President Obama's Trip to Iraq Today

I thought the President was headed to Iraq a few days ago; I was wrong - it's today.

As I mentioned earlier, there are three reasons for President Obama to make this trip. One, to boost troop morale; two, to see the situation first-hand. And, three, crudely, for the good will the President brings back home.

The visit will also cap what is going to be viewed as a triumphal trip abroad. Clearly, the President did not get everything he sought on the trip. We didn't get the combat troops hoped for, and Western European nations will not offer stimulus money as we have. On the other hand, President Obama went a long way toward restoring the reputation of the United States.

One of the reasons his credibility is so high is because of his wife. I get this. People think, "If you can marry someone that great, you must be okay, too." I hate to brag (no I don't) but marriage has done this for me, too. So I get it.

President Obama also stated the obvious on his trip: we had a significant role in the collapse of the world economy. This brought him more credibility. For some neo (does "neo" stand for "neanderthal"?) conservatives, Obama should not have admitted this. Why not? It's as obvious as stating that today is Tuesday. It doesn't hurt us to fess up; everyone knows it. Part of self-confidence is the ability to admit mistakes. For a long time, we could not admit our mistakes, and rather than appearing strong, we seemed dopey. We lost credibility. The world openly derided us.

President Obama also appears to be a good listener, and listening gives the appearance of showing that you care about what the other person is saying (whether you do or not), and it makes a person feel important (whether they are or not).

I once sat on a subway train in New York next to a much older gentleman who talked my ear off for 20 minutes. When we arrived at his station, he got up, turned to me and said, "You're a very smart young man." I wasn't. The point was, letting someone speak makes them feel as if they have something of significance to say.

In Iraq, President Obama will ask many questions, but I suspect he will listen, too (Let's not call this a "Listening Tour"). He will listen not just to the generals but to the troops, the brave souls who are doing the seemingly impossible.

The pictures will be terrific. Morale will be high. And President Obama will return, triumphant, and hopefully, with more knowledge of the situation in Iraq than before he arrived there.

Comments

[Macready]

I certainly don't want President Obama to step outside the Green Zone . . the Green Zone is dangerous enough . . . progress what progress . . . the illegal invasion of Iraq has been a criminal exercise . . . that has left millions homeless, hundreds of thousands dead, a country torn apart by civil war, communities destroyed many without water or electricity . . just want to you want Obama to see that he was right all along about Iraq? surely you can't believe the situation in Iraq is getting better . . . when it so clearly isn't . . . why don't you work on getting bush, cheney, et al tried for international war crimes . . .

[indyleftist]

Yes as the others are saying this is clearly nonsense

Don't get swept up into your own propaganda about how America has changed and now the world will love us because we elected a guy with the middle name Hussein. We are still the war-making superpower, and you aren't going to fool the rest of the world into believing otherwise

[bilmardre]

Matt, I hope you have nothing to do with planning the President's trip. Take care.

[Paul]

"Imagine President Obama walking down a street in Iraq, chatting with shopkeepers -- that's quite a picture."

Wrong.

It would be a security nightmare and a vindication of the Bush doctrine.

Let McCain do it.

[theunhappydem]

Obama made one trip to Iraq & only because MCain embarrassed him.