Democrats oppose it about two to one and about the same number of Republicans are for it. Recent national polls show declining support for the war effort. It seems clear the president will have to rely on congressional Republicans to obtain the funds and support needed. Liberal Democrats particularly regard Obama's decision as reneging on his campaign pledges to end the fighting quickly. Approving the surge while also setting the time frame for exiting requires not only a fine touch but an amazing amount of luck - success in military operations against the Taliban, the complete cooperation of the government of Hamid Karzai, and an increasingly nervous Congress where many leading members of Obama's party view any strategy other than withdrawal as a political setback. The effort to assuage both those who see strong and quick action in Afghanistan as necessary to national security and those who no longer support the war after eight years will test the president's political skills mightily. While the shift of emphasis to Afghanistan will lessen the burden of Iraq where the president contends most combat forces will be gone relatively soon, the huge amounts estimated to first deal with the Taliban and train Afghan forces to take over by a target date of 2011 could be and probably will be woefully off the mark if history is any indication. It would be foolish to put much faith in the estimates of both new domestic initiatives and the cost of two wars. The war tax originally was proposed at five percent but the president was pressured by his advisers to double it. Ultimately, LBJ was forced to ask Congress to approve a tax surcharge to pay for Vietnam. Paying for the war in Vietnam and the Great Society at the same time put enormous strain on the treasury. Johnson's approach to accounting included using the once sacrosanct Social Security Trust funds as part of the general fund budget. Nothing comes to mind as much as President Lyndon Johnson's guns and butter budgets that historians have blamed for setting the stage for fiscal insolvency. But partnered with the enormous cost of the proposed health care plan alone - reportedly between $850 billion plus and $1.2 trillion over the next decade, depending on whose bill is adopted - the enormity of the numbers is overwhelming. Under normal circumstances that might not seem a lot. The price tag for the surge of 30,000 troops and the troops already there is conservatively estimated at more than $100 billion, and that is just the initial outlay. Michelle and I send our thoughts and prayers to Steve’s wife Laurene, his family, and all those who loved him.President Obama's decision to escalate, temporarily at least, the war in Afghanistan is not only a political gamble, it is an economic one as well, coming as it does in the face of the huge fiscal demands of his domestic policy. And there may be no greater tribute to Steve’s success than the fact that much of the world learned of his passing on a device he invented. Because he did, he transformed our lives, redefined entire industries, and achieved one of the rarest feats in human history: he changed the way each of us sees the world. Steve was fond of saying that he lived every day like it was his last. And by turning his talents to storytelling, he has brought joy to millions of children and grownups alike. By making computers personal and putting the internet in our pockets, he made the information revolution not only accessible, but intuitive and fun. By building one of the planet’s most successful companies from his garage, he exemplified the spirit of American ingenuity. Steve was among the greatest of American innovators – brave enough to think differently, bold enough to believe he could change the world, and talented enough to do it. President Barack Obama, who dined with Jobs and other Silicon Valley idea people during the summer, had this statement to share: Michelle and I are saddened to learn of the passing of Steve Jobs. On Wednesday, Steve Jobs died at the age of 56. Join the conversation REUTERS/Larry Downing Article content.Manage Print Subscription / Tax Receipt.
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