Last week I noticed a subtle shift in President Obama’s language on Afghanistan and suggested he may be laying the ground work for a major strategy shift. After this weekend’s media blitz, the Washington Post editorial board noticed the same shift:

It was only last March 27 that President Obama outlined in a major speech what he called “a comprehensive new strategy for Afghanistan” that, he added, “marks the conclusion of a careful policy review.” … So it was a little startling to hear Mr. Obama suggest in several televised interviews on Sunday that he had second thoughts. “We are in the process of working through that strategy,” said on CNN.” The first question is . . . are we pursuing the right strategy?” On NBC he said, “if supporting the Afghan national government and building capacity for their army and securing certain provinces advances that strategy” of defeating al-Qaeda, “then we’ll move forward. But if it doesn’t, then I’m not interested in just being in Afghanistan for the sake of being in Afghanistan.”

The Post editorial board goes on to ask why President Obama is second-guessing a strategy that he proudly announced barely six months ago:

What has changed since March? … It’s hard to see, however, how Mr. Obama can refute the analysis he offered last March.

To answer their question, only one thing has changed since March: Domestic and international support for the war has started to collapse. Abroad, our international allies are in a hurry to shift from combat to humanitarian roles, or leave Afghanistan altogether. At home, key congressmen, senators and opinion leaders have all voiced deep skepticism about the war, and stated opposition to additional troop surges. Public support for the war is quickly falling.

How did the situation change so quickly? Well, for starters, after announcing his surge strategy in March, the President said nary a word about the war for the following four months. That, coupled with heavy casualties and limited progress, and it’s no wonder everyone from Congress leaders to average voters are questioning the wisdom of the effort.

The unfortunate truth is that President Obama has allowed public support for the war in Afghanistan to slip to a point where the long-term, high-cost effort being proposed by his commanders may not be possible politically. But one thing is clear: If the President does want any chance of winning in Afghanistan, he needs to stop the public vacillating that the Post noticed this weekend, and instead rally the Congress and nation to double-down on the war.