Leadership is Magic

Cookie-cutter conservative Michael Gerson says "Obama is a master of ambivalence." He's upset that the president won't allow our generals to extend "The Great Game" in Afghanistan indefinitely. Gerson is convinced that despite the enormous "difficulty of the undertaking, the weariness of Americans and the erosion of support in both parties" (not to mention Afghan regime corruption and Pakistani malfeasance), "exceptional leadership" can somehow produce "a good outcome in Afghanistan." You see, leadership is magic. And our dithering, "conflicted" president, he says, is clearly lacking in abracadabrism. (Bullwinkle: Hey Rocky, watch me pull a rabbit out of my hat. Rocky: But that trick never works. Bullwinkle: But this time for sure. Presto! ...) Granted, Gerson is just another pointy-headed pundit who pines for glory in the "Forever War." It is not necessarily his role to offer us solutions. Fair enough. But this trumped up "crisis of leadership" argument is jaw-droppingly absurd, even for Gerson.