
http://theobamadiary.com/2013/09/19/can-yall-smell-what-pres-obamas-cooking/#comment-832876

[DevonRex]

1. All you have to do is WAIT A MINUTE before you jump on the negative bandwagon.

THINK FOR A FEW MINUTES about the possible moves and the possible outcomes.
If you are aching for a positive perspective, then for the love of god, STOP CREATING A NEGATIVE ONE.

Foreign policy especially has always been a dance of enticement and threat, of reward and sanction. When the US and Russia are involved we have really good history to learn from. It's math in the form of art.

Both countries are proud and strong. This is how it is played between us. This is actually how we honor each other. The recognition of each other's strength and allowing one to save face or the other to save face, sometimes both. It evens out in the end. See MAD, SALT 1, SALT 2, ABM Treaty, etc. Not to mention the Cuban Missile Crisis which should have been everyone's template, mathematically for how this would play out. See game theory grid Cuban Missile Crisis. Pure math courtesy of John Nash, a rather brilliant man, who would have predicted exactly how this would turn out the moment Obama threatened a strike. (While all the negativism was going on elsewhere. *cough*)
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Forbes_Nash,_Jr.
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Game_theory

[doc03]

2. Also some crow for the Republicons when they fail to

kill Obamacare again.

[Brigid]

3. I don't know what cuts of meat those are . . .

our Chef in Chief is about to grill up, but I want one!

Love the Presidential Seal on the apron. Nice touch.

[Liberal_Stalwart71]

4. I SMELL GENIUS!!!!

[Adsos Letter]

5. Looks like ribeye. n/t

[KentuckyWoman]

6. I was hoping for pie.

[Liberal_in_LA]

7. kick

[Turborama]

8. The link goes straight to halway down the comments, you might want to chop this off the end...

/#comment-832876 and it'll go straight to the top of the article instead.