Just who is the Commander-in-chief?
The best answer of the night in Philadelphia was in response to Charlie Gibson's jaw-dropping Fair and BalancedTM question about troop withdrawal.
You can get the transcript here.
Both candidates answered well in my view. Hillary's response was weak when Gibson asked of her "But Senator Clinton, aren't you saying -- I mean, General Petraeus was in Washington. You both were there when he testified, saying that the gains in Iraq are fragile and are reversible. Are you essentially saying, 'I know better than the military commanders here'?". To be fair she had already answered this earlier in the segment by stating unequivocally "...thankfully we have a system in our country of civilian control of the military. And our professional military are the best in the world. They give their best advice and then they execute the policies of the president."
Both candidates answered well in my view. Hillary's response was weak when Gibson asked of her "But Senator Clinton, aren't you saying -- I mean, General Petraeus was in Washington. You both were there when he testified, saying that the gains in Iraq are fragile and are reversible. Are you essentially saying, 'I know better than the military commanders here'?". To be fair she had already answered this earlier in the segment by stating unequivocally "...thankfully we have a system in our country of civilian control of the military. And our professional military are the best in the world. They give their best advice and then they execute the policies of the president."
Gibson's follow-ups to Barack were worse: "So you'd give the same rock-hard pledge, that no matter what the military commanders said, you would give the order: Bring them home." Watch my man Barack go to work.
"Because the commander in chief sets the mission, Charlie. That's not the role of the generals. And one of the things that's been interesting about the president's approach lately has been to say, well, I'm just taking cues from General Petraeus.
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Now, I will always listen to our commanders on the ground with respect to tactics. Once I've given them a new mission, that we are going to proceed deliberately in an orderly fashion out of Iraq and we are going to have our combat troops out, we will not have permanent bases there, once I've provided that mission, if they come to me and want to adjust tactics, then I will certainly take their recommendations into consideration; but ultimately the buck stops with me as the commander in chief."
...
Now, I will always listen to our commanders on the ground with respect to tactics. Once I've given them a new mission, that we are going to proceed deliberately in an orderly fashion out of Iraq and we are going to have our combat troops out, we will not have permanent bases there, once I've provided that mission, if they come to me and want to adjust tactics, then I will certainly take their recommendations into consideration; but ultimately the buck stops with me as the commander in chief."
That's why I'm voting for Obama in my state's upcoming primary. Not because of the effing youtube videos, or the message, or the packaging. You can't fault the guy for having his act together. Among many other attributes he's been able to demonstrate on the campaign trail, the reason I'm casting my vote is because he can articulate the constitution like no other candidate in this race, because he understands the role of the executive, because he represents pragmatism and strong leadership, and because he has eeearned it.
(yes that was a John Houseman reference)
(yes that was a John Houseman reference)
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Just who is the Commander-in-chief? | 10 comments (10 topical, 0 hidden)
Just who is the Commander-in-chief? | 10 comments (10 topical, 0 hidden)
