Anyway, I agree with El Raton, for the most part.

He will either have to disappoint his strongest supporters (the MoveOn, Kos types) by adopting a sensible course or risk revitializing the jihadis. My guess is he will try to steer a middle course, but probably closer to what the far left wants.

I slightly disagree with His Whiteness to this extent: I think he will soon learn that the far left is insatiable, and after a few tussles with them will drift back toward the center.

He’s going to find out quickly that in the Oval Office, you can’t vote ‘present’.

The leader of a jihadi group in Iraq argued Friday that the election of Barack Obama as president represented a victory for radical Islamic groups that had battled American forces since the invasion of Iraq.

The statement, which experts said was part of the psychological duel with the United States, was included in a 25-minute audiotaped speech by Abu Omar al-Baghdadi, leader of the Islamic State of Iraq, an umbrella organization that claims ties to Al Qaeda.

No big surprise there. AQ did give Obama a backhanded endorsement late in the campaign. Every terrorist and anti-American despot on earth has been euphoric since Tuesday night.

But here’s the line that caught my eye:

But two intelligence officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the nature of their work said that they were concerned that any step that could be perceived as a victory for Al Qaeda, like pulling troops out of Iraq right away, would only strengthen its ability to recruit.

One of the left’s favorite nostrums over the last five years has been that our liberation of Iraq has mobilized the Arab street to flock to the jihadis – that as long as our soldiers stayed in Iraq, AQ would grow stronger. This is obviously some new definition of “stronger”, since AQ was losing operatives and public support and getting their butts kicked on an hourly basis since the start of the surge.

But now we’re told that if we leave quickly, as the left wants, that also helps AQ recruit. Looks like no matter what we do, the enemy will be able to build up. Of course, that’s just common sense, but really, how often have you seen the NYT guilty of publishing common sense?

Well, in two months it’ll be Obama’s problem, and his dilemma will be largely of his own making. He will either have to disappoint his strongest supporters (the MoveOn, Kos types) by adopting a sensible course or risk revitializing the jihadis. My guess is he will try to steer a middle course, but probably closer to what the far left wants.