At the G-20 summit in Pittsburgh, a reporter asked Obama whether sanctions would impact Iran. Noting that this wasn't "a football game," the president declared he was "not interested in victory but solving the problem."
It wasn't the first time that Obama had shied away from the word "victory." He did it in July when, during an interview with ABC News, he said about Afghanistan: "I'm always worried about using the word 'victory,' because, you know, it invokes this notion of Emperor Hirohito coming down and signing a surrender to MacArthur."
Can you imagine an American president being afraid to use a word like victory? Does that mean that he is prepared to tolerate defeat?
Well, not in some things. If you want to see Obama get passionate in pursuit of an international cause, you'll have to go to Copenhagen, where the president and first lady this week will lobby the International Olympic Committee to pick their home city of Chicago to host the 2016 Olympics.
It's easy to see what's important to him: whatever matters to Daley. |