On the eve of President Obama’s address to the nation about his plans for the war in Afghanistan, filmmaker and political activist Michael Moore published a heartfelt “open letter” to the president on his website, pleading with Obama to not become the “next war president.” Moore warned Obama that if he goes through with escalating troop levels, he’ll “destroy the hopes and dreams” of his strongest supporters, and become a “one-term president.” Should Obama take Moore’s threats seriously?
Obama should ignore the letter: Michael Moore’s open letter tells Obama what "anti-war liberals” think about a troop escalation, says Brad Templeman in Examiner.com, but Moore's threats aren't credible. “Obama ran to the right of Sen. John] McCain on Afghanistan,” and that “hawkish stand” probably helped get him elected.
“Should Obama be worried about Michael Moore’s provocative open letter on Afghanistan?”
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Moore has a point, sort of: “In spite of himself,” Moore has touched on a “very important point,” says Jazz Shaw at The Moderate Voice. For the surge in Afghanistan to work, Obama must clearly explain “what the extra troops will accomplish, what our end goals are, and how long it will take.” If he can’t do that, Obama should “take Michael Moore’s advice and get out of Dodge.”
“When Michael Moore Makes Sense (Sort of)”
The Left should have seen this coming: Michael Moore is right that 30,000 more troops “won’t make a bit of difference” in winning the war, says liberal blogger Taylor Marsh, but Obama really has “no palatable political way out” of Afghanistan, and Moore and his “politically tone deaf” allies need to “deal with it.”