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| The Professor of War |
| 2010-04-03 |
| Long opinion piece by Mark Bowden at Vanity Fair. Worth the read. At 57, General David Petraeus has revolutionized the way America fights its wars, starting with the surge in Iraq and continuing into his current command, with responsibility for Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iran, and Yemen. Charting Petraeus's relentless challenge to the institution he reveres—the U.S. Army—and to himself, the author hears about the unceasing drive, groundbreaking methods, and darkest moments of a four-star rebel. |
| Posted by:Steve White |
| #15 Newt is an ideas/issues guy - very smart - totally unelectable. His personal failings are enough to turn me off. He'd be a great Policy Advisor or Secretary of .... he's not electable |
| Posted by: Frank G 2010-04-03 21:16 |
| #14 He's certainly a national treasure and one of the few General Officers with a PhD on active duty, but I don't think Petreaus wants any part of it. I suspect Pawlenty will get the nod. Just my guess. |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2010-04-03 21:01 |
| #13 I'm not so sure. Don't write the Newter off just yet. I'm not ENTIRELY writing him off - I could see him winding up in one of the more important Cabinet positions in the next Trunk administration - but what I think made him unelectable to national office was his rather messy personal life, complete with TWO ugly divorces resulting from extramarital affairs. While that stuff might not matter to the average Republican guy, trust me - Republican WOMEN take shenanigans like that very seriously and very personally. One of my favorite examples of this syndrome is the story of how my Congressional district wound up with its current Dem incumbent. Several years back, our Congresscritter was a Trunk, a prominent lawyer who promoted himself as a big "family values" advocate. Then he made the mistake of bringing his cute little 20-something side dish to some public event, which set off a firestorm among the local Republican women. Next election, they got on the jungle telegraph and made sure all their friends knew that Mr. Family Values was a skirt-chasing scumbag. A friend of mine estimates his wife personally cost this jackass at least a dozen votes. |
| Posted by: Ricky bin Ricardo (Abu Babaloo) 2010-04-03 20:45 |
| #12 Along those lines: President -- Petraeus VP -- Ryan or Pawlenty WH Chief of Staff -- Daniels Ambassador to UN -- Palin (just to watch heads explode) |
| Posted by: Steve White 2010-04-03 20:28 |
| #11 Just like Newt's the guy to go to for the best big ideas and the best messages to promote them. I'm not so sure. Don't write the Newter off just yet. The outrage over this "healthcare" bill and the economy has yet to reach it's peak. |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2010-04-03 19:43 |
| #10 Palin can continue cheerleading and rallying the base. Bingo, Lex - that's the best place for Sarah, keeping the troops excited and the grass-roots donations flowing to the right candidates. Just like Newt's the guy to go to for the best big ideas and the best messages to promote them. But neither of them's national-ticket electable, IMHO. |
| Posted by: Ricky bin Ricardo (Abu Babaloo) 2010-04-03 19:37 |
| #9 Thanks, Steve, I'll give Mark Bowden's work another look. One of the surprising things about the piece is how carefully Bowden made the case that Petraeus certainly has all the mental attributes of a successful presidential candidate-- not least, an extraordinary determination to win, combined with self-confidence and a flair for dramatization. Bowden didn't say it outright, but his dwelling on the legends that have arisen around "King David" was a not-so-subtle hint that Petraeus wouldn't mind if a Draft Dave movement were to gather steam. The man clearly has outstanding political instincts. At the same time, he's got a lot more courage of his convictions than Powell ever did, and he's far smarter: Powell couldn't see that "overwhelming force" doctrine was no longer relevant as early as 1998. Petraeus + Paul Ryan (or maybe Mitch Daniels) would be a sure winner. Palin can continue cheerleading and rallying the base. |
| Posted by: lex 2010-04-03 16:59 |
| #8 And for the record, I'm still clinging to the hope of a Mattis/Arpaio ticket in '12. |
| Posted by: RIcky bin Ricardo (Abu Babaloo) 2010-04-03 12:49 |
| #7 Subtle reference to Eisenhower. Petraeus might have the makings of a President. Bart, it looks like the General has closed the door on that idea himself. You won't see many statements more unequivocal than "I've tried quoting a country song 'What part of 'no' don't you understand?' but I really do mean that." Unfortunate - he'd have probably been a pretty good President, too...definitely better than any current member of the bipartisan rogues' gallery that both parties offer us every four years. |
| Posted by: RIcky bin Ricardo (Abu Babaloo) 2010-04-03 12:44 |
| #6 Vanity Fair is owned by billionaire Si Newhouse, who hates Obama, loves the Clintons, and supports unions for everyone else but not his businesses. So it wouldn't be hard to suspect perfidy. |
| Posted by: Anonymoose 2010-04-03 10:59 |
| #5 Lex, Mark Bowden has been a rather independent voice for the last couple decades. He's written a number of books and articles where, best as I can tell, he calls it as he sees it. I don't always agree with him but he's an excellent writer. |
| Posted by: Steve White 2010-04-03 10:35 |
| #4 Subtle reference to Eisenhower. Petraeus might have the makings of a President. Would Palin take the Veep? Ah, politics.... So much to do and so little time. But is always safe to say.."its gonna get worse." That's always a safe bet. There WILL be a war...there always is. The Middle East is in for a world of hurt. And then it gets dark and you can either move or stay still...how much ammo do you have? |
| Posted by: BlackBart 2010-04-03 10:11 |
| #3 Where have I seen something like this before, oh, here. |
| Posted by: Procopius2k 2010-04-03 09:01 |
| #2 OTOH, Barry's bizarre contempt for our allies in Europe and his embrace of our enemies in our backyard will mean that the consensus will go no farther than the war on terror. Still, at least we might be able to get beyond the BS and posturing from the Dems during Bush's second term, now that it's obvious that Bush's surge won the war in Iraq. |
| Posted by: lex 2010-04-03 05:03 |
| #1 It's almost gushing in its praise of Petraeus. I can't imagine this appearing in Vanity Fair or anywhere else in the MSM while Bush was in office. Smells like Graydon Carter's boy is trying to persuade the lefties to support Barry's escalation in Afghanistan. I suppose that's not a bad thing, however nasty and hypocritical, but it's still deeply offensive to see them refusing to give Bush any credit. At least the article opens by showing candidates BHO, HRC and Joe "Partition" Biden at their worst. Maybe, just maybe, we'll get back to something like the Cold War-era bipartisan consensus on foreign policy now that Barry has adopted nearly the entire war on terror approach of his predecessor. |
| Posted by: lex 2010-04-03 04:53 |