The Smell of Brimstone in the Morning

Paul Krugman is starting to come around. Dreams of Hillary are fading, and he sees the Forces of Darkness gathering in McCain's campaign. Obama is beginning to look pretty good to him.

Krugman talks about the recent dust-up concerning Wesley Clark's remarks, and says "... my sense, though it’s hard to prove, is that the press is feeling a bit ashamed about the way it piled on General Clark. If so, news organizations may think twice before buying into the next fake scandal."

Alas, it was not to be. Witness: yesterday's excitement about Obama saying he would "refine" his plans for ending the Iraq War. Josh Marshall is best on this:

The McCain camp seems to have a lot of reporters eating out of its hands since many journalists don't appear to grasp the basic distinction between strategy and tactics. I've even had normally sensible journalist colleagues forwarding me RNC press releases like they're passing on the revealed truth. McCain's campaign actually put out a statement claiming that Obama "has now adopted John McCain's position that we cannot risk the progress we have made in Iraq by beginning to withdraw our troops immediately without concern for conditions on the ground."

I've watched this campaign unfold pretty closely. And I've listened to Obama's position on Iraq. He's been very clear through this year and last on the distinction between strategy and tactics. Presidents set the strategy -- which in this context means the goal or the policy. And if the policy is a military one, a President will consult closely with his military advisers on the tactics used to execute the policy.

This is an elementary distinction the current occupant in the White House has continually tried to confuse by claiming that his policies are driven and constrained by the advice he's given by his commanders on the ground. There's nothing odd or contradictory about Obama saying that he'll change the policy to one of withdrawal of American combat troops from Iraq with a specific timetable but that he will consult with his military advisers about how best to execute that policy.

For the McCain campaign to put out a memo to reporters claiming that Obama has adopted McCain's policy only shows that his advisers believe that a sizable percentage of the political press is made up of incorrigible morons. And it's hard to disagree with the judgment.

Maybe it's the 24/7 news cycle that has done this to us. Maybe it's a press corps made up of "communication" majors. Maybe it's Stephen Foster's fault. I don't know. But really, they're just awful.