Petraeus could get us out of Iraq on President’s order

Today on Race for the White House with David Gregory, I watched a clip of General Petraeus responding to a question about whether or not he could get us out of Iraq if that were the order of a new Commander-in-Chief, and his tone was not of doomsday. He said if that were the order, it could be accomplished. This is my recollection of the conversation, looking for a video or transcript. When I find the source, I’ll update this page.

My bet is that it could be accomplished far easier than building a democratic utopia in the Middle East. General Petraeus truly strikes me as someone who really knows his stuff and does his duty in every situation. He is currently doing his duty, but I’d love to hear what he says if a Democrat is elected and asks for his true opinion. He’s also the kind of guy whose book on the Iraq War might be a true testament to history.

John in California wrote in to the same Race for the White House show with a great example, many workers in the United States are forced to retire at 65, yet John McCain may be given the most powerful job in the world at age 72. While I agree with one of the moderators, especially on the example of Churchill, that there were great leaders his age. Ronald Reagan is another example, although wanting to be like someone and hitting the mark are two different things.

I simply must pass on McCain. His age makes him more desperate for the Presidency, but no more sharp or effective in that position. The ball-busting on behalf of cutting pork-barrel spending is welcome in the Senate, however it does not qualify him to be a good executive and make the best decisions the first time. Remember his utter confusion about his own stance on condoms. He’s admitted he knew nothing about it and then pulled a John Kerry on the economy. Then he takes money from George Soros for his own reform efforts and proceeds to criticize him. You could argue he’s less sharp with less serious issues, but that really is not a safe enough argument for the most powerful job in the world.

On the contrary, we’ve witnessed many great young or untested leaders in American history. Abraham Lincoln had no previous executive and just two years in the House of Representatives or John F. Kennedy who also had no executive experience, although he had over a decade of legislative experience. If there were a direct correlation between being a good president and experience in any specific way then we would not have these three as our finalists in this Presidential Job Interview Extravaganza. Personally, I’d rather have the young, sharp community organizer and icon for the people in an office created by a document that begins ‘We the People’. That’s just me.