Bob Miller's Blogtag:tpmcafe.talkingpointsmemo.com,2009:/talk/blogs/bob_miller//28222009-04-19T23:11:06ZMovable Type Pro 4.21-enOn Torturetag:tpmcafe.talkingpointsmemo.com,2009:/talk/blogs/bob_miller//2822.2664852009-04-19T23:08:48Z2009-04-19T23:11:06ZI've been planning to write a post week now about torture, and the Obama Administration's decision not to prosecute the people who betrayed us by authorizing and conducting torture.I was going to write that I supported the President's decision, just...Bob Miller I was going
to write that I supported the President's decision, just as I had
supported President Ford's decision to pardon Richard Nixon. Nixon
deserved to go to jail, but real life is rarely as clear cut as that.
There were more important purposes to be served by taking him out of
political discussion altogether. The country needed to get beyond Nixon
as quickly as possible, and any trial would drag out for years.
I
saw the non-prosecution of torture in the same way. Both major
candidates for President denounced torture. It was an ugly episode in
American history, brought on by morally corrupt people. But since the
body politic was agreed on this issue, I couldn't see the benefit to
the country of punishing the perpetrators. I could see where such
punishment could do more institutional damage (to the Central
Intelligence Agency, for example) than good.
Until today.
Today
Gen. Michael V. Hayden, former director of the CIA, appeared on the
bogus news network to say President Obama had described "... the box
within which Americans will not go beyond (sic). To me, that's very
useful for our enemies, even if, as a policy matter, this president at this time had decided not to use one, any, or all of those techniques." [My emphasis.]
Senator John Ensign, a member of the Torture Party, went further on CNN's "State of the Union":
The
harm is that if we ever return to those policies, one is they can train
against them now. Do we really think that having advanced interrogation
techniques is something we don't want to use if we find Osama bin Laden?
Let's be clear: when Senator Ensign is saying "advanced interrogation techniques," he means torture; he just doesn't have the courage to say the word.
These
men think torture is not a policy for "this president at this time,"
but may be something we "want to use if we find Osama bin Laden."
What do we have to do to make sure we never become a torturing country again? ]]>
Who Will Be Pardoned?tag:tpmcafe.talkingpointsmemo.com,2008:/talk//17.2053832008-07-24T01:30:58Z2008-07-24T01:30:58ZSpeculation is beginning about GWB's use of pardons at the end of his term. Numerous members of the administration, past and present and himself included, are in serious legal jeopardy once the Torture Party is out of office.Will Bush issue...Bob Miller Will Bush issue pardons? It's hard to imagine he wouldn't.
But to whom?
My guess is there are some scoundrels who will demand preemptive pardons. Cheney, Addington, and Rove will clearly be in this group. They'll have no compunctions about it, feel no shame. They'll see it as a necessity brought on by the curse of living in the same world as lesser beings. They'll see themselves as Ollie North martyrs.
There are some who will beg for pardons. Alberto Gonzalez, Donald Rumsfeld, John Yoo, and Doug Feith would fit in this category. They're out of power now, and don't have the access they once had.
Pardons seem likely for both of the above categories.
But there might be another category. Suppose there were actually members of the Bush Administration whose moral compasses didn't point downward. Suppose there were people who thought, "Oh, my God. These people are lunatics, what should I do?" And suppose they decided, "For the good of the country I need to stay right where I am, because if I leave, I'll surely be replaced by yet another lunatic."
And by staying on, they made themselves vulnerable to prosecution, as well. Powell? Ashcroft? Rice? Someone lower on the totem poll? It would take a mind reader to know for sure.
The same personal character that caused the best to make themselves vulnerable, for the sake of the country, might keep them from requesting -- or accepting -- a pardon. How's that for bitter irony?
Finally, where do you stop giving pardons? At what level of the bureaucracy? At what level of malfeasance? And how do you keep the next level -- the first unpardoned level -- from going before the Senate investigating committees and singing their songs?
It's a dilemma.]]>
G8 Summit Shows US in Serious Troubletag:tpmcafe.talkingpointsmemo.com,2008:/talk//17.2037732008-07-12T16:07:44Z2008-07-12T16:07:44ZOur President ended a private meeting of the G8 leaders with the words: "Goodbye from the world's biggest polluter." Ha, ha, ha.Can we make it through the 191 days before Inaugural Day? I'm not sure. Not because of President George...Bob Miller Can we make it through the 191 days before Inaugural Day? I'm not sure. Not because of President George W. Rickles, but because of the Italy/Berlusconi insult and what it says about what's happening in the White House.
Which is this: The rats have left the ship -- if not
physically, at least mentally. The interns are doing all the work,
they're 20 years old, and they're unsupervised. Anyone who's done staff work can recognize the symptoms. This was the G8 summit,
folks. ]]>
Obama should apologize for the Latest Trinity UCC Eruptiontag:tpmcafe.talkingpointsmemo.com,2008:/talk//17.1978902008-05-31T20:30:15Z2008-05-31T20:30:15ZHillary was insulted from the pulpit of Obama's church. It was a racist and sexist insult. When something like that happens, it is not only the speaker who needs to apologize. It is the person in charge. When an American...Bob Miller On a practical political level, there were
already a lot of people shaken up by Rev. Wright's foolishness. Now
this new clown. The Democratic delegates would not be wrong to wonder,
"Jeez, what is it with this Trinity Church place? Is everybody there
totally wacko? Even if they believe they are correct, do they not
realize that they would best serve Obama if they just shut up? How many
more Trinity Church eruptions are we going to have between now and
November?"
Obama needs to put some distance between himself and the wackos. ASAP.
Also
on a political level, I'm not sure how divisive this campaign has been,
but the talking heads keeping saying it has been. Obama needs to reach
out to Hillary. He needs to say, "I'm sorry that my own home church
allowed this sort of ugly attack. I found it as offensive as you did."
And he needs to do it publicly, for the sake of the Hillary supporters.
If
he fails to do it, it will be the second opportunity Obama has
squandered to reach out to Hillary and her people. (The first was his
failure to come to her defense on the RFK assassination comment.) He
can't keep doing this. He has got to give her a place of honor in the
Democratic Party.]]>