[Diary edited for copyright violation - MB]
I agree with Andrew Sullivan that Obama's first year has been a remarkably successful one. Democrats who won't acknowledge his achievements just because he hasn't accomplished miracles often sound as rigidly fundamentalist and narrow-minded as right-wing conservatives. Here's Sullivan's summary: "My own view is that 2009 has been an extraordinarily successful year for Obama. Since this is currently a minority view and will prompt a chorus of 'In The Tank!', allow me to explain.
"The substantive record is clear enough. Torture is ended, if Gitmo remains enormously difficult to close and rendition extremely hard to police. The unitary executive, claiming vast, dictatorial powers over American citizens, has been unwound. The legal inquiries that may well convict former Bush officials for war crimes are underway, and the trial of KSM will reveal the lawless sadism of the Cheney regime that did so much to sabotage our war on Jihadism.
"Military force against al Qaeda in Pakistan has been ratcheted up considerably, even at a civilian cost that remains morally troubling. The US has given notice that it intends to leave Afghanistan with a bang - a big surge, a shift in tactics, and a heavy batch of new troops. Iraq remains dodgy in the extreme, but at least March elections have been finally nailed down."
For the rest of Sullivan's review of Obama's first year, please see
http://andrewsullivan.theatlantic.co...