One Term President? New York Review Blog By Garry Wills

Garry Wills
The New York Review of Books Blog

I am told by people I respect that Barack Obama cannot pull out of both Iraq and Afghanistan without becoming a one-term president. I think that may be true. The charges from various quarters would be toxic--that he was weak, unpatriotic, sacrificing the sacrifices that have been made, betraying our dead, throwing away all former investments in lives and treasure. All that would indeed be brought against him, and he could have little defense in the quarters where such charges would originate.

These are the arguments that have kept us in losing efforts before. They are the ones that made presidents Kennedy, Johnson, and Nixon pass on to their successors in the presidency the draining and self-lacerating Vietnam War. They are the arguments that made President George W. Bush pass on two wars to his successor.

One of the strongest arguments for continued firing up of these wars is that none of these presidents wanted to serve only one term (even Lyndon Johnson, who chose not to run for a second full term). But what justification is there for buying a second presidential term with the lives of hundreds or thousands of young American men and women in the military?

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Comments

[suntzu]

Why is it then that the majority of Americans polled want us out of Afghanistan?

[mancoff]

I have been told by people I respect......wow, that sounds like something sean hannity would say just before he starts his innuendo's about Obama. Things like "I heard a rumor" or "someone told me", or "is it true that"., allow someone to start a story based on absolutly nothing but his own pemise. Obama will do what his advisors on Afghanistan tell him to do. His decision will be backed up by many, people, military and non military and no one, no one, knows what he will base his opinion on. Once we elect a President, we should just support him and his decisions and wait to see what happens and then vote. Not decide one year after he is in office and before he has even made a decison that he is only a one term President. Besides he has said many times that if he is a one term president then so be it. He's going to make the decisions that he feels are the right ones, not only for this four years but for years to come. I believe he wants to remembered for what he did right for this country when history looks back.

[YunekFlava]

I am in agreement.

[vinny]

obama could easily win a second term if he decided to pull troops back to bases in afghanistan and reduce the number of troops there by 2012...

people want the war to end...

[mamala4]

It is obvious that Obama realizes the pitfalls of Afghanistan and is slowly examining the situation there. He will fail if he lets Afganistan drain anymore resources from our coffers. History tells only one Afganistan story ie: ALL INVADERS FLEE WITH THEIR TAILS BETWEEN THEIR LEGS!
It is a no win catastrophe awaiting us and in my opinion, we have lost too many of our men and women already. If he is to become a great president, he must take some lessons from LBJ and break some balls in the Congressional Halls and on the Senate Floor. He must understand and emulate the strategic genius of FDR, and build a team just as Lincoln did

[Bardmess]

If this is true, and I hope it isn't, it goes to prove that Americans are as stupid and ignorant as they say we are.

[Doofus]

The USSR sacrificed its existence for Afghanistan. (Or did they?)
LBJ sacrificed his presidency for Vietnam.
What to do? What to DO?

[mamacat]

I hope that he has the courage and moral fortitude to put service to country before service to self-interest or to the Democratic Party.
He was left a really big mess to clean up, and if making the hard decisions means losing political support for a second term, so be it.

[Meldy1]

We were so stupid to give bush a second term huh??America is really becoming a stupid country.I love America to the core really,but we voted for Pres.Obama,and what do we do?we are destroying him with lies,attacks,and fabrication.Leave our President Bam alone for crying out loud....
He's just doing all he can,how about remembering JFK's ..do what you can huh???
This are works from all republican pundits who have no respect or whatsoever for the presidency,esp.if the name is...Obama...huh?
May God bless our Pres.Bam more and more each day to save him from stupidity.I believe in him and respect him.Stop all these so called nonsense,it doesn't help our country anyway.Spreading hatreds and fabrication ala palin ..death panel must be punishable by law...how about that??

[motherofsons]

America is a stupid country. We want everything to be cheap and easy and Bush's handlers understood that. Obama is an adult but adults don't live in America anymore. Whiners, complainers and do nothings....is what the vast majority of the citizenry has evolved to.

[NeoconGal]

He gave all that money to Wall Street because his big business advisers told him to. The banks still wont lend, they give themselves obscene bonuses, people are still losing their jobs and being thrown out of their homes. Not one of the bank CEOs are going to jail. Unless he gets some advisers who know something about Main Street of course he will be a one term president.

