Fire Up the TelePrompter

One thing that I complained about routinely during the Bush administration was the failure of the administration to make a full court press to persuade the American public to support the war in Iraq. As casualties mounted, public support dwindled and Congress came close to de-funding the war. We won despite this failure of President Bush, but it wouldn't have had to come to that if the president had made more of an effort.

I hoped that the election of President Obama would at least provide us with a president with some oratory abilities. But President Obama has failed--worse than Bush--to defend the war in Afghanistan. As we add more troops to Afghanistan and use them more aggressively, our casualties are predictably rising and the press is reporting on this as if it is a disaster:

In a summer of suffering, America's military death toll in Afghanistan is rising, with back-to-back record months for U.S. losses in the grinding conflict. All signs point to more bloodshed in the months ahead, straining the already shaky international support for the war.

Six more Americans were reported killed in fighting in the south — three Thursday and three Friday — pushing the U.S. death toll for July to a record 66 and surpassing June as the deadliest month for U.S. forces in the nearly nine-year war.

A "summer of suffering," indeed. More bloodshed ahead. And shaky support for the war. The story writes itself. Just do a universal find and replace with "Afghanistan" for "Iraq." We've seen it before.

I wish President Obama would start making speeches to bolster support for the war. And get all his cabinet to bolster this theme. This is serious stuff. Act like we're at war before the press can sap our will to win. The press corps may love the president, but they still don't have a clue about war and military manners.