tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6559710283964047904.post7356576181349795665..comments2024-03-29T04:31:38.306-07:00Comments on Learning from experience_Larry hirschhorn: The ISIS surprise and its meaninglarry hirschhornhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03225178328441480792noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6559710283964047904.post-34442175592827956032014-10-30T12:14:08.595-07:002014-10-30T12:14:08.595-07:00Thanks Yiannis. My hypothesis about Obama supports...Thanks Yiannis. My hypothesis about Obama supports your idea that he carries the sense of defeat in him. In the post I speculate that source of this sense of defeat is based partly on his interpretation of the limits of US power. It is easy to imagine how the intractable Middle East could induce in anyone a sense of defeat. But there may be other more personal dynamics at play, attached to his tendency to withdraw. I am not sure how to tease these out. Perhaps you have some more thoughts about thislarry hirschhornhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03225178328441480792noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6559710283964047904.post-42101939692964953632014-10-30T01:08:06.552-07:002014-10-30T01:08:06.552-07:00Larry - do you think that Obama has moved into a d...Larry - do you think that Obama has moved into a depressive fatalistic position - the world is too messy, complex and mixed up; he intellectualizes but finds action, especially purposeful fighting, difficult to undertake? Norbert's observation above, that he is an 'unlucky' president, may itself be a consequence of his depressive position where relatively to be expected challenges and crises are presented as insurmountable disasters. Yiannis Gabrielhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14836145555660662359noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6559710283964047904.post-77111436745549925662014-10-24T09:37:03.234-07:002014-10-24T09:37:03.234-07:00Another consideration to explain Obama's '...Another consideration to explain Obama's 'detachment' is the nearly inhuman load of crises he has endured from the start: economic meltdown, Republican viciousness and blockade, threat to Obama care, a second presidential campaign, war in Afghanistan, Putin and Ukraine, choosing targets for drone killings, the middle east (Iran, Palestine, Israel), now Ebola. I hope he can get some sleep at night. He has to protect his mental state, and his family.Norbert Hirschhornhttp://www.bertzpoet.comnoreply@blogger.com