Expansive Executive Power Means Never Having To Say You're Sorry

Glenn Greenwald says Democrats who inveighed against Bush's detainee policies and now support them under Obama owe Bush an apoogy (not for the first time).  As if.  Ross Douthat makes a similar point, without asking for the improbable "I'm sorry I called you a reckless, Constitution-shredding  war criminal":

For those with eyes to see, the daylight between the foreign policies of George W. Bush and Barack Obama has been shrinking ever since the current president took the oath of office. But last week made it official: When the story of America’s post-9/11 wars is written, historians will be obliged to assess the two administrations together, and pass judgment on the Bush-Obama era.

The death of Osama bin Laden, in a raid that operationalized Bush’s famous “dead or alive” dictum, offered the most visible proof of this continuity. But the more important evidence of the Bush-Obama convergence lay elsewhere, in developments from last week that didn’t merit screaming headlines, because they seemed routine rather than remarkable.

One was NATO’s ongoing bombing campaign in Libya, which now barely even pretends to be confined to humanitarian objectives, or to be bound by the letter of the United Nations resolution. Another was Friday’s Predator strike inside Pakistan’s tribal regions, which killed a group of suspected militants while the world’s attention was still fixed on Bin Laden’s final hours. Another was the American missile that just missed killing Anwar al-Awlaki, an American-born cleric who has emerged as a key recruiter for Al Qaeda’s Yemen affiliate.

Imagine, for a moment, that these were George W. Bush’s policies at work. A quest for regime change in Libya, conducted without even a pro forma request for Congressional approval. A campaign of remote-controlled airstrikes, in which collateral damage is inevitable, carried out inside a country where we are not officially at war. A policy of targeted assassination against an American citizen who has been neither charged nor convicted in any U.S. court.

Imagine the outrage, the protests, the furious op-eds about right-wing tyranny and neoconservative overreach. Imagine all that, and then look at the reality. For most Democrats, what was considered creeping fascism under Bush is just good old-fashioned common sense when the president has a “D” beside his name.

Comments

[Are we cooling? Don't ask kim. No one knows.]

The sun has risen and the British policy cock crows.
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[I met him once, after a speech I asked a question. I wish I could remember what it was.]

Over on another blog I asked another commenter if we could at least agree that Saul Alinsky is a Weapon of Mass Destruction?
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[Janet]

from Newsbusters - Bernstein: MSM Too Soft On GOP, Needs To Report Republican Economic Plan A 'Disaster'

The MFM need to report on why the hell we should listen to Bernstein.
"Bernstein attended the University of Maryland (did not graduate). In his younger years, he attained much public scrutiny for his extramarital affair with Margaret Jay (the daughter of a British Prime Minister) and for dating celebrities such as Bianca Jagger, Martha Stewart and Elizabeth Taylor. He was also arrested for drunk driving."

[Extraneus]

The Associated Press Case for Releasing the Bin Laden Photo

Senator Lindsey Graham, Senator Susan Collins, Rep. Peter King and The Wall Street Journal's Peggy Noonan have each sought the photos release at one point or another. They each maintained that bin Laden, of course, is dead and the White House's narrative is to be believed. But photos should be released to tamp down conspiracy theories.

Not to prove anything, but to tamp down consipiracy theories. That's the reason to ask for proof: so the nuts don't start asking questions.

[Probably what saves Medicare, right there.]

Instead of strait jackets, institutionalization, or community care, we can just photoshop our insane.
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[Herbis, verbis et mineralis.]

The right narrative can cure anything. That's the verbis part.
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[Janet]

But photos should be released to tamp down conspiracy theories.

???? Do we even HAVE news reporters anymore? What is the use of a news service if it just parrots what this administration & the Dems put out?

[PD]

Fox and Friends reporting that Pakistan has ok'd US talks with OBL's three wives.

I suppose at some point in the negotiations the question was raised of how much foreign aid they're willing to sacrifice to prevent us from seeing the wives.

