Obama Moves to the Center
President Obama understands the virtues of centrist policies. On a couple of occasions last week, the president showed that he’s open to all points of view when it comes to protecting national security. His deliberative approach stands in stark contrast to the “my way or the highway” postures of his predecessor. And Mr. Obama has had the perfect foil in Dick Cheney, a man not known for taking advice from anyone.
Despite promises of transparency and accountability in his administration, President Obama will continue to oppose the release of photographs of alleged detainee abuse during the Bush years. The pictures are the subject of a Freedom of Information lawsuit dating back to 2003, and may be released to the public later anyway. Until then, Mr. Obama will follow the advice of his generals, something else he promised to do during the campaign.
Last Saturday, President Obama appointed John Huntsman, the Republican Governor of Utah, as his ambassador to China. Appointing a popular GOP politician to such an important post indicates that Obama takes diplomacy seriously. Huntsman is no Obama crony, and won’t sugarcoat his reports to the president in order to curry political favors.
In the meantime, former Vice President Cheney seems hell bent on defending the efficacy of institutionalized torture. Of course Cheney is the also the guy who had no doubt that Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction in 2002, which was the reason given for the US invasion of Iraq. Dick Cheney’s history of recklessness on issues of national security makes the current administration look prudent by comparison.
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