Posted on 05/22/2009 8:59:09 PM PDT by littlehouse36
Fending off criticism from human-rights and civil-rights groups at a private White House meeting Wednesday, a frustrated President Obama complained about the "mess" he'd been left by his predecessor.
The exchange came during an hour-and-15-minute "off the record" session in the White House cabinet room that highlighted growing tensions between the president and his liberal base. While the White House session was billed as an effort by the president to listen to his critics on the left, some of them left disappointed.
According to three sources who attended the meeting, Obama reiterated his intention to retain a version of the military-tribunal system established to try terror detainees and said his administration will likely end up adopting some form of "indefinite detention" policy to justify holding some selected suspects without trial. Still, Obama brusquely rejected suggestions by some of those present that, in doing so, he was adopting key tenets of Bush-era policies considered unacceptable by his liberal supporters. Click here to find out more!
"It doesn't help to equate me to Bush," Obama said, arguing that such comparisons overlook important differences between the two administrations' policies, according to several sources attending the meeting.
The sources, all of whom asked not to be identified because of the White House insistence that the meeting was private, also said Attorney General Eric Holder sat by silently while the president curtly dismissed the idea that his Justice Department should criminally prosecute at least one Bush administration official for torture, if only as a symbolic move to demonstrate that actions such as waterboarding will never be tolerated again.
(Excerpt) Read more at newsweek.com ...
This is all part of a plan.
They all knew as far back as the campaign that they couldn't close Gitmo.
Now they're covering his broken promise so he doesn't lose the extreme-left wing base, whom he will need to push his massive taxation through.
The party is falling on the sword for their Caesar.
It’s interesting. If you look at DU, the divide is growing. Almost to the 50/50 level. Of course, the reasons they have fallen out with Obama are typical leftie reasons (not prosecuting Bush and Cheney for nonexistant crimes, etc), but the fall-out is visible from what I’ve seen.
Truly sick and disgusting people. It doesn't matter which Bush administration official has his life ruined for expressing a legal opinion, as long as one of them do. They really lose sleep at night over the thought of KSM having water poured up his nose. It just makes them feel so unclean to think of one of their fellow Bush haters suffering like that; especially since his offense was just a little unauthorized rerouting of jet traffic.
Yeah. It was such a "mess" that Obama has decided to leave most of the Bush policies in place -- while claiming to dismantle them.
Obama is Carter with a teleprompter. And a skin color that buys him some slack...
...you've been closing GITMO for over a year you knot head,and now the world sees he don't have a plan and he can't do it, so he has to revert to what has worked...the Bush plan, and the puppet man can't stand the heat and he shows the Presidency is above his pay grade
The Poor Baby was left a mess! Tsk Tsk! You could always resign 0.
The “mess” that Bush-Chney left included policies that achieved results that no one wants undone, except the lefties.
But they wouldn't think twice about doing it to Bush or Cheney.
To liberals, al-Qaeda isn't an enemy; they're brothers-in-arms united against the Republican threat.
The left will not be happy with Obama until he gives them Bush and Cheney’s heads on a plate. Their bloodthirst won’t stop there, either. They will want Rush, Hannity and all of talk radio and after that, who knows? With the DHS memos, firearms owners might be on that short list.
A leader leads. A loser complains.
Obama is in way over his head.
The only thing scarier is that the next three in the line of succession are total fruitcakes.
God! help me, but if You wanted to punish us for our transgressions, You surely picked a stunning way to do it.
We will survive.......
Surely he means Pelosi and Reid who ran the Kongress for the two years prior to his coronation. /sarc
Next thing we know Obama will say his predecessor forced him to run for office.
Whine whine whine. What a pantywaist chickensh*t we got saddled with. He's liable to have a temper tanturm and arrest Cheney.
If he couldn’t stand the heat maybe he should have stayed out of the kitchen!
Lefties have to understand that they’re nothing more than political mistresses. A few passionate encounters, promises of love and a future together, and then ‘bam’! I can’t leave my family, but thanks anyway. Take care. I guess some folks are meant to be jilted forever.
Notice that the end of the article, Obama appears to make up some poll data to imply that 50% of poll respondents think highly of his security measures....but then the article quotes staff who don’t seem to know where the poll data the prez cited came from. Here’s a quote:
“Asked about the poll, White House spokesman Ben LaBolt said the White House does not conduct polls. “
Then LaBolt backs away from commenting further. Odd, the MSN normally hides fake polls and posing better than this.
“The sources, all of whom asked not to be identified because of the White House insistence that the meeting was private, also said Attorney General Eric Holder sat by silently while the president curtly dismissed the idea that his Justice Department should criminally prosecute at least one Bush administration official for torture, if only as a symbolic move to demonstrate that actions such as waterboarding will never be tolerated again.”
Well, at least we have that. Surprising though.
By the way, it’s nice to know you can be prosecuted for “symbolism” now.
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