Obama and Napoleon: Facing Similar Opponents?
Posted on 22 April 2008 by Michael Callaway
In 1812 Napoleon Bonaparte lead his army on a mission of conquest of Russia. His plan was to take Moscow and winter the harsh Russian winter there. He would then complete his conquest of this giant country the following spring and be the Master of Europe. In 1812 there was no army in the world that could compete against France on land and Russia was no exception.
One thing that Napoleon did not count on was the fighting spirit of the Russians and their ability to suffer. If Napoleon was going to take their country, he was going to wish that he had not. The Russians would rather burn their country to the ground then surrender it to the superior army of Napoleon. So while Napoleon did capture Moscow, there was nothing there, the fields had been burned, the houses had been burned, everything was gone.
Napoleon had his victory, but in the end it was not a victory worth having. Let us fast forward to 2008, Barak Obama is in the middle of a battle for the Democratic nomination. He is articulate, he is charismatic and he appears to be unstoppable. However, Hillary Clinton will not surrender and would be willing to burn it all down rather then give up the fight.
Barak Obama will need to be very careful against dealing with the Clinton political machine. He must be prepared for an adversary who against the self interest of the Party would be willing to burn it all down if it meant not conceding defeat. Let see if history will repeat itself or if there will be a different outcome
Popularity: 17% [?]
April 22nd, 2008 at 12:50 pm
If the party is flawed, Clinton needs to cripple it so that we can have a true assessment of what needs to change. Burn the crop to produce better yields in later years.
April 22nd, 2008 at 11:38 pm
Interesting comparison, kinda reminds me of how people compare Vietnam with Iraq. History’s pattern gives us ammo for the future decision makers.