He can do this. He can say he acted on the best information available at the time

He can do this. He can say he acted on the best information available at the time, but that wars are messy and sometimes decisions don’t turn out well, but he’s learned and continues to learn from experience. He can point out that WW II was going badly after a year-and-a-half and that he warned us from the beginning that it would be a tough slog, but it’s worth it and the Middle East is starting to stabilize.

I don’t think he’ll succeed, however, unless he’s a lot more candid than is his usual wont about sharing some of the responsibility for bad decisions or miscalculations at various times. Without that it will seem as if he’s addicted to rose-colored glasses and will lose even more credibility.

The Crow Indians rode with Custer at Little Bighorn, but they have since reconsidered. On the anniversary of the battle Saturday, they cheered during a re-enactment when Indians drove a stake through his fringed jacket and carved out the heart of the soldier going by the name of Yellow-Hair in Blue Coat Who Kills Babies, Old Men and Old Women.

Their revised opinion is understandable considering what has happened to them since that battle to get their valley back from rival tribes. Today it’s a Crow reservation with enough land and mineral resources to make each tribe member a millionaire, yet nearly a third live below the poverty level, and the unemployment rate has reached 85 percent.