There was no way Gen. McChrystal could save his job without the president sacrificing his. Now, will Obama fire all the aides quoted in the story? It shouldn’t be hard to find out who they are.
The downside, of course, is that the general, once his inevitable retirement occurs, and his aides will talk, and not kindly of the administration. That will add fuel to the partisan fire that Obama is over his head in foreign affairs and as commander-in-chief. But he would have heard that if he kept the general, along with accusations that he was weak.
Obama does not make decisions quickly, nor does he change strategies at the drop of a hat. But this may be seen as a pivotal point in his presidency where he begins to assert himself more forcefully. We may see it soon with the climate change bill. I doubt that as much as the GOP will try, McChrystal’s firing will hurt the president. In fact, maybe some independents will see that he has some cojones.
One can only hope.