Because Gherald and I have apparently decreed that today is Día de los Gráficos*, I put together a little visual aid for you to use in conversations with random wingnuts on the oh-so-serious topic of how Obama is “dithering” on deciding on a strategy to address the flaming paper bag of dog excrement (i.e., the war in Afghanistan) that Bush laid on Obama’s doorstep.

Enjoy!
Some explanations (data source):

• The number of months in this graph for Bush is very generous, as it gives him credit for not “dithering” during the period starting with the launch of the war on October 7 2001 up until the end of major combat operations (including through the end of Operation Anaconda and its various post-skirmishes in mid-to-late 2002) somewhere around January 2003.

• As for Obama, I was conservative in my assignment of “dithering” time. I figured the earliest he could truly be said to be “dithering” was around April 2009.

• Finally, my “Wingnut Anger Factor” is something I just pulled out of my ass.

Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA) denies climate change, supports torture, and believes that President Obama has a “Marxist background.” So he’s not the likeliest candidate to rush to Obama’s defense. But, speaking on the House floor last night, Rohrabacher said that the president is right not make any “brash” decisions:

“President Obama will soon make a decision that will chart the course for America’s involvement in Afghanistan for years to come. I personally am not upset that it has taken President Obama this long to determine his response to General McChrystal’s request for an additional 35,000 U.S. combat troops to be sent to Afghanistan. This is a monumental decision [...]

This is not the time for business as usual nor is it time for brash decision making. A decision to send U.S. troops to Afghanistan will cause money — lots of it — and it will cost lives. ”