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There are just times, when you are president of the United States, that formally speaking to the American people is part of the job.
Not because it's politically wise, or even politically advisable -- but because you have something important to say. As in, the seven-year-combat-mission-in-Iraq-is-over. Or, more specifically, as President Obama said, "it's time to turn the page."
It wasn't a particularly artful speech, nor was it full of new and interesting ideas. It was what it was: a ceremonial proclamation ending combat in a war Obama inherited (and opposed) and a declaration to fight another war (also, as he says, inherited) on the economy.
No talk of winning or victory, only of transitions (to noncombat mode) and of a new focus for resources: on investments at home, on fighting al Qaeda in Afghanistan. No self-congratulation, only plaudits for the troops.
The declaration ending combat was clear, but what comes next in Iraq was completely ambiguous: Will a government finally form? Are the Iraqi security forces up to the job? And if it all falls apart, what do we do?
In many ways, it was an opportunity for the president to remind us of a promise kept. Fair enough: He said we would leave Iraq as combatants, and we have.
He tipped his hat to President Bush in an effort to try and finally end the longstanding political divisions over Iraq (declaring Bush's "love for his country"), but stopped short of saying the obvious: Bush's surge strategy worked. The world can argue over why it worked, but one thing is clear: Obama opposed the surge. And now he's employing one in Afghanistan.
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