NYT: In Defense of ‘Dithering’

[dennis4868]

Five years ago a young politician who seemed wise beyond his years was asked by Tim Russert what makes a great president. It was the kind of question that Russert, who could prompt more news in a single interview than entire cable operations do in a year, was so good at.

The politician took a thought breath before proceeding: “Obviously, most of the time it seems that the president has maybe 10 percent of his agenda set by himself, and 90 percent of it set by circumstance.” Barack Obama: meet your 90 percent. The senator who so accurately predicted how events make the leader now finds himself a president trying to lead through those events.

In the process, despite a largely incoherent chorus of second-guessers, Obama has settled into a groove of reflective dithering before making his decisions. For the most part, it has served him well. Think back to … oh, all of one week ago. The mercenaries of Muammar el-Qaddafi were closing in for the slaughter of people trying to take a breath of the same Arab Spring air going around Tunisia and Egypt. Had Obama done nothing, as the Dennis Kucinich fringe Democrats and the Ron Paul isolationist Republicans would have it, the blood of many civilians would be filling the streets of Benghazi. Don’t forget: the regime had promised to chase its own citizens into closets and butcher them.

The rest of the article is here...http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/03/24/in-defense-of-dithering/?hp

[treestar]

1. Republican "decisiveness" got us into a big mess

Acting on their "gut" appeals to their egos, making them think they are inherently smart and just know things. Which is why they refuse to learn anything.

[Tarheel_Dem]

2. +1

:thumbsup:

[dionysus]

3. ...

:thumbsup:?? is that some kind of power fist? that's IT!

:rofl:

[Tarheel_Dem]

5. dion, you're still nuts. And quit fightin'

:rofl:

[dionysus]

6. nuts? lil 'ol me? p'shaw

:hi:

[karynnj]

4. Nice op-ed

In addition to providing an excellent defense, I love some of the wording -

"Mitt Romney, who wakes most mornings in a groggy scramble to find his principles,"

"Overstatement and misjudgment are Gingrich’s stock in trade — two reasons why he’ll never be president. He can always be counted on to fulminate on demand, with consistency the only casualty; the subject doesn’t matter."

Well worth reading, both for the argument and for the exquisite little word pictures that eloquently skewer the Republicans.

The conclusion is worth noting:

A poll just published by Reuters/Ipsos found 48 percent of respondents describing Obama’s military leadership as “cautious and consultative.” Another 36 percent chose “indecisive and dithering.”

I would argue that the combined 84 percent are basically saying the same thing — that this president is anything but impulsive. And next year, with an improving economy in a world where the United States is held in much higher regard, most people will probably choose a president who takes time to get it right, rather than one who is afraid to dither for a good outcome.

[AtomicKitten]

7. k&r

"incoherent chorus of second-guessers"

[GoCubsGo]

8. You can always tell when the wingnuts learn a new word

Looks like "dithering" is the current one, because all I've been hearing is the same infantile babbling of that word over and over and over again. Like a bunch of fucking toddlers when they learn the word "Mama".

[robcon]

9. I'm not in favor of dithering.

I believe the president took too long to decide to go in Libya... almost lost the whole thing, along with thousands of lives.