I've started to pay less and less attention to Iraq because it hurts my head to think about it. And also it makes me sad.
But the speech by our beloved president the other night and the reactions I've seen to it really forced me to give it some thought. Maybe I am really going crazy, but it looks like what has happened is that the administration's Iraq policies, and the war in general, have really taken a beating in terms of public and congressional support. The administration has acknowledged this. They've been mulling it over, and commissioning study groups, and supposedly listening to fresh viewpoints and etc. They've spent many weeks getting out the message that they are working on a new plan. And what they came up with is...
Let's send in more troops and make the war bigger.
The public and its newly elected congress doesn't like the war, so... let's escalate the war! This appears to be under the leadership theory of "I bet they didn't see this coming!" It's like Bush is trying to be Opposite Man.
I shouldn't be surprised by this, so I'm trying not to be. But what is definitely surprising to me in this situation is the way the media and the public seem to be reacting to this. I've yet to see where anyone has said "But wait, that's exactly the opposite of what we were hoping for." Everyone seems to be buying this "fresh approach" thing that the administration is selling. It isn't a fresh approach, it's the exact same approach, but more. "What, you were hoping for an exit strategy? Oh, nooo, we're still working on our newer, bigger entry strategy."
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