Obama takes Patraeus out of Presidential race

Interesting, don’t you think? Although I doubt our President is that Machiavellian … still. The appointment of General David Patraeus is a win, win, win for Obama, and after all, isn’t that what he’s all about?

The first win is the man who developed the counter insurgency that won the war in Iraq will now be asked to work his magic on Afghanistan and I agree with the pundits, at least to the public, if he can’t win this, who can?

But the second win for Obama comes from the Daily Beast:

So Obama has reason to be delighted with himself right now: He has sacked a recalcitrant big-mouth; he has entrusted said big-mouth’s job to a certified hero and military star; and he’s taken that star out of contention for 2012, making his own re-election that much more likely, given the headless turkey that is currently the GOP.

Hmmm, what do you think? I guess anything is possible.

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Jim Vicevich

Jim is a veteran broadcaster and conservative/libertarian blogger with more than 25 years experience in TV and radio. Jim's was the long-term host of The Jim Vicevich Show on WTIC 1080 in Hartford from 2004 through 2019. Prior to radio, Jim worked as a business and financial reporter for NBC30 - the NBC owned TV station in Hartford - and as business editor at WFSB-TV in Hartford for 14 years while earning six Emmy nominations and three Telly Awards.

13 Comments

  1. chris-os on June 24, 2010 at 3:28 am

    This is actually a demotion, Petraeus was McChrystal's boss. That DB blog makes no sense.

    Well, so much for giving kudos to the right not making political hay from this.



    • Dimsdale on June 24, 2010 at 5:08 am

      Your guess is as good as anyone's, but if you want "political hay" there is a barn full of it in the original hearings for Petraeus held by the Democrats, particularly from one young senator from Illinois.

       

      Or was that "horse squeeze"?



  2. DanWH on June 24, 2010 at 4:27 am

    It's a brilliant move politically, assuming it doesn't backfire.

    People are wrong about why McChrystal wanted to get fired, If he was falling on his sword to save his troops, he would have done it BEFORE those troops got killed because of the Rules Of Engagement that McChrystal put in place. What it really is, is a rat escaping a sinking ship. McChrystal knew that the ROE will end up losing the war, and he doesn't want to get blamed. Now they can blame the political enemy, David Patraeus for all the problems…. assuming GEN Patraeus doesn't change the ridiculous ROE, and make all the changes he believes necessary, then dare Obama to make him keep it the McChrystal way. See that is where it can backfire on him, Gen Petraeus can resign if Obama wont let him win.

     

    Militarily it is a very amateurish move, plenty of other 3/4 Stars they could have chosen, instead of McChrystals boss. It will be interesting to see what happens when Petraeus moves CENTCOM to ISAF headquarters in Afghanistan.



  3. jnelchef on June 24, 2010 at 4:36 am

    I don't think Petraeus was going to run in 2012 but I have to admit, it's one of the first things I thought of when I heard about the change.



  4. sammy22 on June 24, 2010 at 4:48 am

    Looking for a conspiracy around every corner and under every rock. How about just the fact that McChrystal went too far? Anybody read about McArthur and Pres. Truman??



    • DanWH on June 24, 2010 at 5:33 am

      A better comparison would be Admiral Fallon, who was replaced by his deputy LTG Martin Dempsey.

      MacArthur was replaced by 8th Army commander Matt Ridgeway, MacArthur's subordinate.

      George McClellan was replaced by his subordinate Ambrose Burnside.

      All through history Military leaders have been relieved, and replaced by subordinates, or equals from other commands, but only twice have wartime disputes led to someones boss replacing them. McChrystal, and von Brauchitsch.



    • rickyrock on June 24, 2010 at 11:01 am

      I'm with sammy 22 ……give us a break Jim …….I know you wanna break into the big market …but paranoid delusions don't count.I don't think Obama is doing a good job as president but I do think his heart is in the right place he's just very naive.Republicans have sold this country down the river….

      essentially what you have is an oligarchy ………….rule of the rich baby …….the average person is screwed.



    • Dimsdale on June 24, 2010 at 11:35 am

      Reporting on someone's speculation, with the caveat that " I doubt our President is that Machiavellian", is hardly "a paranoid delusion".  As Groucho once said, "just because you're paranoid, it doesn't mean they aren't out to get you".

       

      As for the "average person being screwed", between Øbama's lie about the taxes of anyone earning under $250K not going up "one thin dime" and the black hole of the so called health insurance "reform", the average Joe is seriously screwed.  And that is just for starters.  It stops being naivete when one keeps doing the same incompetent actions, over and over again (okay, with a little variation), never learning from one's mistakes.

