Missing crucial timetables

"A man who cannot be trusted in small matters shall not be trusted in great ones." Such did Kung Fu-tse tell us ages ago, and such is still the truth.

Another deadline set by President Obama is about to go by the wayside. The Senate has announced it will not vote on health coverage reform before the August recess. We had been promised $100 million in cuts within 90 days, which have elapsed, sans cuts. There was a deadline for the Gitmo Commission to plan for the relocation of detainees which passed with a statement that the report has been delayed for months.

How much confidence can the Iraqis display in President Obama's timetable for withdrawal if his cannot compel the Congress (under control of his own party), his Guantanamo commission or his administration to meet their timetables? A leader should be able to compel his underlings to do the things he orders them to do in the time frame set.

What has a list of minor budget cuts to do with the war in Iraq? What has an oak tree to do with a poplar? If you see only trees, nothing. However, if you look at the whole forest, each is a component of the entire system. To cut one tree reduces the forest, just as being untrustworthy in a small matters renders you untrustworthy in great ones.

SHAPLEY HUNTER, Thebes, Ill.