Obama: I'm "Never 100 Percent Certain"

Yahoo! News:

President Obama had just received his morning briefings on national security and the economy and was about to confer with NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen about the war in Afghanistan. In between, he sat down with U.S. News Chief White House Correspondent Kenneth T. Walsh to discuss one of the most important and fascinating aspects of his presidency--how he makes decisions in a crisis. He was, as usual, methodical, cerebral, and dispassionate.

Read the whole story: Yahoo! News

Comments

[FebM]

Did WSJ slam Prez Obama for being too articulate?
And now he is talking options, numbers methodically and "cerebral as usual"
Now what does "probability" mean to a non analytical mind?
oh never mind, we are Americans. We dont analyze we know
when we dont know we still know because what we dont know doesnt matter

[ThermoChemist]

[a] C'mon HP. Enough with these headlines.

The actual quote:
"You're never 100 percent certain THAT THE COURSE OF ACTION YOU'RE CHOOSING IS
GOING TO WORK. What you can have confidence in is that the probability of it working is
higher than the other options available to you."

You're getting as bad as FOX News with their video editing..!
-- FOX News: It's not editing, it's 'Selective Factivity'.
http://www.smirkingchimp.com/thread/21616

[b] It's good to have a President who's more of a realist; someone not blindly ignorant of what they're doing, the repercussions of their decisions, how they come about making said decisions, and the ability to realize that changes may be needed based on changing conditions.

"I'm also not very analytical. You know I don't spend a lot of time thinking about myself,
about why I do things."
-- Dubya; June 2003

"This foreign policy stuff is a little frustratin­g."
-- Dubya; April 2002

"I'm the commander - see, I don't need to explain - I do not need to explain why I say things. That's the interesting thing about being the president. Maybe somebody needs to explain to me why they say something, but I don't feel like (I) owe anybody an explanatio­n."
-- Dubya; August 2002

"Events can change; this man's beliefs never will. He believes the same thing Wednesday as he did Monday. No matter what happened Tuesday."
-- Colbert; 2006 WHCD

"I stand by all the misstatements that I've made."

[bogues]

President Obama is doing his job to the best of his ability while the Republican party dedicates itself to tearing him and the Democratic party down. I admire his style of leadership and his honesty. I also appreciate the fact that he thinks things through. There will always be those who turn every accomplishment into a failure. The President knows this, yet he continues to serve his country with such dignity. Thank you Mr. President.

[JohnLinus]

That's a dumb thing to say.

[booker52]

What a refreshing change from the last President who would tell anyone who would listen that he was the Decider and had no doubts about any decisions he made.

[macohmz]

Oh! He shouldn't have said that! The Republicans and Crock News will confuse honesty with neuroses. Even though common sense says there ain't a whole lot of things you can 100% certain about. Let alone something as complex as multiple wars based on deceit and greed.

[peterg76]

Obama may not be progressive, but at least he lives in reality.

[young man]

This is a great ivy league logic to explain the sacrifice made by our troops in Afghanistan between March and now.

[monsterofNone]

you read that whole article and that's the headline you come up with? curious editorial choice.

[ethos]

I'm with you. Terrible, isn't it?

[rsaillant1]

My Gosh, a functioning brain in the Oval Office. Marvelous.

No wonder the Repub's don't get it.
If you don''t get it, you can't have it, or understand it.

A brand apart from the "decisione­r."

[LooktotheLeft]

my god it's wonderful having a Pres. with humility !

[relayer]

sorry for the spelling mistake.

[relayer]

I am deeply grateful that Barack Obama is president. His answers were coherent, thoughtful and sensible. I sincerely hope his detracors would just stop, look, and listen. They might learn to admire the man.

The rest of the world does, and admires the United States for electing him.

Everyone who is wavering on the independant and progressive fronts really ought to throw him their support. It is so very, very important to us all that this brilliant, decent president succeed, no matter the quibble you may have, or your imaptience for results. I really believe that results will come in time, on time and secure the future for a strong, centred and prosperous America (and the world) if everyone rallies to the president. Bless him.

[ColinStevens]

ALSO:

He didn't say "I'm never 100% certain" (period) - I have no idea why the headline is what it is, it's completely wrong. They must be trying to sensationalize it.

The quote is this:

"You're never 100 percent certain that the course of action you're choosing is going to work. What you can have confidence in is that the probability of it working is higher than the other options available to you."

He's not saying HE's never 100% certain about a DECISION when he makes it. He's saying that nobody can ever be 100% certain that a decision is going to work out the way you plan it - you can only have confidence that it's the best decision you could have made.

It's quite easy to understand and I have NO idea why the headline is framing it as if he said HE's never 100% certain about his DECISIONS - because that is clearly NOT what the man said.

[Hirnlego]

Nothing wrong with doubt.

[malzor]

Doubt is the path to understanding, not certainty.

[IDIOTA]

The President's responses reveal his brilliance. He was not my first or second choice for President, but he is qualified to lead. My question is, does he believe that rationality provides all of the answers? And does the inclination to be rational and deliberate obviate the need to rally your troops or take sides? Emotions may lead to quick solutions that are not well considered but correct nonetheless.

I wish the President would pump his fists once in a while.

[naeldwyck]

He's saying there is no such thing as "all the answers". A truly refreshing position after the previous eight years, when the facts were continuously reshaped to fit the answers that had been posited beforehand (pre-empting the truth, if you like).

That said, no, that doesn't mean principles and aims you've settled on aren't worth fighting for with total commitment, where did you get that from? If you have decided beforehand that someone is weak, all you're going to see is weakness; that's your own problem, not his.

[1differentdrummer]

Agreed.

[IDIOTA]

The President does not seem engaged when it comes to health care. The WH acts as if those who want robust reform are impractical idiots. The President could do more. His pulpit is mighty.

[IDIOTA]

And who mentioned weakness? Not I.