President Obama scored abysmally on his mid-terms. A trio of MIT professors renders harsh judgment on the president half-way through his administration, and their assessments may leave listeners “weeping or depressed,” in the words of moderator Richard Samuels. National security expert Barry Posen reviews the administration’s strategy and implementation of the war in Afghanistan. This conflict was adopted by the president and many Democrats as “the right war” following the wrong-headed invasion of Iraq, says Posen. But after investing tens of thousands more troops, and nearly $100 billion a year in Afghanistan, there remains uncertainty about how to complete the mission: to clear out the Taliban, secure critical regions, and build up a successful Afghan police force and government. While the Pentagon seems to support an “open-ended project aimed at defeating the Taliban,” the president appears intent on limiting the venture, with the aim of drawing down troops beginning in July 2011.  But Posen is skeptical of the overall project: Afghan politics are corrupt, rife with ethnic rivalries, and the administration is incompetent, so the idea of setting up a government “to compete with the Taliban probably won’t work well.” Though there are frequent reports of killing Taliban leaders, “many doubt the Taliban can be killed off as fast they regenerate,” and there is little chance of serious negotiation with them. The creation of a functioning Afghanistan “looks like a costly, lengthy gamble,” but the strategy is driven by politics, says Posen: “Democrats are quite concerned not to appear authors of defeat.” The U.S. missed a vital opportunity to take the lead in addressing climate change, says Henry “Jake” Jacoby. Early on, the Obama administration “hurt prospects for progress,” putting healthcare reform first when it had a choice between “the health of the people and the planet.” And the administration didn’t forcefully back either the House or Senate versions ...