This morning, I happened to hear Bob Shieffer of CBS discuss the request by president Obama for authority to act in Syria. Shieffer's assessment was that the matter "was handled poorly by both sides." BOTH SIDES???? I can identify one side here as Obama and his staff. What is the other side? Has Congress mishandled the request by holding hearings and getting ready to vote once it returns from vacation? I don't think so. Have the Syrians (Assad or the rebels) mishandled their reaction to Obama's threatened strike by stating their positions? I don't think so.
The truth is that there is only one side here that has handled things badly, and that, of course, is Obama and his people. As the biggest name at CBS News, however, Shieffer just cannot bring himself to criticize Obama for mishandling this foreign policy crisis. No rational observer could give Obama good marks for this mess he created; Shieffer knows that. But to criticize Obama is, for Shieffer, to fail in his basic mission as a journalist.
The truth is that there is only one side here that has handled things badly, and that, of course, is Obama and his people. As the biggest name at CBS News, however, Shieffer just cannot bring himself to criticize Obama for mishandling this foreign policy crisis. No rational observer could give Obama good marks for this mess he created; Shieffer knows that. But to criticize Obama is, for Shieffer, to fail in his basic mission as a journalist.
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