Cartoon Characters to Influence Foreign Policy?

Richard Danzig, who served as Navy Secretary under President Clinton and is tipped to become National Security Adviser in an Obama White House, told a major foreign policy conference in Washington that the future of US strategy in the war on terrorism should follow a lesson from the pages of Winnie the Pooh, which can be shortened to: if it is causing you too much pain, try something else.

Mr Danzig told the Centre for New American Security: “Winnie the Pooh seems to me to be a fundamental text on national security.” [FULL STORY HERE]

For the love of all that is wonderful in this world ... how is it that our current President is lambasted as a baboon and bumbling idiot, but Obama and his friends get away with saying ridiculous things like the above?

I can totally see this comment being made at conference with children, or in a joking kind of way. But that man was talking at a foreign policy conference.

And - well he's kind of picking and choosing his pooh-isms, isn't he? I'm a huge fan of the philosophy of winnie-the-pooh. He's a humble bear, who gets confused, and often is called stupid and simple. My baby's nursery will be decorated in winnie-the-pooh. I love that silly old bear.

But here are some other things he's said (I've had this book marked for ages):

“It is more fun to talk with someone who doesn't use long, difficult words but rather short, easy words like "What about lunch?"”

“"I don't see much sense in that," said Rabbit.

"No," said Pooh humbly, "there isn't. But there was going to be when I began it. It's just that something happened to it along the way."”

“I am a Bear of Very Little Brain, and long words bother me.”

“Those who are clever, who have a Brain, never understand anything.”

“Pooh looked at his two paws. He knew that one of them was the right, and he knew that when you had decided which one of them was the right, then the other was the left, but he never could remember how to begin”

There are lots of cute quotes about always wanting to be with C. Robin and Piglet, and about being nice to people. As it's a children's story meant to teach about friendship and manors.