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Mark Halperin's Take: A Rose Garden 10-Strike

McChrystal speaks during a news briefing at the Pentagon May 13, 2010 in
Arlington, Virginia.

Alex Wong / Getty Images

During some of the darker moments of his presidential campaign, *Barack
Obama*would say, "I'm skinny, but I'm tough." Facing a two-day crucible over
how to respond to intemperate remarks by *General Stanley McChrystal* and
his aides published in *Rolling Stone* magazine, Obama showed just how tough
— and smart — he can be. By replacing Afghanistan commander McChrystal with
*General David Petraeus,* the nation's single most visible, popular and
respected active military officer, Obama turned what could have been a
crippling blow into one of the strongest moments of his presidency to date.

Obama delivered a Rose Garden statement Wednesday afternoon that was firm
and strict — but also generous, even gracious. While he retained the cool
tone that has often been criticized during the BP oil-spill crisis, he was
neither remote nor bloodless. By going out of his way to speak warmly of
McChrystal's public service, Obama extended his hand to a military community
that is still wary of him. And famously intolerant of shabby internal
disputes, he took the opportunity to shift the focus from the melodramatic
to the strategic: his commitment to victory in Afghanistan remains solid.See
a photogallery on Gen. Stanley
McChrystal.<http://www.time.com/time/photogallery/0,29307,1947505,00.html>

But getting Petraeus to step down from his larger regional command and focus
on Afghanistan was Obama's most presidential moment thus far. It gave the
nearly decade-old Afghan mission its best chance at continuity and silenced
even Obama's most outspoken GOP critics, from House leader *John Boehner* to
truculent Fox News commentators. Afghanistan will continue to pose
formidable military and political problems for Obama, but by acting smart,
fast and tough — and doing what he thought was right — he turned a difficult
situation into a memorable one. There might be other definitions of
leadership, but that's a pretty good one.
--
Eric D. Schwerin
Rosemont Seneca Partners
(202) 333-1880
eschwerin@rosemontseneca.co