Barack Obama's Visionary Peace Plan for Iraq

If last night's MSNBC Democratic debate in New Hampshire demonstrated anything (other than Hillary's mastery of the format and Tim Russert's insatiable need to hog the limelight), it showed that the "lightening round" quiz show mentality is wholly inadequate to articulate thoughtful policies and well-planned program proposals.

Take, for example, Russert's intimidating insistence on 30-second, black-and-white answers to questions on the complex situation in the Iraq War.

MR. RUSSERT: Will you pledge that by January 2013, the end of your first term more than five years from now, there will be no U.S. troops in Iraq?

SENATOR OBAMA: I think it's hard to project four years from now, and I think it would be irresponsible. We don't know what contingency will be out there.

What I can promise is that if there are still troops in Iraq when I take office, which it appears there may be unless we can get some of our Republican colleagues to change their mind and cut off funding without a timetable, if there's no timetable, then I will drastically reduce our presence there to the mission of protecting our embassy, protecting our civilians and making sure that we're carrying out counterterrorism activities there.

I believe that we should have all our troops out by 2013, but I don't want to make promises not knowing what the situation's going to be three or four years out.

Sen. Obama gave a thoughtful, appropriately careful, nuanced answer... that sounded a bit like sound-bite mumbo-jumbo.

The problem with our country under the Bush administration has been governance by 30-second sound-bites and poorly-planned policies. And these debate formats demand the same kind of smile-and-a-wink superficial thinking.

On September 12, Barack Obama delivered an extraordinary speech outlining his comprehensive plan to bring peace to Iraq. I URGE you to read his landmark, practical plan at Barack Obama's Visionary Peace Plan for Iraq

Cleaning-up methods for the shocking mess that George Bush and Dick Cheney have cynically gotten our great country into will never be found on quiz shows or in 30-second solutions. The solutions will be found in fully-fleshed, practical, thoughtful policies such as Obama's Iraq peace plan. Or Hillary Clinton's Smart Plan to End the Iraq War.

(To those who've emailed me, YES, I promise to write about last night's debate at length once I've had a chance to thoroughly review the transcript.)

(Photo of Sen. Obama in Iowa: Scott Olson/Getty Images)

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