       

      And the Democrats continue to urinate on our legs and tell us it is raining.



    • David R on June 24, 2010 at 3:31 pm

      I don't care what party you favor, claiming that the other is always evil and wrong is just plain dangerous for our country. No person or party gets it right all the time. In fact, I'd say both major parties are batting less than 500, primarily because the problems are so difficult and there are no easy solutions. The war in Afghanistan is one of those problems for which there are no easy answers and in all likelihood will not be decided militarily in that country, especially if the real aim is to prevent the destabilization of Pakistan.   



  5. rickyrock on June 25, 2010 at 11:40 am

    DEAR Dimsdale ,how are you today???

    1.The point I should have made but didn't and I apologize is that it's guilt by innuendo …if Glen Beck says Hey guys I'm not saying that Obama is Hitler or I never directly said Obama was a communist ..by virtue of just saying that you create that analogy in the listeners mind…….you can't un-ring the bell …it's a very insidious technique that's used by a lot of right wing hosts ……….again my intention is not to argue with you but to find the truth.As i said I have voted for Republicans in the past so don't call me a lefty cause I'm not.

    2.As far as the average Joe is concerned regarding taxes and deficits the following is true:1.The Republican party tripled the U.S national debt under Reagan (who by the way raised taxes twice ) "REAGAN"said Dick Cheney "proved that deficits don't matter"2.That debt then doubled under George W Bush3.Bill Clinton actually reduced the national debt during his tenure.4.Under the Bush tax cuts, a third of the benefits went to the wealthiest 1 % of Americans as determined by the Center for Budget And Policy Priorities detailed.5.By 2007 millionaires averaged 120,000 from the Bush tax cuts of 2001 and 2003.Those in the top 1% got 45,000 extra per year.Millionaires saw their after tax incomes rise by 7.6% while the gains for the middle average Joe were a measly 2.3 %.Let's not forget the 2003 Bush dividend and capital gains tax cuts which reduced taxes on incomes of more than 10,000,000 by an average of 500,000…further the top 2% making more than 200,000 received more than 70% of the increased tax savings from those cuts….As far as the Obama  cap and trade is concerned according to John Reilly who headed the study ….(who happens to be an MIT professor ) in a letter to John Boehner stated that the cost to the average family would be 340.00 not the 3100 as Boehner stated.I could go on forever …………the bottom line is this .I come on this site looking for the truth …the Republicans have never been the answer (morally or fiscally)  nor will they ever be .As I said before the rich make laws..that benefit the rich ..and that's all you need to know.As far as Obama is concerned and this deficit. I would not have bailed out anyone but there was a fear that the whole system could colapse.Again the fat cats played chicken and we all lost.

     

     



    • Steve McGough on June 25, 2010 at 1:32 pm

      And about half of Americans don't pay one friggin' dime of federal income taxes. You make the mistake of thinking many are – by default because they post here – fanboys of previous Republican administrations.

      And please, don't go on forever with your "facts" which have nothing to do at all with the current post. Read the FAQ and Terms of Use.



    • chris-os on June 26, 2010 at 5:18 am

      "And about half of Americans don’t pay one friggin’ dime of federal income taxes."

      What about the U>S> corporations that have "no" or "low" tax countries such as the Cayman Islands as addresses. We lose billions, Steve! And congress does not want to delve into this-wonder why-hmmm???

      And sorry, as far as Rickyrock staying on topic…I have seen Mr. Dimsdale turn every topic into and "Obama-bashing session".

      Faq's and TOS needs to apply to everyone.



  6. rickyrock on June 26, 2010 at 5:12 am

    Interesting point .let's not let the facts obscure the truth …………..1.you conveniently ignore sales tax,excise tax and payroll tax… virtually all American workers pay 6.2% social security tax (income up to 97000)and an additional 1.45% for medicare.2.The biggest reason Americans don't pay federal income tax is called the earned income tax credit ,created in 1975, this is a "refundable federal income tax credit for low-income working individuals and families that results in a tax refund to those who claim and qualify for the credit when the EITC exceeds the amount of taxes owed.Ronald Reagan called it" the best anti-poverty ,the best pro -family ,the best job creation measure to come out of congress"Gee I guess when the facts don't coincide with your opinions you guys cry like baby's.



General David Patraeus

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