GERGEN BLASTS WAR ROLLOUT – AT 9:22 A.M. ET:  David Gergen, presidential adviser to both parties, doesn't care for the way Obama is presenting military action in the Mideast, and compares it to the rollout of Obamacare, the ultimate insult.  From Newsmax: 

The rollout of President Barack Obama's strategy to fight the Islamic State (ISIS) has been dogged by problems comparable to the bungled rollout of Obamacare, said David Gergen, the CNN Senior Political Analyst.

"Someone in the Obama White House clearly has a good book to write one day: 'How Not to Do Rollouts,'" Gergen wrote in a commentary for CNN.

"With one hapless episode after another, the rollout of the President's plan to destroy ISIS is beginning to rival the less-than-splendid debut of the Obamacare website."

Gergen said, like any war effort, the stakes are high and it is critical for the Obama administration to get on the offensive with a firm strategy and take clear international leadership.

"Ever since the president went on prime-time television to announce his new strategy to 'degrade and destroy' ISIS, he and his team have slipped on one banana peel after another," Gergen wrote.

He cited a list of muddled messages about the terminology of the conflict, including numerous contradictions emerging from the administration. There also continues to be a lack of clarity about whether there will be "boots on the ground," he said.

Meanwhile, it continues to remain unclear as to what role the international coalition will play in supporting the mission.

Gergen also notes there has been a chorus of doubts among experts and those in the media about the likely effectiveness of the president's chosen strategy of combining American air power with a reliance on local ground forces. Doubts are being amplified by reports of rifts between the White House and military officials.

COMMENT:  As Americans, we hope for the best.  We want what is best for this country, which is the destruction, not only of ISIS, but of other jihadist forces that threaten us and our allies.  But we have a commander-in-chief who has already lost the confidence of most Americans, and very possibly the nation's military leaders.  Obama has to rebuild that confidence for any sustained effort to succeed.  I'm not sure he can.

September 23, 2014