The Question is Can He Explain the Why

MSNBC -Obama is preparing to announce the new strategy to the public on Tuesday, including the addition of thousands more American forces, a clarification of the mission and a path toward disengagement. It will likely be one of the toughest sales jobs of his presidency.
He began the rollout on Sunday, the White House said, talking first with Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton by phone and then informing other key administration advisers such as Defense Secretary Robert Gates in the evening Oval Office meeting.
It was at that time, said Gibbs, that Obama's order for the military to go ahead with the new deployments became official. The goal of the president's revamped approach is to train Afghan security forces to eventually take over from the U.S., and Obama will say Tuesday that he doesn't plan an open-ended U.S. commitment, the spokesman said.

I didn't vote for Obama to escalate troops forces in Afghanistan and I don't think anyone else did. He was the only "hope" for putting an end to our endless wars. However, there wasn't any indication any other viable candidate would have done anything different than what Obama seems to be proposing now (and he did promise following through on this war). That in of itself is the depressing part.

Look for a long speech and a rallying speech; Obama tends to have great oration with his back pressed against the wall. What I would like and many others, is somewhere maybe he can explain how this is more important than jobs, health care, and global climate change. And how we are going to pay for Surge 2009.

I am Frank Chow and I approved this message

Update: Sterno makes a solid point:

I think my hope on Afghanistan was that he'd apply a more intelligent policy there. That policy might mean adding more troops or withdrawing, but the status quo was clearly not sustainable.

At this point my instinct is to disagree with his move because the Afghan government is not a reliable partner there. But I'm open to hearing him explain why this is a good idea. I do at least feel he, unlike Bush, appreciates the gravity of such a decision.

As far as a President who understands the "gravity of such a decision" read, the Veterans Day a meeting with the President.

I will stress that "get the out of there now" approach was never realistic, a timetable as well is difficult to promise. We do, however deserve to know someday, sometime the troops will be withdrawn and Afghanistan left in the hands of their people.