WHAT IS THIS MAN SAYING? – AT 8:54 A.M. ET:  The president of the United States, and field marshal general colonel of the armed forces, has delivered unto us his wisdom about fighting ISIS.  I have no idea what he's talking about.  Maybe you can do better.  From Fox: 

President Obama sent seemingly conflicting signals Wednesday about his ultimate goal in the fight against the Islamic State, saying at a press conference in Europe that the aim is to "degrade and destroy" the terror group -- but moments later, claiming he wants to make it a "manageable problem."

The president spoke as lawmakers on Capitol Hill and others urge the White House and Pentagon to pursue a tough approach against the Islamic State, also known as ISIS or ISIL.

Those calls mounted after the group released another video showing the execution of an American journalist; the White House on Wednesday confirmed that video as authentic.

Speaking in Estonia during a visit to Europe, Obama at first took a hard line. He condemned the execution as "horrific" and "barbaric" and vowed "justice will be served."

After taking some heat for admitting last week that "we don't have a strategy yet" to address the militant group in Syria, Obama said they do have a regional strategy. Ultimately, he said, "our objective is clear, and that is to degrade and destroy ISIL so it is no longer a threat not just to Iraq but also the region and to the United States."

Wait.  Stop the music.  How can you both degrade and destroy?  If you destroy, there's nothing left to degrade.  Does this guy even think about his fibs?

But later in the press conference, Obama returned to the topic and noticeably softened his tone.

He clarified that if the U.S. is joined by an international coalition, they can "continue to shrink ISIL's sphere of influence, its effectiveness, its financing, its military capabilities to the point where it is a manageable problem."

Whaa?

The remarks are likely to sow confusion on Capitol Hill, and possibly among allies.

"Are we going to contain ISIS or are we going to crush ISIS? And the president has not answered that," Rep. Adam Kinzinger, R-Ill., told Fox News, reacting to the president's remarks.

COMMENT:  America has, very often, been lucky in its leadership during crises.  But I doubt if the names Washington, Lincoln, FDR, Truman, and Reagan will ever be found in the same sentence with Barack Obama.  We are in trouble.

September 3,  2014