Obama's first 100 days in office

Hee! I love Marc Lynch.

I had to laugh at Michael Gerson's effort in today's Post. Basically, he offers a thought experiment about President Obama's first 100 days. Obama meets with Iranian President Ahmedenejad, then Raul Castro, then suddenly announces an immediate troop withdrawal from Iraq. Amazingly, everything goes wrong! Wow, scary.

But fun, too! Let me try:

President Barack Obama, only months after his inauguration, holds a stunning summit meeting with Ahmedenejad and senior Iranian leaders. The discussions are tough and frank, but productive, and the outlines of a grand bargain quickly appear. With the Iranian-American relationship improving, crisis spots such as Lebanon rapidly improve. Iraq stabilizes, as Iran now backs American demands for the incorporation of Sunnis into the Iraqi state and encourages its Iraqi allies to lay low. Gulf leaders, reassured by the prospect of stability, finally come through on their end - with the Saudis and Qataris, in particular, offering high-level diplomatic support and significant cash while pressuring their Iraqi Sunni allies to take the deal. This new, increasingly institutionalized and regionally-backed stability allows the U.S. to begin withdrawing troops responsibly and safely. Oil prices begin to come down, as international markets see light at the end of the tunnel, and....

Hey, this is super-duper fun!