Novice or Underqualified?

Novice or Underqualified?

Earlier today I had a discussion with a friend about Obama's ability to run the world (to the degree an American president can, which is always more than anyone else, and less than he'd like). My interlocuter was of the opinion that he's in way over his head and not likely to grow into the job; I was of the opinion that he's in way over his head but may yet grow. We both agreed that he came to the job woefully unprepared; the disagreement was whether there's a learning curve that can take him high enough soon enough.

The job of POTUS is extraordinarily complicated, and no-one comes to it fully prepared; as a general observation I think it's reasonable to need up to two years of on-the-job training.

Rob Satloff at the New Republic seems to be on my side of the discussion, arguing that Obama's MidEast policy was all wrong, but now he may be fixing it. I hope he's right; and I can see why my friend this afternoon is less convinced. (Via Jeffrey Goldberg).

Originally posted by Yaacov Lozowick's Ruminations