2016 Postmortem
Related: About this forumObama’s Turn in Bush’s Bind
WASHINGTON If President Obama tuned in to the past weeks bracing debate on Capitol Hill about terrorism, executive power, secrecy and due process, he might have recognized the arguments his critics were making: He once made some of them himself.
Four years into his tenure, the onetime critic of President George W. Bush finds himself cast as a present-day Mr. Bush, justifying the muscular application of force in the defense of the nation while detractors complain that he has sacrificed the countrys core values in the name of security.
The debate is not an exact parallel to those of the Bush era, and Mr. Obama can point to ways he has tried to exorcise what he sees as the excesses of the last administration. But in broad terms, the conversation generated by the confirmation hearing of John O. Brennan, his nominee for C.I.A. director, underscored the degree to which Mr. Obama has embraced some of Mr. Bushs approach to counterterrorism, right down to a secret legal memo authorizing presidential action unfettered by outside forces.
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Is Pres. Obama now beginning George W. Bush's fourth term? Remember that Guantanamo Bay is still open, and I'm sure many here can think of other Obama actions that have simply continued those of the previous administration, some of which could have even been reversed at the stroke of a pen, with or without the cooperation of Republicans in Congress.
bhikkhu
(10,718 posts)- so "easily reversed at the stroke of a pen" is a bit of an exaggeration.
On the same day, he did review and begin the closure of bush's secret prison network, and he did officially end the policies that allowed torture in interrogations as well. Those orders went better.
DevonRex
(22,541 posts)Or Guantanamo Bay?
If you don't want to click on a link because you think it goes to a spam site or something else that's undesirable, depending on your browser, you may be able to see the address of any link at the bottom of your screen, regardless of the text in the link.
In any case, Guantanamo Bay prison is still open, irrespective of whether anyone has signed an order to "begin" closing it.
Amonester
(11,541 posts)It is a vast overstatement to suggest that President Obama is channeling President Bush, said Geoffrey R. Stone, a University of Chicago law professor who hired a young Mr. Obama to lecture there. On almost every measure, Obama has been more careful, more restrained and more respectful of individual liberties than President Bush was.
Emphasis mine.