Obama, drugs, and rose-colored analysis

Paul Waldman endeavors to explain Why Obama Won’t Be the One to End the War on Drugs. Its conclusion:

As the first president who admits to being an enthusiastic pot smoker in his youth (and of course the first black president), he’ll be the last person to begin the dismantling of the War on Drugs.

Huh? This is one of those just-so, non sequitur explanations that only makes sense if you look at it through one side of the prism. After all, I could just as easily write:

As the first president who admits to being an enthusiastic pot smoker in his youth (and of course the first black president), he’s exactly the right person to begin the dismantling of the War on Drugs.

Why isn’t my explanation just as persuasive and appealing, if not more so?

The answer is: because that would imply bad things about President Obama not dismantling the War on Drugs. And Paul Waldman likes President Obama. So he doesn’t want to have to think bad things about President Obama. So, he likes his explanation better.

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