[EscapeTireTube]

Pres Ditherer will be a one term President because by 2012, the country will have snapped out of it's trance. The people will realize they elected someone who never ran a thing in his life and sat with Rev Wright for 20 years.

[NCAV2]

LOL If he doesn't pull out of Iraq and Afghanistan, he probably WILL be a one time president.

[nice2blucky]

"I am told by people I respect that Barack Obama cannot pull out of both Iraq and Afghanistan without becoming a one-term president."

So let's start with the B.S. from the beginning.

People I respect, George Will not being one of them, believe that Iraq and Afghanistan are disasters and we should not be in either place, and that Americn lives and our Country's other resources are better used elsewhere, including here at home.

Sure, it's true that the second largest consumer of gasoline -- after the U.S. population -- is the U.S. military, and ending wars could be financially difficult for Exxon, etc. But I'm sure that has nothing to do with fabricating the idea that pulling out of Afganistan and Iraq would be the causes for a possible one-term presidency. And there must be other financial negatives for war profiteers, as well.

But surely Obama would not put re-election over the lives of American soldiers and the United States' best interest.

And could it be possible that Obama's leadership failures on Health Care and most ever other issue important to progressives and liberals could lead to his defeat in 2012?

This B.S. analysis, passed off as critical thinking, should not exist at HuffPo, without being put into context and scrutinized, as well.

[Validusername]

This obssession with re-election is the reason why so little progress is being made on the important issues in this country. Thoughts of the next election consume too much of time of both the elected officials and make them afraid to offend even those members of there constituency whose beliefs are wrongheaded. The President has said that he does not mind being a one term President as long as he gets the right things done. I am going to take him at his word. If he truly believes that, his four years will mean something.

[Knowitall]

I found it rather interesting that Mr. Wills would make his arguments based on the possibility of Pres. Obama pulling out of Iraq and Afghanistan???

I may be mistaken, but didn't the President Campaign on a promise that he would and I quote "end the unnecessary war in Iraq" and focus on Afghanistan and the people who actually attacked us. My understanding was even the Afghanistan deployment would be limited. Was I dreaming when I heard that?? THAT;s what I voted for.

Was he elected by a majority of the people on the hopes that he would forget those promises? I don't think so. I don't know exactly where the American people stand on these wars right now, but I have heard people (including comedians like those on SNL berate the President for NOT being out of Iraq, immediately.)

So I believe Wills has based his "One Term" statement on a very faulty premise. I think the President would actually be served in a positive way by keeping his promises. How powerful would it be to have his 2008 promise to leave Iraq played back in 4 years, and actually have managed to pull out of Iraq????

[pipetoe]

Maybe he realized that the war in Iraq was necessary. It's easy to judge when you are not the reponsible party.

[Doofus]

If we exit Iraq soon, as it seems we will, is that only so we can
'more fully occupy' Afghanistan? What will that accomplish? At this
point, we have less business being in the latter than ever in the former.

[BryanTheRegOps]

So wait if the President pulls out of a unwinable war thus saving thousands of American lives he'll be seen as we@k and be voted out, but if he stays, kiIIinq thousands of American with nothing in return he'll be seen as strong by the voters and be voted in again. OMG are we American this stoopid. We deserve everything we get.

[jamesarth1963]

One year? Is that all the time we are now giving our political leaders? One year and if you have not made any improvements we are impeaching you out of office and finding someone else to push around that will comply with our beliefs? Let the man do his job for crying out loud. If we are not better off in 4 years then shop for someone else. Just no more unintellgent people like the former president.
Maybe we should get limbaugh to do it since he thinks of himself to be so insanely smart as to label others into catagories he seems they belong in.

[RFBorjal]

I think even 4 years may not be enough to repair the damage inflicted by W. for 8 years. Four years may not be enough to nurture to fruition many measures that are being currently put in place. Who could believe that 4 years are enough to wean the country away from dependence on foreign oil, for instance? Or, who could believe that 4 years are enough to successfully counter the effects of global warming? To change the President with a Republican who would reverse ongoing programs before they could yield results would be like a miner stopping to dig within a few meters of a rich gold vein.