[Danube of Thought]

A bit comforting to know that our legal system is not the most insane in the western world:

While the civilized world is relieved at the demise of Osama bin Laden, a judge in Hamburg has lodged a legal complaint against German Chancellor Angela Merkel for expressing joy over his death.

At a press conference after the US Navy SEALS successful mission, Merkel said she was “happy” it had succeeded in killing bin Laden. This relatively harmless statement, which probably represents the view of many Germans, caused the judge to file a two-page complaint against the German chancellor. In it, he claims Merkel violated paragraph 140 of the German penal code that condemns the “rewarding and sanctioning” of a criminal act and could result in the German chancellor’s having to appear in court.

[Danube of Thought]

Minus 9 at Raz today; 50% overall.

[PD]

The bump ebbs away.

[Extraneus]

I read somewhere that she could face 3 years in prison, DoT.

[Threadkiller]

Good thing she wasn't singing "Kung Fu Fighting" at the same time.

[I remember when Nixon steamed the fleet up the Bay of Bengal.]

Heh, TK, that chorus was from over the Himalayas.
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[Danube of Thought]

Screwed. Absolutely screwed:

RICHMOND, Va. – A three-judge federal appeals panel comprised of two Obama nominees and a Clinton nominee will hear arguments later this morning in two lawsuits challenging the constitutionality of the national health care law. The makeup of the U.S. Fourth Circuit of Appeals panel is crucial, because in lower court rulings so far, Democratic judges have upheld the law while Republican judges have declared it unconstitutional. The judges on the panel will be Obama nominees James A. Wynn, Jr and Andre M. Davis, who will sit on the panel along with Clinton nominee Diana Gribbon Motz.

[centralcal]

Ugh, DoT!

Oh, and thanks to Clarice over at The Tatler, I am also a little bummed to learn that Granny (I am one) Jan (I am one of those also) is really a guy named Robert! I was thinking that some of us Granny Jan's were so talented and now, I find it ain't so! Please don't reveal who Jihad Kitty really is! lol.

[Extraneus]

What is the use of a news service if it just parrots what this administration & the Dems put out?

The question answers itself.

[Captain Hate]

Bernstein attended the University of Maryland (did not graduate)

We Terps have standards

[Danube of Thought]

"A new NBC News poll showed that the president's job approval rating ticked up to 52 percent after the successful strike against al Qaeda's leader. That's just three percentage points higher than the approval rating he received in April, before the raid.

"That modest gain reflects Americans' continuing concerns over an economy in which growth has slowed and the unemployment rate remains high at 9 percent."

[anduril]

Praise for Michelle Obama

[Extraneus]

Detroit: Crack Pipes Often Disguised As Novelty Items At Stores

Better be a picture on the box.

[Extraneus]

IowaHawk: One Day in the War Room

[Ranger]

So, here is how far back Dems have to go to find an actual example of Republican rehtoric leading to bloodshed (from the Corner):

Exceptionally Strange

In the years preceding the Civil War, both sides of the slavery issue claimed the endorsement of God. The 1856 Republican convention concluded with a song that ended like this: “We’ve truth on our side/ We’ve God for our guide.” Within five years, Americans were slaughtering one another on the battlefield.

As Ramesh Ponnuru observes: Does Cohen really want to maintain that the Republicans of the 1850s should have been more willing to compromise on slavery? Is this what liberalism has come to?

And the answer is, of course. Under the properly approved liberal worldview, neither side had monopoly on truth.

The even this example misreads the history. The Republicans were willing to compromise on slavery in 1861. It was the Democrats who were the absolutists in the debate, and would not consider any potential change of the status quo with their prized economic institution. And it was the Democrats who fired the first shots and started the war.

[Jane (sit on the couch or save your country)]

While the civilized world is relieved at the demise of Osama bin Laden, a judge in Hamburg has lodged a legal complaint against German Chancellor Angela Merkel for expressing joy over his death.

I sat next to a German from Zurich on the plane yesterday and he was telling me about the controversy. He thought she handled it badly and seemed pleased in a non-committal german way. Ugh

He also said he had believed Obama would be good because he didn't like Bush. I asked him who he would want to provide help to Switzerland if it really needed an ally - Bush or Obama. Hmmmm. I think he agreed.

