SUPPORT FOR AFGHAN WAR RISES – AT 9:30 P.M. ET:  A new poll shows a dramatic rise in support for our effort in Afghanistan, although the war is still only supported by a minority of Americans.  But the new support can give muscle to outgoing Secretary Gates's belief that we must be careful about withdrawing too quickly or too steeply.  From WaPo:

The number of Americans who say the war in Afghanistan is worth fighting has increased for the first time since President Obama announced at the end of 2009 that he would boost troop levels, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll.

The finding may give Obama slightly more political breathing room as he decides how many troops to withdraw from Afghanistan in July, the deadline he set 18 months ago to begin bringing home the additional U.S. forces.

In the Post-ABC News poll conducted last week, 43 percent of Americans say the war is worth fighting, compared with 31 percent in March. A significant amount of the fresh support came from the independent voters Obama is courting as he campaigns for reelection next year.

But a majority of Americans still say the war, which is in its 10th year, is not worth fighting, despite the killing last month of Osama bin Laden by U.S. forces in Pakistan.

The 16-point bump in support that Obama received for his handling of the war immediately after bin Laden’s death has been cut in half, the poll found.

COMMENT:  I suspect that the bin Laden raid contributed mightily to the increase in support for the war effort.  Nothing contributes to morale more than a victory, something President Roosevelt understood in 1942 when he ordered the immortal Doolittle raid on Tokyo.  That raid was fundamentally a morale booster.

The problem here is that Obama has very poor leadership skills.  He doesn't take the American people into his confidence, and he doesn't have the knack of rallying the country to his cause.  We get the feeling that he doesn't believe too strongly in some of the things he's doing.  President leadership, important in all areas, is critically important in war, and we're not getting it.

We need change we can believe in...a new face.

June 6, 2011