I don’t know about this whole thinking-three-steps-ahead business, but I’m pretty sure I don’t like it. The missus, she says I gotta give it a chance, I can’t always be deciding about things right off the bat.
I don’t see why not. When you already know what you know, why wait?
This thinking-three-steps-ahead business, for instance — where does it say that that’s a better way to decide things? Just because Obama’s doing it with this whole loose-nukes thing, the media’s in another swoon about how great he is, and how smart he is, and isn’t he the cleverest guy that ever came down the pike?
For what? Because he doesn’t want the world to blow up on his watch? That takes a genius?!
So he has a big meeting — big deal. The top guys from 40-some countries, they all have to drop what they’re doing and troop over to Washington because Obama says come sit down in some big conference room and talk. And meanwhile, they tie up traffic. Great.
But the meeting isn’t the first thing — that’s what I’m talking about. Before he has the meeting about the loose nukes, he gives speeches about getting rid of them. About putting them somewhere where the terrorists can’t get at them. Fine. Bush would’ve said exactly the same thing if anybody’d ever asked him about it.
But it’s not even just the speeches before the meeting. That’d be too easy! Obama goes and signs a whole new treaty with the Russians — not Putin, the other guy, the little guy — about cutting way back on our nukes and their nukes. Which is supposed make the two of us a role model or something for all the other countries, so now they won’t want to have so many nukes either.
Plus he has us come out with some new review of what our strategy is for when we can use nuclear weapons, which as far as I’m concerned is “Whenever we want to,” but now Obama’s got us saying, “Well, if you don’t use nuclear weapons yourself, and if you don’t even have nuclear weapons, and you’re living up to all these particular laws or whatever else and you know the secret handshake, then we won’t nuke you.”
Like if we show restraint, they’ll show restraint. See? A step. Another step. Another step. And like I said, that was all before he got everybody in the big room.
So the media’s saying he’s not just thinking what his next move is, but also two or three moves down the road. That this thing leads to that thing, which leads to this other thing which just maybe possibly gets you where you wanted to go in the first place.
It’s not just chess he’s playing — this is the media again — it’s three-dimensional chess. You know, like regular chess isn’t hard enough for him. He needs more of a challenge!
You ever seen a three-dimensional chess board? Me neither. It wouldn’t surprise me if there isn’t any such thing, that it’s just some made-up idea for showoffs to brag about.
Besides, chess — the regular kind, I mean — is one of those Russian games, isn’t it? The Russians are always the ones you see playing chess.
What else do you need to know?
Rick Horowitz is a nationally syndicated columnist. His e-mail address is rickhoro@execpc.com.
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