DoT, how is a federal panel determined? BTW I think Bing West knows your brother and said very nice things about him.

[clarice]

Jane, it depends on the Circuit. The article I read said the Fourth Circuit does it randomly by computer.

[Rocco]

This world's gone crazy! Imagine paying thousands of dollars for your son's or daughter's formal education for this?

[clarice]

Preznit at -9 today on Ras.

[Rob Crawford]

Does Cohen really want to maintain that the Republicans of the 1850s should have been more willing to compromise on slavery? Is this what liberalism has come to?

Modern "liberalism" is just a series of excuses for enslaving people.

[fdcol63]

So .... will Fitzgerald now investigate and prosecute the Pakis for outing the CIA station chief in Islamabad?

[Janet]

and again, why the hell should we listen to Richard Cohen's opinions?
from wiki -
"He received unflattering public attention in 1987 when it became public knowledge that he was having an affair with Kati Marton, the wife of ABC News anchorman Peter Jennings.[11]"

and

"Cohen reportedly asked Ms. Sturgeon questions about "casual sex", told her to "stand up and turn around", and gave her the "silent treatment" for three weeks.[17] Cohen contended that "It was a personality dispute at an office, but it had nothing to do with sexual harassment as the term applies today."[17] Post management concluded that Ms. Spurgeon had been subjected to a "hostile working environment" but not to "sexual harassment" and that Cohen was guilty of "inappropriate behavior."[17]"

[Janet]

That would be a good blog -
"Who are these people & why the hell are they telling us what to do?"
WATP&WTHATTUWTD for short!

Highlight a different "news journalist" every day or week. Interview THEM & see what they really know about current events or presidential biographies.

[Rob Crawford]

Janet -- I don't care about his personal habits. I think he should be ignored because he's a moron.

[Extraneus]

Three of the more liberal judges on the Fourth Circuit Court are randomly selected to hear Tuesday’s arguments on the constitutionality of the new federal health care law.

[jimmyk]

So does the judge selection and the likely unanimous ruling in favor of the bill affect the SC? Are they more reluctant to overrule, other things being equal, or does it not really matter?

[Rode hard and put away wet.]

Might sway Kennedy. The people R gonna haf to git 'er done.
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[Rocco]

I don't think God was too please with the Democrat Party in those early years.

The History of Republican Evil
(Just a partial list, click here for more)

The Republican Party was formed in 1854 specifically to oppose the Democrats, and for more than 150 years, they have done everything they could to block the Democrat agenda. In their abuses of power, they have even used threats and military violence to thwart the Democrat Party’s attempts to make this a progressive country. As you read the following Republican atrocities that span three centuries, imagine if you will, what a far different nation the United States would be had not the Republicans been around to block the Democrats’ efforts.

March 20, 1854
Opponents of Democrats’ pro-slavery policies meet in Ripon, Wisconsin to establish the Republican Party

May 30, 1854
Democrat President Franklin Pierce signs Democrats’ Kansas-Nebraska Act, expanding slavery into U.S. territories; opponents unite to form the Republican Party

June 16, 1854
Newspaper editor Horace Greeley calls on opponents of slavery to unite in the Republican Party

July 6, 1854
First state Republican Party officially organized in Jackson, Michigan, to oppose Democrats’ pro-slavery policies

February 11, 1856
Republican Montgomery Blair argues before U.S. Supreme Court on behalf of his client, the slave Dred Scott; later served in President Lincoln’s Cabinet

February 22, 1856
First national meeting of the Republican Party, in Pittsburgh, to coordinate opposition to Democrats’ pro-slavery policies

March 27, 1856
First meeting of Republican National Committee in Washington, DC to oppose Democrats’ pro-slavery policies

May 22, 1856
For denouncing Democrats’ pro-slavery policy, Republican U.S. Senator Charles Sumner (R-MA) is beaten nearly to death on floor of Senate by U.S. Rep. Preston Brooks (D-SC), takes three years to recover

