First, President Obama probably avoided using the word 'victory' because he learned a thing or two from President Bush's "Mission Accomplished" fiasco. No doubt the surge produced a fair amount of success (as did other parts of the "Sunni Awakening" strategy), but things are still far from settled in Iraq as the string of explosions this year proved. Besides, the victory discourse may not fit in the counter-insurgency context, as opposed to the Second World War that conservatives seem to re-fight in every conflict.
Secondly, I don't think counting the number of times a word occurs in a speech should count as political analysis. I don't know when it became en vogue, but "word clouds" rarely persuade me of anything. (This is just a general pet-peeve, not a crack at you, Esquire.)
re: your second point, I'm not asking for the President to specifically use the word "victory." But I'd like an indication that he thinks we won, however one describes it.
ReplyDeleteAs for your first point, I guess we just disagree. :)