Victory Week in Review

From the New York Times, top left, lead web story:

Mr. Obama’s remarkable victories in little more than a week, nearly a year and a half into a presidency that was saddled from the start by two wars and a terrifying financial plunge, may not prove to be lasting.

But oh boy.. they were remarkable this week!

Perhaps I missed the past week because the 'victories' they talk of seemed awfully pyrrhic. The oil gusher is still gushing and we still don't know exactly why BP acquiesced (or received) on the escrow fund, because the details of their secret energy meeting haven't yet been released. But they have promised to get them out soon.

As to McChrystal, we still don't know whether he purposely fell on his sword or just acted stupidly. Why allow a Rolling Stoned journo to follow his staff around to bars while keeping everything on the record unless he was trying to self-extract himself? It's possible he was just a little too trusting or a bit short on common sense when it comes to journalists in general, but does the Army not give their four-stars media training these days?

As to the mitigation, whom other than General Petraeus was Obama going to appoint? Joe Biden? But oh yes, the brilliance.

This may sound like gratuitous partisan bashing, and you the reader can make up your mind on that, but my sense is that the fly landing on Obama's upper lip was more emblematic of the past week than anything else. McChrystal/Petraeus was a no-brainer, and the BP come-to-Jesus meeting was at least a month late, and they are still not skimming the oil off the Gulf. The Joint Chiefs are now talking about the national debt, which sounds like a signal of coming withdrawals.

But thank goodness we have mainstream press to find victory in the places an average man can't see.