IN THE REAL WORLD – AT 9:38 A.M. ET:  Rather than jump right into politics, I thought we'd begin this morning by reminding ourselves that there's a real world out there, and our country isn't doing very well in dealing with it.  Field Marshal Obama has 11 months in his term.  From The Hill:

The U.S. has lost ground in the fight against Islamic extremism, the former commander of U.S. forces in the Middle East said in a recent interview.

"Unfortunately, we have lost ground over time," said retired Gen. John P. Abizaid, former commander of U.S. Central Command in an interview published in this month's West Point's Combating Terrorism Center's magazine.

"The scope of the ideological movement, the geographic dispersion of Islamic extremism, the number of terror attacks, the number of people swearing allegiance, and the ground they hold have all increased," said Abizaid.

"Groups like the Islamic State have now taken on state-like forms and features that are unlike anything we’ve seen in the past. So on balance we are in a worse position strategically with regard to the growth of international terrorism, Islamic terrorism in particular, than we were after September 2001," he said.

The dire assessment highlights the difficulty the Obama administration faces as it tries to accelerate the campaign against ISIS in its remaining 10 months in office.

The administration is also facing increased pressure — mostly from Republicans, but also from other quarters — to do more to stop ISIS in Libya.

The administration says the primary focus will remain on Iraq and Syria, but that it will also strike ISIS in other places, such as Afghanistan and Libya, if an opportunity arises.

However, with only 10 months remaining in the administration, there is little time for doing significantly more, and the administration has sidestepped questions into whether there will be a more robust effort to go after ISIS in Libya.

COMMENT:  It would have been nice had the reporter gotten the number of months left in the Obama administration correct.  It's 11, not 10.  But, as they say, we'll let it pass.

Abizaid assessment is grim.  Who we elect as president in November may well determine our fate in the war against Islamic extremism.  Then again, it may not.  Even a president with the right focus may come up with the wrong strategy. 

If Hillary is elected, I do believe she'd be better than Obama – although the standard is low – but she may be restrained by the divisions within her own party.

February 24,  2016