Moral Bankruptcy

Obama so frequently seems to lack the required determination and feistiness in the face of attacks on common sense that it is particularly depressing to be reminded when he does show some spunk:


Yes, indeed, when it comes to defending the worst crimes of the Bush era and reasserting the most extreme claims of security-based secrecy needs, to the detriment of the rule of law, our president is not at all hope-y or change-y, but in fact entirely status quo-y.

Obama’s Justice Department went all out to insist on the Bush-era claim that torture victims could not have their day in court because Important State Secrets were involved. That is to say, you and me are effing retards who haven’t gotten out of our pajamas, but John Yoo and Jay Bybee and the other criminals are reasonable fellows who must be protected at all costs.

I wish there were a little more interest in the issue of how the United States of America officially caused defenseless prisoners to be tortured, but for the moment it is yesterday’s news. So we don’t have to be reminded how the plaintiff in this case was shipped off to Morocco and had his genitals sliced with knives. Et cetera.

That said, I repeat for the hundredth time that this issue is NOT GOING AWAY. Someday—and I hope and expect to live long enough to see it—the entire country will shudder with shame at how far we descended into the moral abyss.

When that happens, and the bill is presented to the criminals responsible for turning us into Torture Nation, they will defend themselves by saying, Yes of course, we were wrong to jettison our country’s principles out of fear. . . . But don’t forget! the pressure to do so was so overwhelming that even that GREAT LIBERAL BARACK OBAMA covered up for it afterward. So we eager John Yoo’s and Jay Bybee’s just got swept away—whocouldanode what the consequences would be?

That’s the scenario I will be thinking about the next time I get a letter from some Democratic Party money machine asking for contributions to this or that Defender of Regular Folks against bad old Sarah Palin and her tea drinkers. I should part with my money for you guys??