On the Contrary

It was reported yesterday that President Obama met with liberal human rights groups yesterday and got an ear full about his approach to the detainees.  When I heard that headline I thought to myself, how come we never hear about a conservative human rights group?  Does give one pause for thought.  At any rate the meeting was suppose to be off the record but it is reported that they told him he was being seen as adopting many Bush era policies and he did not appear to be happy to hear that.  And then there was the denial.  He did not ask for all the problems he inherited.  He was trying to save the economy.  There are so many things that need his attention and he does not want to have the nation distracted.  All the flaps about torture, who told who when, and the Congressional investigations were distracting his Attorney General.  No, I am not kidding, this was the reported gist of the meeting.

Apparently these groups pushed back.  The pointed out that if he would start an investigation this would reduce and focus the work of the Attorney General.  He rejected that.  When challenged why he would not prosecute one person to show this type of behavior regarding torture would not be tolerated, he flatly rejected that idea and said no one was going to be prosecuted.  That is probably the most disturbing part of this.  Even though the Attorney General was there at the meeting, President Obama seemed to be speaking for him.  Unless I have forgotten my civics class back in high school, the person who decides about prosecutions is the Attorney General, not the President, or we are back to an imperial presidency.

I think the President has entered the bubble.  He is in the grasp of group speak and he has lost his way.  He has lost touch with the American people and has become too full of himself.  He is listening to the generals instead of reading the Constitution.  Whenever you start making decisions that let your agenda be more important that your Constitutional duties to enforce our laws, you have lost your way.  America cries out for leadership, but it would seem that none of our elected officials understand the tough love we crave.  If we could finally have a Democrat who stood up and said, “this is right, this is wrong” and stood for something against the tide of public opinion and fear, it would be a relief to all of us.  It really would start real change.  But what we are seeing is backsliding.  I expected it by the gutless wonders who inhabit the halls of Congress, but I did not expect it from our President.  I now understand how insulating that bubble can be.  The President will make a statement about the fate of Guantanamo today and we will see if there will be more equivocating and backsliding.

I and many of my fellow Americans understand that the choices may have some unpleasant consequences.  I watched our great Senators whine about not in my backyard regarding housing the terrorists.  I saw one mental moron say we could not afford to give these people the rights that are afforded Americans such as habeas corpus.  Yes, living by our ideals may have some unpleasant consequences, but you either believe in the stuff or you don’t.  Being afraid, and deciding that some people do not get the same rights as others is to say, “We hold these truths to be self evident for those we decide to confer these truths on, if they don’t frighten us.”  Apparently only some people are born with unalienable rights.  That is not the country I love and respect.  Please Mr. President, gut up and do the right thing.  It is like being a parent.  If you are trying to be your child’s friend all the time, you lost your way as a parent.  Please don’t lose your way as a President.