Status-quo-media stunner: David Broder urges Obama to make a decision on Afghanistan right now, “whether or not it is right.”

When we last left David Broder back in April, the dean of the DC press corp and the sultan of the status quo centrists, he was criticizing Obama for “launching highly controversial efforts in health care, energy and education.”  What was his argument?  “Each of those issues has a history in Washington “” a history marked by congressional gridlock and legislative frustration.”

Never mind the fact that inaction on energy would destroy a livable climate for billions.  No, Obama was rocking the establishment boat by trying to do too much too fast, taking on problems that were mired in decades of inside-the-beltway inaction because they were too difficult.

But now, in a stunning piece titled, “Enough Afghan debate,” Broder flips his criticism entirely.  Obama simply can’t act fast enough on perhaps the most complex issue of his presidency — even if it means getting this vital and dangerous issue completely wrong:

The more President Obama examines our options in Afghanistan, the less he likes the choices he sees. But, as the old saying goes, to govern is to choose — and he has stretched the internal debate to the breaking point.

It is evident from the length of this deliberative process and from the flood of leaks that have emerged from Kabul and Washington that the perfect course of action does not exist. Given that reality, the urgent necessity is to make a decision — whether or not it is right.

As the Washington Monthly opines on this piece by “the so-called Dean of the D.C. Media Establishment”:

“Whether or not it is right.” The Commander in Chief, in other words, should put expediency over merit. Speed is preferable to accuracy. It’s only the longest military conflict in American history, with the future of U.S. foreign policy on the line — the president should worry less about due diligence and thoughtful analysis, and worry more about picking a course, even if it’s wrong. Other than the loss of American servicemen and women, untold billions of dollars, and undermining U.S. interests in a critical region, what’s the worst that can happen?

What a crock.

I realize there’s been a painful decline in the quality of Broder’s analysis in recent years, but this column is a mess. He’s effectively calling for President Obama to act and think more like President Bush — make decisions first, and think through the consequences and implications second.

Worse, Broder goes so far as to castigate the administration for “all this dithering” — using Dick Cheney’s preferred choice of words.

The premise of the piece is that a decision is needed immediately. Where did this arbitrary deadline come from? Broder doesn’t say; he just warns of the Taliban “coming back in Afghanistan,” as if the Taliban hasn’t already reclaimed much of the country.

For Broder, Obama is moving too fast and too slow.

I understand why many readers wish Obama were pushing harder and moving faster on the bipartisan climate and clean energy bill.  But in fact, on most major issues, particularly ones like global warming and Afghanistan, a President basically gets one shot.  Again, look at health care, where the president is pushing his hardest with speeches, town hall meetings, and intense hands-on lobbying with members of Congress.  There’s still no Senate bill.

I’ve always said Obama could get a better climate bill in 2010, and so he will.

Related Post:

• Newsweek stunner: Why the “status quo” establishment media’s coverage of global warming is so useless, Part 1