President Obama met with White House counsel Greg Craig and other members of the White House counsel team last week and told them that he had second thoughts about the decision to hand over photographs of detainee abuse to the ACLU, per a judge's order, and had changed his mind.I'll refrain from using the "stopped clock, twice a day" analogy. I'm simply glad the man made the correct decision. One would expect no less from the CinC.
The president "believes their release would endanger our troops," a White House official says, adding that the president "believes that the national security implications of such a release have not been fully presented to the court."
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
"Growing Into the Job"
That's how Lex described it. I think so, too (from ABC News):
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Yeah, I was glad to hear about this today!
ReplyDeleteWas just about to blog this myownself. Obama will take heat from some quarters for this decision, and may come in for some general abuse as a flip-flopper.
ReplyDeleteFor my part, I find it refreshing that we have a President who listens to reasoned criticism and is prepared to change his mind when presented with a compelling argument. I agree that this was the right call to make under the circumstances.
Lying Liars always try to please everybody...Barry Soetoro is the biggest liar I have seen in many years.
ReplyDeleteThis clownn is pure evil....
Katy: You and me both.
ReplyDeleteBarry: The people Obama will take heat from are on the fringe... and I mostly consider them unhinged, at best. I agree with you about Obama reversing himself when well-argued facts contradict his first opinion. Now if we can just convince him his policies on the economy and the massive debt he's foisting off on us are wrong, wrong, wrong...
Pat: It's entirely possible to disagree with someone without being disagreeable. You should try it sometime.
Correct decision; maybe he did listen to advisors with actual knowledge/experience. But, don't you just know the decision nmot to release the pics galled his soul?
ReplyDeleteGalling the soul. Is that a southern phrase?
In the case of this CinC, making the correct decision isn't something he's done much of since taking office.
ReplyDeleteThis ... is a refreshing change. (pun intended)
Enlightenment is good. Correcting mistakes is good. Bodes well - for a change. There is hope - that we will make it through this presidency:)
ReplyDeleteMoogie sez: "Galling the soul. Is that a southern phrase?"
ReplyDeleteWell... I'd say it was French. No... wait. That would be "Gauling the soul," wouldn't it?
Kris sez: "This ... is a refreshing change. (pun intended)"
Agreed... MOST certainly.
Lou: Ah.. but one Attaboy doesn't EVEN begin to atone for the numerous "Aw Shits." There's the deficit... and that's the thing that REALLY worries me. Just sayin'.
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ReplyDelete(Yes, because I omitted a paragraph break. This is a repost.)
ReplyDeleteI stopped by here just now specifically to see if y'all are talking about this. I'm glad to see you are. Just prior to coming to Buck's blog, I saw this AP update:
President Barack Obama says the detainee abuse photos he wants to block from release are "not particularly sensational" and would do no good if published. He said he will not tolerate abuse of prisoners. But he also said Wednesday he had directed his legal team to fight the court-ordered release of the photos because he was concerned about how they might affect the safety of U.S. troops.My first thought was, "Good call."
Maybe, just maybe, PrezO will continue to surprise his skeptics.
(Darn it, it happened again.)
ReplyDeleteIt's Blogger, Lori. They changed something and when you do the italics tag it hoses up your formatting. Which is why I've taken to using quotation marks instead of italics of late.
ReplyDeleteThat said... as I said above: One "Attaboy" doesn't BEGIN to make up for the numerous "Aw Shits" Yer Man has foisted off on us. Health care will be the next Aw Shit... mark my words.
It appears to me that his change of course is simply because our troops are now "his" troops and he and Michelle are personally responsible for their safety.
ReplyDeleteI wonder about Michelle's intentions. Does she want to cozy up to the troops for a reason? Knowing how the Obamas want our "volunteer" civilian forces to be as large as the military, they can learn a lot about the psychology of moral from our troops. They want to take care of them which is laudable - however, I hope they don't undermine them by turning them into coddled victims. I hope that their hearts will be opened to the greatness of our country.
I'm semi-suspicious about Michelle's intent as well, Anon. OTOH, every First Lady has a cause of some sort, and working with the troops' families is better than most. Good on her for that.
ReplyDeleteI doubt if we've seen the last of this. In effect, Obama has found a way to vote 'present' again.
ReplyDelete"he [had] directed his legal team to fight the court-ordered release of the photos"
Ah, yes, let the court decide. Or, and this is just a thought, he could show the courage of his convictions and sign an Executive Order overriding the FOIA demand filed by the ACLU.
For now, things are fine. Let's see what happens when the court has its say. If the court decides to honor the FOIA request and Obama does not use his executive authority to overrule the court, this "decision" will be unmasked as more of the political cowardice I've come to expect from Obama.
Buck,
ReplyDeleteThere is one aspect to this that makes me just pig-bitin' mad, and it doesn't have diddly-squat to do with PrezBO being a hardcore lefty-liberal or a pinko commie or with any ego investment I had in calling out His many deficiencies.
It is simply this: You shouldn't be forced to change your mind about how you were going to build a footbridge, upon being informed that YOU will be one of the people crossing it.
Simple as that. Now that BO is getting His intelligence briefings, He's starting to figure out that if He stays the course it's His (political) goose that's gonna get cooked. If He really cared about the troops there would be no paradigm shift involved in this whatsoever.
It's not that He happens to make the right decision some of the time. It's that He makes the right decision when He figures out there are negative and unavoidable consequences involved in making the wrong one. Right up until then, He's perfectly happy to play spin-the-bottle, draw lots, flip a coin, or whatever the hell else it is He does.
In short -- the very picture of a poor leader. No strategy, no tactic, no technique, no modus operandi, no values. Just cronies and interests.
Dave sez: "Or, and this is just a thought, he could show the courage of his convictions and sign an Executive Order overriding the FOIA demand filed by the ACLU."
ReplyDeleteWouldn't that just lead to yet another lawsuit? One way or another this will stay in the courts for a LONG time, methinks.
Morgan: I'll not argue whether or not Obama is a "good" leader. As for his decision on this specific issue... perhaps he changed his mind because of those intelligence briefs he's now receiving? That and he had the good sense (heh) to take the advice of his generals, as opposed to advice from his Lefty "friends?" It's been my experience that the best leaders I've worked with and for were NOT inflexible. It's to The One's everlasting credit that he reversed himself in this space, for whatever reason.