in my opinion

Stand Down: He’s Got This

By Jeannie Ryder

Patience is a virtue. All good things come to those who wait. These words of wisdom do nothing to console producers and editors of real-time, 24-hour news organizations should the slow news day, or worse, days occur. I often think when this happens the news media tries to stir up potential story lines to fill up time and space. I also feel there are times when the media just needs to back off and let some stories develop on their own, especially those concerning foreign or strategic policy making. Instead, as Former Defense Secretary James Schlesinger notes in Pippa Norris’ book Politics and the Press, the “impulse and image” of the media force the United States to reactively handle matters of foreign policy.

Early last month, I began noticing a lot of imagery and chatter in news broadcasts about the war in Afghanistan. The buildup surrounding this increased media attention to Afghanistan culminated in the question: Would Obama commit more troops as requested by the Pentagon?

As days went by with no announcement from the White House, the media punditry shifted the question from troop deployment to Obama’s leadership abilities.

I appreciated Obama’s stern, almost parental, response to the media hubbub that a decision will be made when he is ready to make it and not before. He needed more time.

Obama was in what author David Pearce refers to in his book Wary Partners: Diplomats and the Media as the “pause and reflect” stage of the policy decision process. This choice to be thoughtful and thorough in considering policy options, while highly beneficial for policy makers, is a nightmare for the demands of the 24-hour news cycle. The media needs to just stand down and allow our Commander-in-Chief the time he feels necessary to make a deliberate, well-formed decision about troop deployment.