Commitment and discipline -- specifically the decided lack thereof -- were front and center this week, thanks to the teary press conference crescendo of Weinergate and the sudden departure of Newt Gingrich's top campaign advisers. Team Gingrich was frustrated by their candidate's unwillingness to commit to an all-out effort in the early primary states, and the nonstop fundraising a presidential run requires. Newt's commitment issues were brought home when, just as his opponents were focusing on Iowa and New Hampshire, he took off on a two-week cruise in Greece. For Gingrich, the problem was being too out of touch; for Weiner, it was being way, way too in touch. Meanwhile, outgoing defense secretary Gates put a rhetorical fig leaf on the lack of commitment to the troop drawdown in Afghanistan, set to begin next month, saying "we've got to keep the pressure on" and "there will be no rush to the exits." Getting out of Afghanistan is a commitment the president ought to unequivocally keep.
Sunday Roundup
Commitment and discipline -- specifically the decided lack thereof -- were front and center this week, thanks to the teary press conference crescendo of Weinergate and the sudden departure of Newt Gingrich's top campaign advisers. Team Gingrich was frustrated by their candidate's unwillingness to commit to an all-out effort in the early primary states, and the nonstop fundraising a presidential run requires. Newt's commitment issues were brought home when, just as his opponents were focusing on Iowa and New Hampshire, he took off on a two-week cruise in Greece. For Gingrich, the problem was being too out of touch; for Weiner, it was being way, way too in touch. Meanwhile, outgoing defense secretary Gates put a rhetorical fig leaf on the lack of commitment to the troop drawdown in Afghanistan, set to begin next month, saying "we've got to keep the pressure on" and "there will be no rush to the exits." Getting out of Afghanistan is a commitment the president ought to unequivocally keep.
This post was published on the now-closed HuffPost Contributor platform. Contributors control their own work and posted freely to our site. If you need to flag this entry as abusive, send us an email.