Whether We Like it or Not, We Should Not Parse a Sentence Just to Criticize the President

"Whether we like it or not, we remain a dominant military superpower, and when conflicts break out, one way or another, we get pulled into them." - President Barack Obama, at the recent Nuclear Summit.

There is plenty to criticize about President Obama. There is plenty to criticize about his foreign policy. There is plenty to criticize about his national defense policy. There is plenty to criticize about his attitudes of symbolism over substance. There is plenty to criticize about his attitude towards America and the concept that this is an exceptional country. And don't even get me started on how asinine the nuclear summit was in the first place or the trumpeted success in the media.

But the criticism that many have leveled at that first statement, saying that "whether we like it or not" modifies the phrase "we remain a dominant military superpower" rather than modifying "we get pulled into them (conflicts)" is stretching. The credibility of critics will be strained to ideological bickering if we make these kinds of reaches.