"Obama is just like Bush"
Jun. 9th, 2009 01:07 pmOkay, here's an example of something that drives me mildly crazy. TPM mainpage headline: "Disappointed Open Gov't Experts: Obama Is Going Down Bush's Path". Click on the link, and the page it takes you to has a less incendiary headline: "CIA Stance On Torture Tape Docs Suggests Obama's New Open Government Era Won't Materialize". No mention of Bush at all. Read the article, and you get even more of a climb down:
Obama's approach to issues of secrecy on national security doesn't mimic Bush's alone, it appears. Rather, said Olmsted, it's broadly in keeping with "every other presidential administration" of modern times. But, she added, "it's disappointing, because President Obama promised a whole new era in government transparency, and here they go again concealing this information." (Emphasis mine.)
So the bottom line is that people are disappointed that Obama told some lies during his campaign. Fair enough, although I honestly think that's kind of no duh myself. But to go from that to "he's no different than Bush" seems like PTSD, doesn't it? I mean, I remember the Clinton administration fighting tooth and nail to prevent the most innocuous information from being released. They seemed to do it on reflex. Then again, I guess that's the other disappointed comparison I hear a lot of: Obama is just like Clinton (i.e., a servant of the corporations). Even that, I think, is a form of PTSD. Must we constantly relive the traumas of the past? Time for new trauma! Boycott Obama Motors!
Obama's approach to issues of secrecy on national security doesn't mimic Bush's alone, it appears. Rather, said Olmsted, it's broadly in keeping with "every other presidential administration" of modern times. But, she added, "it's disappointing, because President Obama promised a whole new era in government transparency, and here they go again concealing this information." (Emphasis mine.)
So the bottom line is that people are disappointed that Obama told some lies during his campaign. Fair enough, although I honestly think that's kind of no duh myself. But to go from that to "he's no different than Bush" seems like PTSD, doesn't it? I mean, I remember the Clinton administration fighting tooth and nail to prevent the most innocuous information from being released. They seemed to do it on reflex. Then again, I guess that's the other disappointed comparison I hear a lot of: Obama is just like Clinton (i.e., a servant of the corporations). Even that, I think, is a form of PTSD. Must we constantly relive the traumas of the past? Time for new trauma! Boycott Obama Motors!