This is a change in paradigm from the Presidency as we have known it.
This is a President that places strategy before deployment.
In that reality, is the understanding that soldiers are important. They are important to the defense of our country. They are important in a successful deployment to defeat the enemies of our country and our allies. They are important not to place in harm's way frivilously. And they are important to 'exit' and bring home.
I think that is a President I can be grateful for.
US-India ties will be defining partnership of the 21st century: Obama (click title to entry - thank you)
Chidanand Rajghatta, TNN
25 November 2009, 12:47am IST
...Earlier, welcoming the Prime Minister in the East Room of the White House after the ceremonial parade had been washed out by a steady drizzle and wet underfoot conditions, Obama set at rest any doubts that he did not recognize India as a legitimate nuclear weapons state.
"As nuclear powers, we can be full partners in preventing the spread of the world's most deadly weapons, securing loose nuclear materials from terrorists, and pursuing our shared vision of a world without nuclear weapons," the US President declared as part of his joint agenda with India.
Obama was respectful and solicitous of his elderly guest, whom he described as "wise" and a man of honesty and integrity. Although their two joint appearances were not exactly effusive and the body language was flat, both leaders imparted weight to their promise of a major engagement in the 21st century, invoking their common history and political ideals.
