Category Error

Scott - Your reply to Tom from NJ's post (in John Batchelor's blog) is a classic example of a "category error". Tom writes from within the framework of what the U.S. once was. Your point of departure is based in what the U.S. has become. I agree with you that under Obama there's no point in prolonging this or any fight. I too lament the loss of trust in us by our allies, the now wasted sacrifices we must endure, and the credibility we've blown. But to go on as before is now folly, as you suggest. The first thing we must do is to set our own house in order.

It's a common slip-up, glaringly apparent in virtually any discussion on any given blog. Even Thaddeus McCotter fell into the trap in his speech before Congress posted above.

Ironically, any hope of us changing the world has gone down the drain with the election of Obama. The barbarians have outmaneuvered us. The proof of the pudding was in today's announcement that Obama had won the Nobel Peace (or absence of war) prize. There are only two ways for either side involved in a conflict to secure peace. One is to win outright; the other is to surrender. The Nobel Prize committee was not wrong. They simply placed all their bets on the now certain recognition that we will yield.