I am one of those annoying loyal Obama supporters who keeps telling people to be patient. I assumed he had a plan to hold accountable those government officials who designed and implemented the horrifying and illegal torture policies of the last administration.
Well, apparently I was wrong.
Is this the millionth diary on this topic today? Good. I hope another million bloggers write about it. President Obama is making a terrible mistake. By excusing torture, he has created a credibility gap for himself that will be very difficult to fill.
He has said, in essence, that we should not look to him to be the moral voice of our nation. Pragmatism is fine when crafting a transportation bill, but if he does not take the side of justice on this, he will have weakened his argument on every other issue we face. He cannot say we have a moral obligation to educate every child, only an economic imperitave. He cannot say we have an ethical duty to care for the sick, just a financial interest in reforming our health care system.
Pragmatism, a trait I admire in him, will become his defining quality. That does not mean he will be ineffective. I assume he will accomplish quite a lot on health care, education and the economy. But, he will not be a Lincoln, or an FDR, or even a JFK. There will be no vision - just a competent and tidy balancing of the books. Like a good Boy Scout, he will leave the Oval Office cleaner than he found it, but nothing will prevent the next occupant from trashing everything again.
He will be, at best, a very effective administrator. He'll be another Ike. He'll restore economic stability and rebuild infrastructure and he'll serve us a weak tea of "beware the military-industrial complex" on his way out.
Ho hum.
I just finished writing a comment on Whitehouse.gov and I would urge others to do likewise:
Dear President Obama,
I was disappointed and ashamed to read on the blogs today that your chief of staff ruled out prosecuting any of the criminals who aided, abbetted, and committed torture in the name of the United States of America.
Your policy on this is wrong - as wrong as the actions that are being swept under the rug.
If you check your records, you will find that I contributed to and volunteered for your campaign, so please know I'm not inclined to be critical unless criticism is warranted. I've been your loyal defender on the blogs, in my community, and around the water cooler at work. I defended your decision to excuse lower-level CIA agents who followed the directives designed by their superiors, assuming you would be setting your sights on those same superiors. I am, to put it bluntly, sickened by the realization that you plan to provide blanket amnesty to everyone involved.
I understand your wanting to turn the page, but at least read the page before you turn it. You are making a terrible mistake by letting these crimes go unpunished. I cannot defend it, and I won't. When people ask me how I think you're doing - and they do ask because I was so vocal during the election - I will tell them the truth: You are making good progress on the economy and on other issues, but your reputation will be tarnished by this tragic error of judgment.
You have said that torture is wrong, but your words ring hollow today. Will you please reconsider?