I can only assume President Obama wakes up every morning and thinks, "God, I just hate George W. Bush." It would be an understandable emotional reaction under the circumstances.
There's been considerable debate of late over Bush/Cheney-era torture policies, and what, if anything, to do about them. Obama clearly wants no part of this, despite the importance of accountability, and despite the demands of the law.
I've been trying, however, to think about this from Obama's perspective. Bush left him with a generational economic crisis, an abysmal job market, a budget mess, a war in Iraq, a deteriorating war in Afghanistan, an nuclear-armed and unstable Pakistan, a nuclear-armed and nutty North Korea, a warming planet, a collapsing U.S. auto industry, an ineffective health care system, a massive debt, an absurd national energy framework, and a nation that has lost much of its global prestige.
Ready to dive in and start getting the nation back on track, the president is told, "Wait, before you tackle this to-do list, we have to deal with the consequences of the previous administration's alleged war crimes, too."
It's no wonder No Drama Obama prefers to turn the proverbial page.
[Prosecuting Bush administration officials] would simply swallow the Obama presidency whole. It is the kind of energy draining, oxygen consuming drama that is the nightmare of every president. [...]
President Obama is making a realistic, cold, clear-eyed cost-benefit analysis. This is the choice: Does he fix the economy, fix healthcare, get a handle on the two wars he's dealing with, or does he prosecute Bush era war crimes? He has chosen his agenda and is asking us to choose that to.
Obama has probably come to the conclusion that he simply has too much else to do. Investigating alleged Bush/Cheney crimes, prosecuting alleged Bush/Cheney crimes, releasing photographs documenting alleged Bush/Cheney crimes ... the president apparently doesn't see the utility in any of this.
He's almost certainly looking at this in cold, calculating terms, and has decided none of this advances the nation's interests. That's not an unreasonable position to take.
Except, there's a nagging problem -- that darn rule of law.
While I can easily understand the president's calculation, I still think some of Obama's recent calls are mistaken, not because they're inexplicable, but because the expedience just isn't a good enough excuse.
It's a real shame Bush and Cheney screwed up so spectacularly, and ignored the law so systematically, that it's interfering with Obama's desire to govern. It really is. If I were in the president's shoes, I might feel the same temptations. But he signed up for this gig, vowing to rebuild the nation. As much as he'd like to get beyond the recent past, nothing of any value is ever built on a corrupted foundation.
Waterboarding is torture. Torture is a war crime. As "nobody is above the law" Obama HAS NO CHOICE but to prosecute.
I believe (and hope) that they are actually leading the nation along a path towards unavoidable action - it is like the old water torture - a steady drip drip drip that will eventual provide the desired result - a majority demand for action.
We tend to remember Watergate as a single event, but the reality is that it took years to result in the impeachment of a President and his resignation in disgrace. In July of 2002 you would start at 0% of the nation that believed the end result would be Nixon's demise. By July 2003 maybe 30% really belived this was a monumental event, and by July of 2004 it had risen to maybe 65%. And in August Nixon resigned.
We are only some 120 days into this administration and already the debate and has moved forward. We get the first memos, then revelations about the use of torture for political and not security issues, soon we will get the IG's report providing further signposts for investigation. Even the language used is shifting - 'inhanced interegation' is being repaced by 'torture' more frequently.
This president does not deal in short term goals, but in long term planning (what a relief!) I for one will hold on to a little bit of faith ...
How the Bush/Cheney Administration was run is very much a cause of the mess we're not in, and the things Obama wants to fix. Getting a consensus on how the former administration failed could bring us to a better consensus how and why we need to move forward.
If we don't have a strong respect for our Constitution, the rule of law, the separation of powers, and the sanctity of the voting booth, how are we ever going to get true reform of our heath care system, our financial system, or our environmental policies?
Without a strong legal underpinning, how will we combat the already way too powerful special interests arrayed to try and prevent reform?
Well said.
It is one thing to campaign. It is quite another thing to have to govern.
When actually given responsibility, people do what they have to do. And when push comes to shove, Obama has come to the conclusion that Bush mostly did the right things.
The very idea that Bush was right is laughable.
The Bush team lowered the bar for success about as low as it could be and if President Obama was small minded he would thank Bush and Cheney. My sense is that President Obama is more focused on fixing what is broken rather than waste his time on hate.
Cheney, Rove, Rush and company have no other choice other than to spew hate and fabricate facts.
It is clear to anyone who has a high school education and reads what the situation.
But this is not about hate, it is about re establishing justice and the rule of law.