Obama's blunder

It's not too often that I agree with Wall Street Journal editorials but I think they had a point this morning when they took President Obama to task for apparently opening the way to prosecution of Bush lawyers or others who came up with the legal justification for harsh interrogation techniques - ie. torture - of suspected terrorists.

Obama has changed his mind and not for the better. Previously, he had said - rightly - that the nation should be looking forward rather than looking back at the past. His chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel, had said as recently as Sunday that those who devised policy should not be prosecuted.

But many on the left have been howling for revenge and now Obama says he wouldn't oppose a bipartisan inquiry into interrogation methods. In addition, he leave it up to the Justice Department to judge whether prosecutions were needed.

I believe the people who used their legal talents to justify torture are slime of the first order. But the good of the country outweighs the value of giving in to the temptation to punish them. Obama knew this and nothing has changed since except the political pressure. He ended torture, he made clear what was done in our name and he should have left it at that.

The Wall Street Journal wrote this morning: "By indulging his party's desire to criminalize policy advice, he has unleashed furies that will haunt his presidency." And I fear they might be right.

I don't want Obama to fail because, against his initial judgment, he got caught up in the noxious leftovers from the Bush administration.

 

Posted Apr 23 2009, 06:42 PM by Reg Henry
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Comments

Black Sheep wrote re: Obama's blunder
on Thu, Apr 23 2009 9:26 PM

I came to your column for some light relief and humor which you often deliver so well.  Instead I find the funnyman plugging reichwing talking points delivered by their flagship rag.  (I don't have a problem with the Journal because unlike their Faux News populist counterpart, presumably the Wall Street journal readers actually do have some claim to being bona fide capitalist pigs, so aren't so preposterously placed as defenders of reliably republican repugnance).

However, our country was built on the ideal of the rule of law and the standard of upholding rights by treating all human beings with dignity and respect -- Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Geneva Conventions, ringing any bells there Reg?  It's Ok to prosecute the low level purvyors of the policy but not the writers of the policy?  Have you lost your mind?

If Obama fails it will be because he appears to be taking Wall Street's advice on  a different matter of life and death -- the economy, which I concede they are qualified to speak to, albeit I think they are wrong.  But Wall Street's expertise and credibility on ethics and human rights?   No, I don't think the president -- or you -- should be taking that advice seriously at all.

You epxressed your reluctance at covering the Pittsburgh gunman story in your column because such sad and serious topics are not within the bailiwick of humor columists.  Maybe you should take your own advice and leave this one alone too.