Obama and Civil Liberties

As those of you who read this blog know, I have been appalled at Obama's record on civil liberties and his hiding of government misconduct. On issue after issue, from indefinite detention, to the use of the State's secrets privilege to block evidence of American torture, to retroactive immunity for the telecoms' participation in illegal spying, to the Justice Department's continuing illegal refusal to investigate and prosecute Bush Administration officials for war crimes - based on actions that they themselves have publicly admitted, Obama has been on the wrong side of each issue.

But it is not just that he's been on the wrong side of each issue. He's been on the wrong side of each of these issues after repeatedly and categorically announcing that he was opposed to all of these policies during his campaign. Either he intended all along to abandon these positions after he obtained office - in which case he is despicable, or he bowed to perceived political pressure and/or expediency - in which case he lacks the character that drew me to him as a candidate. Either way, I can't support him any longer. It is not that I disagree with him about most things - I don't. But he has embraced policies that he explicitly, repeatedly, and rightly denounced during his campaign, and still refuses to perform his legal duties out of political calculation. That I can't stomach.

Also, regarding Democrats and progressives that continue to make excuses for Obama on these issues, Glen Greenwald recently noted:

"I could understand and accept a lot more easily this blithe acquiescence [by progressives] to Obama's record if it weren't for the fact that progressives and Democrats spent so many years screaming bloody murder over Bush's use of indefinite detention, military commissions, state secrets, renditions, and extreme secrecy -- policies Obama has largely and/or completely adopted as his own. One can't help but wonder, at least in some cases, how genuine those objections were, as opposed to their just having been effective tools to discredit a Republican president for partisan and political gain."

I suspect Greenwald is wrong - I suspect this phenomenon is the same phenomenon that we saw in so many people who supported President Bush for so long. Cult like worship of a particular person drives people to excuse admittedly horrific conduct by that person. It takes people awhile to admit they were betrayed - or worse yet, had! I'm beggining to think it might be good for Obama to cave on his health care position. It might accellorate the falling of the scales from progressives' eyes.

If something doesn't happen to change our celebrity culture, our democracy cannot endure - it is just a matter of time.

Joe H.