QUOTE OF THE DAY - AT 10:25 A.M. ET:  From Fred Barnes, writing in the Weekly Standard: 

George Will suggested last week that President Obama's self-referential speech on behalf of Chicago's bid for the 2016 Olympics may lead to his being known as the "vain" president. Maybe, but worse things have been said about a president and probably will be if Obama declines to send substantially more troops to Afghanistan and rejuvenate his counterinsurgency strategy. He'll be called a "weak" president. And the label will stick.

A weak president is vulnerable, politically and otherwise. In Jimmy Carter's case, being seen as weak in dealing with Iran and the Soviets was a major factor in his defeat by Ronald Reagan in 1980. Americans don't like pushovers, especially pushover presidents. Obama is at risk of becoming a pushover.

COMMENT:  Barnes is correct.  And we wonder what impact the Nobel Prize will have on Obama's decision.  If things get worse in Afghanistan/Pakistan in the absence of effective action by this president, he becomes a weakling.

Problem is, you can't beat somebody with nobody.   We don't have a Ronald Reagan for 2012.  The GOP isn't very good at developing top candidates, and it had better develop that skill.

October 11, 2009