March 6, 1857
Republican Supreme Court Justice John McLean issues strenuous dissent from decision by 7 Democrats in infamous Dred Scott case that African-Americans had no rights “which any white man was bound to respect”

June 26, 1857
Abraham Lincoln declares Republican position that slavery is “cruelly wrong,” while Democrats “cultivate and excite hatred” for blacks

October 13, 1858
During Lincoln-Douglas debates, U.S. Senator Stephen Douglas (D-IL) states: “I do not regard the Negro as my equal, and positively deny that he is my brother, or any kin to me whatever”; Douglas became Democratic Party’s 1860 presidential nominee

October 25, 1858
U.S. Senator William Seward (R-NY) describes Democratic Party as “inextricably committed to the designs of the slaveholders”; as President Abraham Lincoln’s Secretary of State, helped draft Emancipation Proclamation

June 4, 1860
Republican U.S. Senator Charles Sumner (R-MA) delivers his classic address, The Barbarism of Slavery

April 7, 1862
President Lincoln concludes treaty with Britain for suppression of slave trade

April 16, 1862
President Lincoln signs bill abolishing slavery in District of Columbia; in Congress, 99% of Republicans vote yes, 83% of Democrats vote no

July 2, 1862
U.S. Rep. Justin Morrill (R-VT) wins passage of Land Grant Act, establishing colleges open to African-Americans, including such students as George Washington Carver

July 17, 1862
Over unanimous Democrat opposition, Republican Congress passes Confiscation Act stating that slaves of the Confederacy “shall be forever free”

August 19, 1862
Republican newspaper editor Horace Greeley writes Prayer of Twenty Millions, calling on President Lincoln to declare emancipation

August 25, 1862
President Abraham Lincoln authorizes enlistment of African-American soldiers in U.S. Army

September 22, 1862
Republican President Abraham Lincoln issues Emancipation Proclamation

January 1, 1863
Emancipation Proclamation, implementing the Republicans’ Confiscation Act of 1862, takes effect

February 9, 1864
Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton deliver over 100,000 signatures to U.S. Senate supporting Republicans’ plans for constitutional amendment to ban slavery

June 15, 1864
Republican Congress votes equal pay for African-American troops serving in U.S. Army during Civil War

June 28, 1864
Republican majority in Congress repeals Fugitive Slave Acts

October 29, 1864
African-American abolitionist Sojourner Truth says of President Lincoln: “I never was treated by anyone with more kindness and cordiality than were shown to me by that great and good man”

January 31, 1865
13th Amendment banning slavery passed by U.S. House with unanimous Republican support, intense Democrat opposition

March 3, 1865
Republican Congress establishes Freedmen’s Bureau to provide health care, education, and technical assistance to emancipated slaves

April 8, 1865
13th Amendment banning slavery passed by U.S. Senate with 100% Republican support, 63% Democrat opposition

June 19, 1865
On “Juneteenth,” U.S. troops land in Galveston, TX to enforce ban on slavery that had been declared more than two years before by the Emancipation Proclamation

[Danube of Thought]

That's very nice to hear, Jane. My brother was out here for a long family weekend and just left yesterday morning. I'll have to ask him when next we talk.

My guess is that the unanimous 4th Circuit ruling won't affect what the SCt does, although I still believe they will uphold Obamacare in any event (I'm sorry to say).

I'm quite sure that all federal circuit panels are chosen randomly. We just got a terrible draw on this one. You cannot be appointed to the bench by Obama unless you have demonstrated that you believe the government has the right and duty to do everything for the citizen.

[jimmyk]

My guess is that the unanimous 4th Circuit ruling won't affect what the SCt does, although I still believe they will uphold Obamacare in any event (I'm sorry to say).

I agree, though there's a scenario where the 4th Circuit ruling could help. The fact that the 3-judge panel is an echo chamber might result in a weakly reasoned ruling that will be easy for a smart mind to drive a truck through its holes.