Just a thought (correct me if I am misguided): couldn't such a "new assignment" to "advisors" be to come up with the best way to "end the war", and couldn't the wording simply be a rhetorical simplification of what he knows to be a complex process... i.e., he's saying he's going to his advisers and directing him with this "new assignment" in mind, but he doesn't mind that those who don't know any better think of it as going to the generals/chain of command and telling them to "end the war" directly, however one might envisage this.
I think you are more guided than this candidate.
I see this as more a case of better to say nothing and be thought a fool, than say something and remove all doubt.
Had obama left it at he would consult the Commanders on the ground (Generals) as to the best way to end the war, it would have carried the weight he wanted. But he made it obvious he doesnt know what the Joint Chiefs are for or their job description or the change in their job description as of 1986. I also think this is a case of obama speaking extemporaneously. He simply isnt good at it. Further he thinks he IS good at it (see the press conferences recently where within 12 hours he spoke and respoke a couple of hours later attempting to explain the first speak.)
He was shocked the media flap it caused.
How will such speaking play on the national stage as president? His worshipers and media in this country may give him a pass, but terrorists, Iran, Chavez, et al wont.
