"Let me be as clear as I can be," he said. "I intend to end this war. My first day in office I will bring the Joint Chiefs of Staff in, and I will give them a new mission, and that is to end this war — responsibly, deliberately, but decisively.
-Barack Obama
There has been a lot of talk recently about Obama's stance on the war in Iraq. From the beginning he has been opposed to it and wants to bring out troops home. However, he is not an irrational peacenik who views bringing every last soldier back home to start planting flowers and holding hands as the number one priority. As much as I am against the war in Iraq, and without being an expert on the issue, I do believe that strictly calling for a withdrawal of troops without taking into consideration the current state of affairs there and consequences of our actions on the region would be a mistake.
People can criticize Obama from both sides, either calling him a flip-flopper or another run-of-the-mill politician who is only trying to win votes by working his way into the middle of the political spectrum. But, the fact of the matter is that one can find both value and fault in either
A) staying the course, being stubborn, and not willing to change your position on an issue simply because you are afraid people will say that you are a hypocrite or say that you are flip-flopping or
B) Being adaptable and open minded to changing your mind, taking into consideration new information and risk THEM saying that you aren't strong or tough minded.
Its a tough row to hoe. As with many things, I feel the truth and best option lies somewhere in the middle of these two extremes, no matter how the liberal/conservative media might want to portray it. I want a leader who is willing to do what is right despite how he/she might be painted by critics afterwards.
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