Max, others share your concern about the undue attention to the exit ramps. In a statement, Sen. John McCain praised the commitment of troops, but explained:

What I do not support, and what concerns me greatly, is the President’s decision to set an arbitrary date to begin withdrawing U.S. forces from Afghanistan. A date for withdrawal sends exactly the wrong message to both our friends and our enemies — in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and the entire region — all of whom currently doubt whether America is committed to winning this war. A withdrawal date only emboldens Al-Qaeda and the Taliban, while dispiriting our Afghan partners and making it less likely that they will risk their lives to take our side in this fight.

Success is the real exit strategy. When we have achieved our goals in Afghanistan, our troops should begin to return home with honor, but that withdrawal should be based on conditions on the ground, not arbitrary deadlines. In the days ahead, I will seek to address this and other questions I have about the President’s policy, including my continuing concern about the civilian aspect of our strategy.

We can store that in the “elections have consequences” file. Now certainly, Obama’s speech could have been worse — he could have set a date certain for a pullout. But acknowledging that we were spared an even more harmful address won’t eradicate the doubts and concerns raised by the speech he did deliver. And, as Max points out, this is all for naught. The Left won’t embrace any troop commitment, the Right will once again perceive Obama as short on commander-in-chiefness, and our enemies will rightly see that the president’s heart isn’t in this.