"We The People" Vs. Washington Elites

[Annie]

Peggy Noonan pretty much lost me back in 2008, once in awhile though she writes something that still resonates, like this one:

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887323808204579085560400501346.html

Noonan: A New Kind of 'Credibility' Gap
Americans and their leaders have different ideas about what that word means.

* DECLARATIONS
* September 19, 2013, 5:40 p.m. ET

Noonan: A New Kind of 'Credibility' Gap
Americans and their leaders have different ideas about what that word means.

* By PEGGY NOONAN

...

It seems to me U.S. credibility is a key issue in the Syria drama, but the problem is not that the U.S. public is newly unconcerned with it. The problem is that the public now sees the issue of U.S. credibility very differently from the way many lawmakers understand it.

...

They know this place is in need of help and attention. They care about it. That impulse should be encouraged and lauded, not denigrated as narrow-minded or backward. They're trying to be practical. They're Americans trying to take stock in their nation and concluding: "We have got to get ourselves in order, we have got to turn our attention to getting stronger. Then we will be fully credible in the world."

What I am saying is that the old, Washington definition of credibility, which involves the projection of force in pursuit of ends it thinks necessary, and the American people's definition of credibility, which is to become stronger and allow the world, and the young, to understand you are getting stronger, are at variance. And that will have implications down the road.

The public's sense of U.S. credibility, and how it is best secured and projected, probably began to vary more broadly from Washington's when the Great Recession hit home, five years ago this week.

Political leaders have got to start twigging on to this. It's not as if it just happened. They can argue for any foreign military action they think necessary, but the American people will not be of a mind to support it until they think someone is really trying to clean up America.

A diplomat might say, "But the world will not go on vacation while America gets its act together!" True enough, and that fact will demand real shrewdness from America's leaders, who the past few weeks got quite a lesson in how Americans on the ground view American priorities.

I do think that the American people, while aware of the loss of US 'projection' of strength took a hit by overwhelmingly saying, "No," to Obama's plan to save face, decided that isn't in our immediate interests and the 'clear & present danger' is at home, in Washington.

 

[Bonestorm]

Peggy Noonan pretty much lost me back in 2008, once in awhile though she writes something that still resonates, like this one:

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887323808204579085560400501346.html



I do think that the American people, while aware of the loss of US 'projection' of strength took a hit by overwhelmingly saying, "No," to Obama's plan to save face, decided that isn't in our immediate interests and the 'clear & present danger' is at home, in Washington.

I know what the words you used mean, but I have no idea what you are saying.

 

[Annie]

I know what the words you used mean, but I have no idea what you are saying.

The folks writing, calling, emailing their representatives would for the most part understand enough of realpolitik to understand what 'not enforcing' a stated 'red line' means. Weighing the costs, http://www.economist.com/news/leade...s-low-those-who-cherish-freedom-weakened-west they decided that loss of face and influence were worth not turning away from domestic issues that have not been addressed for years now.

...This week I spoke to a few U.S. senators about the meaning of the Syria drama. They were a mix—some had given supportive soundings early on; all had been taken aback by the public reaction, the wave of calls and emails. There was gossip. Apparently some White House staffers have a new nickname for the president: "Obam-me," because it's all about him and his big thoughts. I guess the second-term team is not quite as adoring as the first.

Two senators spoke of their worry about what the Syria mess—the threat, the climbdown, the lunge at a lifeline, the face-saving interviews—signaled to the world about U.S. credibility. If an American president says there's a red line and the red line is crossed, there can be no question: America must act. No one said this but I think I correctly inferred a suggestion that the American people may not be willing right now to appreciate the fact that in a world full of bad guys the indispensable nation must show it is serious. ...

 

[Bonestorm]

But the "red line" was enforced.