An Open Letter to Michael Moore

[kpete]

An Open Letter to Michael Moore from President Obama
by Turtle Bay

Mon Nov 30, 2009 at 05:34:46 AM PST

Dear Mr. Moore:

You begin by asking me:

Do you really want to be the new "war president"?

Of course, I would prefer not to be.

I would rather not have to be dealing with winding down the Iraq war, a war I opposed from the start.

I would rather that the Bush administration have used the unprecedented seven years of control and influence it had over Afghanistan to stabilize that country and cripple Al Queda.

....................

But this may be the most troubling part of your letter:

Your potential decision to expand the war (while saying that you're doing it so you can "end the war") will do more to set your legacy in stone than any of the great things you've said and done in your first year. One more throwing a bone from you to the Republicans and the coalition of the hopeful and the hopeless may be gone -- and this nation will be back in the hands of the haters quicker than you can shout "tea bag!"

Choose carefully, Mr. President. Your corporate backers are going to abandon you as soon as it is clear you are a one-term president and that the nation will be safely back in the hands of the usual idiots who do their bidding. That could be Wednesday morning.

We the people still love you. We the people still have a sliver of hope. But we the people can't take it anymore. We can't take your caving in, over and over, when we elected you by a big, wide margin of millions to get in there and get the job done. What part of "landslide victory" don't you understand?

Don't be deceived into thinking that sending a few more troops into Afghanistan will make a difference, or earn you the respect of the haters. They will not stop until this country is torn asunder and every last dollar is extracted from the poor and soon-to-be poor. You could send a million troops over there and the crazy Right still wouldn't be happy. You would still be the victim of their incessant venom on hate radio and television because no matter what you do, you can't change the one thing about yourself that sends them over the edge.

The haters were not the ones who elected you, and they can't be won over by abandoning the rest of us.

Really. You think I am committing these brave men and women to combat to "throw a bone" to Republicans? You think I include in my calculations in risking their lives the effects on "corporate backers"? You think I'm doing this to "win the respect" of haters? I don't know what to say. I know what I want to say. But this is a public letter, and so I'll leave it to your imagination.

Finally:

Tomorrow, we shall see. The ball is in your court. You DON'T have to do this. You can be a profile in courage. You can be your mother's son.

I don't have to do anything. I will do what I think is right. Whether you or anyone else thinks it is courageous, I will do my best, and that will have to be enough, because it is, in the end, my job, and I will bear the burden of being right or wrong in making these decisions, which will end in pain and bloodshed no matter what I do.

And finally, Mr. Moore, I will always be my mother's son.

Sincerely,
President Barack Obama
http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2009/11/30/809130/-An-Open-Letter-to-Michael-Moore-from-President-Obama
(aka Turtle Bay)

[MNDemNY]

1. Sorry, But any escalation in troops IS being done to placate the right, Right leaning Dems, and Reps

There is nothing more to be gained in Afghanistan. This can only be about domestic politics. I wish he would quit running for re-election, already.

[Freddie Stubbs]

5. Perhaps President Obama is doing this because he believes it is the right thing to do, rather than

to placate the right, Right leaning Dems, and Reps.

[MNDemNY]

6. And the sky may well be purple.

Nope.

[Sukie]

8. So says you and other unqualified complainers.

Sorry. I will put my support with Obama rather than people who haven't been privy to all the information about this or any other event he is making decisions on. I have no doubt that he would not put our service members in harms way unless he felt there was no other way to fix the mess in Iraq and Afghanistan. I have watched him and his family and seen their concern for the troops. This is not a decision he is making lightly.

[MNDemNY]

9. Typical.

WAKE THE FUCK UP !

[Sukie]

10. I would say the same to you. N/T

[MNDemNY]

11. But you would be silly, for I am awake, and skeptical, you...

seem willing to accept anything the big "O" feeds you. It's easier not to have to think, isn't it?:rofl:

[still_one]

13. That is what they told us about Viet Nam. Reasoning based on faith of a politician is weak at best

I can give you a dozen reasons why we should go, and why we should stay. I don't need Obama or his critics telling me what I should do

Our original purpose for going into Afghanistan was to get bin laden and break-up AQ.

bin laden isn't in Afghanistan anymore, and essentially neither is AQ, they are in Pakistan

Are we now at war with the taliban, who we actually put into power?

Karizi(sic), has no problem dealing with the taliban. I have a problem with the taliban, karisi(sic), the war lords, and the poppy fields, and cannot see any clear objective in Afghanistan, or for staying there

[Orsino]

14. Color me unqualified.

I see no reason to believe that this time we'll be turning a corner, and that now we'll be fighting for peace. I anticipate no Sekrit Info that makes control of Afghanistan an achievable, or even worthwhile, goal.

I think we're trapped--too far committed simply to walk away, and too much in thrall to American conservatives who profit from war. The right will cry cut-and-run at any sign of withdrawal.

As most politicians in his place would do, our president is looking for a way not to lose face. Simply continuing Cheney's war would prove him weak, but so would walking away from that war (in the eyes of MSM consumers). He's trying to accomplish something, or to appear to be accomplishing something, that could be spun as victory.

[QC]

16. Now where have I heard that before?

Oh, yeah: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=82py_wk5vE4

[graywarrior]

2. I admire your guts, kpete

I'm in a wait and see mode, but I like your letter.

[Turborama]

15. Me too

I also admire kpete's guts, like the letter and am in a wait and see mode.

:kick: & R

[Junkdrawer]

3. So now Kossaks feel they can sign their commentaries with Obama's name?

:shrug:

[charlie]

12. Dear presumptuous Kossack

Put a cork in it.

Love --
Jesus Christ

(aka charlie)

[Gold Metal Flake]

4. Gonna dump the entire rec list from DKos here today?

:eyes:

[Kokonoe]

7. Does the Name President Obama is a war president not trouble you enough

To Turtle Bay,

I'm just looking out for president Obama.

The people over there do not care who dies, just end the war.

And we know the whole shebang was started by just one probably dead guy.