Afghanistan! Need I say more...

Well, Atlantans took to the polls yesterday to elect a new mayor and city council president, and we technically still don't have a mayor yet. However, the likely winner is Kasim Reed. (the young, GA state senator who came from relative obscurity. Remind you of anyone????) The winner for city council president was Ceaser Mitchell (another fortyish, black male. I must say it is shaping up to be a rather good year for youngish, black males.) There are some interesting similarities between the Atlanta mayoral race and the democratic primaries of 08. However, I will have to review the run off after we officially have a mayor (come on Mary Norwood, let's not drag this thing out forever). I would like to take a moment to express how proud I am that the citizens of Atlanta actually had a more than decent showing at the polls yesterday(who knew that more people would turn out for the run off a couple of days after Thanksgiving than the general election?? Is there some recall on turkeys due to them being stuffed with "unknown substances" that I don't know about? ). Compared to the elections in November, it was an absolute triumph. If we are truly going to make a difference in this town, this is the type of turn out that we must have at every single election.

Moving on, I really want to address the president's decision on Afghanistan. Last night, President Obama announced that he would be sending an additional 30,000 troops into Afghanistan as part of a "surge" effort. He said that this is necessary to ensure the security of the United States and her interests. He also mentioned that we would only be there a grand total of 18 months, but, of course, that will depend on "conditions on the ground" (code for if we haven't made progress in 18 months, this could start looking like another Iraq). He also made very little mention of funding this war. The president did a wonderful job of informing the nation on his decision. However, for the first time during his tenure as commander-in-chief, I don't think he sold it. He has been able to sell a majority of this country on bail outs, healthcare, and most importantly hope that things will get better. Until last night, it seemed as if everyone (excluding our "buddies" in the Republican party) was on board the Obama express. I hope that this is the right decision for our country, and this war may very well prove to be successful. However, I'm not sure Obama will be able to claim victory.

As it stands, president Obama has made a decision that elates Republicans and has severely fractured his own base in the Democratic party. I repeat: Obama has made a decision that elates Republicans and has severely fractured his own base in the Democratic party. The question becomes, can Obama trust Republicans enough to support him in this war effort? Could this all possibly be a set up by Republicans down the line? I honestly think that president Obama is an intelligent, thoughtful, and kind man, but there comes a time when you have to put down the white flag and throw up your middle finger to the opposition. I don't know if this war in Afghanistan will be successful, but I do know that you can not alienate your base and expect to win an election. Now, over years, your base may become more moderate (conservative Republicans need to take note) and be more willing to compromise with the opposition on certain key issues. However, the Democratic base has not grown more moderate and, last time I checked, are staunchly anti-war. Hmmmm, could it be that some wise Republican realized that all we have to do is divide the democratic party over key issues (healthcare reform, blue dog democrats need to "GET ON BOARD"), and in 2 years we will waltz back into Congress. 2 more years after that (provided the right candidate comes along), we are back in the oval office sitting pretty.

It is precisely for this reason that Democrats need to support the president in his decision to send more troops into Afghanistan although, many Democrats fundamentally oppose sending anymore of our resources (human or monetary) over to the Middle East when we should be taking care of home, first ( I would have to agree with them on this point. Actually, Obama campaigned on this very premise). I say this all the time, and I think it bears repeating: no matter how upset the Republican party got with Dubya, when he made a decision, everyone fell in line and supported him to the hilt. The bottom line is united you stand and divided you fall. Unless this democratic party wants to be on the outside looking in come 2010 and 2012, they can not allow themselves to fall.

Finally, in the mean time, president Obama needs to check himself about the people who are his true supporters and have his back. I will always respect him for having his own mind in making decisions, but some of those decisions better start falling the other way and quickly. Things like escalating a war in Afghanistan and bailing out Wall Street ( people who are now making record amounts of money while American citizens are still jobless and homeless) are not the type of decisions that endear you to the hearts of the people. Healthcare reform could honestly be the best Christmas present that this president ever receives.