Half Right...

Here's an interesting take on the Obama Administration's utterly bizarre torture probe. Charles Murphy contends, and not without reason, that this is Obama's Pauline Kael moment:

The late New Yorker film critic Pauline Kael famously said after Nixon’s landslide reelection, “How can he have won? Nobody I know voted for him.” My proposition for today is that the entire White House suffers from the Kael syndrome.

It was the only explanation I could think of as I watched the news last night about the coming prosecution of CIA interrogators. When it comes to political analysis, I’m no Barone or Bowman or Ornstein, but this is not a really tough call. Attempts to put men on trial who obtained information that most Americans will believe (probably rightly) saved the nation from more terrorist attacks will be a political catastrophe, all the more so because I bet that the defendants will come across as straight-arrow good guys (and probably are), while the prosecutors come across as self-righteous wimps (and…). How could the White House not have thought this through?

Actually, what I think we've really got here is Barack Obama's Ollie North moment. Remember what the Washington politicos from both parties were saying before North showed up in his dress uniform? Republicans and Democrats were lining up to tear him apart over Iran-Contra. Then, all the sudden, there was Ollie in that uniform, with that utterly fearless asshole attorney next to him, sitting before those politicos and the network cameras ready to tell his side of the story. Remember what happened next?

Every one of those big talking Congressmen piddled in their pants. Every last one of 'em. And Ollie ended up a hero.

That's what we're looking at for Barack Obama and Eric Holder sometime soon. At some point, Eric Holder is going to have to put names and faces to crimes, and what we're going to see isn't going to be the banality of evil. What we're going to see are some professional intelligence officers - and patriots - who relied on the guidance and assurances of their superiors - who are not being investigated - to do what needed to be done to protect the citizenry. Once that happens, Barack Obama, super genius, is gonna have some 'splainin' to do to the independents and moderates who put him in office. But that's only half of what's really going on here...

The first thing to remember is (always) this: Barack Obama is completely spineless.

Obama's spinelessness explains everything he does these days. It certainly explains Holder's torture investigation. Obama now finds himself in trouble with liberal Democrats on a variety of issues, most obviously health care, er, insurance reform, because he simply refuses to fight for anything, must less what he really wants. So what to do? What does Obama do to calm the natives? Well, why not throw the left - which is still completely obsessed with George W. Bush and Dick Cheney - a bit of red meat?

Well...

Because Barack Obama is completely spineless, he decided to narrow the focus of the investigation to an extent that it will satisfy nobody. Republicans and the right wing will go nuts over this. And certainly nobody on the left/liberal side of things are going to be happy with anything less than Bush and Cheney being prosecuted. Evidently these facts have escaped Barack Obama. I suspect he thinks this investigation will restore his somewhat tarnished progressive bona fides, and in that I think he is sadly mistaken. What he has done, however, is giftwrap national security as a 2010 issue for the Republicans.

Charles Murphy is correct in noting Barack Obama's inability to understand large segments of the citizenry, but what he fails to take into account is that Barack Obama is now at the mercy of events he is unable to control. Rather than stand and fight for what he believes, he has reduced himself to attempting to buy off or ward off his allies and enemies. That, more than any Kael Syndrome, explains the Holder investigation. This is an attempt to buy off the left and gain a bit of time and leverage.

Lefities will never believe it, largely because they refuse to understand it, but this sort of ploy ain't gonna play in Peoria. And in 2010, Peoria's gonna mean something.

Another thing: Why would you do this less than a month before the anniversary of 9/11...?

Comments

[Eric Blair]

Endless entertainment.

[markg8]

Yeah I already saw that episode of 24 Dennis.

And your memory is faulty. Maybe wingnuts think North is a hero, the rest of us know he secretly traded arms for hostages to the Iranians and broke the law. He's scum. I remember Senator Daniel Inouye a real fucking war hero and Medal of Honor recipient shooting down in flames North's contention that congress leaked vital nat'l security information. He did it by forcing North to admit he had no evidence for that after which Inouye read a long list of Reagan White House nat'l security leaks. Indeed, North himself leaked information. Inouye’s co-chair, Warren Rudman (R-NH) later said: “The greatest leaks came out of the White House. North and company were the biggest leakers of all during that period."

As for the CIA agents I imagine they'll do a fine job of pointing fingers up, down and sideways (Blackwater) the chain of command. This ought to be interesting seeing as we no longer have a DOJ trying desperately to cover up the boss. BTW has Fredo found work yet?

[Dennis the Peasant]

Have you been drinking?

[JeffS]

Well said, Dennis. Just about everything coming out of the White House stinks of cowardice, thuggery, or both. This latest stunt of his, though, reeks to hell and back.

Time to stock up on the popcorn.

[Jim Ryan]

Spinelessness? It's teh stupidity. Spinelessness only goes so far as an explanation.

[Uncle Fester]

Did any of those interrogated survive? If so, why? In fact, why are we taking prisoners?

[richard mcenroe]

9/11? You mean the "national day of service?"

[Simon]

Mark

Normal people are sensible and pragmatic, it's the main way that they differ from politicians. When they look at something like Abu Ghraib or Gitmo they get agitated about the confusion and incompetence they see. It was pretty obvious even from my far away vantage point that Bush had no clear plan about what to do with the Gitmo prisoners, and all of the court cases highlighted this to normal people.

Normal people were equivocal about Olly North because he sold guns to Iranians - ie the enemy.

So what incompetence is this enquiry going to bring to light ? Because if all it shows is professionals waterboarding dodgy foreigners then I don't think normal people are going to have a problem with that.

If even a beacon of high moral purpose like you thinks renditions are okay then why should Joe Six Pack be worried about this ?

[Tim]

Ollie North is a True American Hero. Iran-Contra was downright brilliant. Sell obsolete weapons to potentially moderate Iranians, who may be able to help get hostages freed. Establish contacts with said 'moderates', who may end up as larger players in Iranian politics down the road. Use the proceeds to defeat Communists in the Western Hemisphere. It's the ultimate Win-Win-Win scenario. I only wish I'd thought of it.

[Guesst]

Maybe the terrorists who were fake-tortured, can sue the CIA for scaring them into giving up vital information about their future plans to kill people.

They're going to need something to live on when they all move to the midwest to lead normal terrorist lives.

[Guesst]

Is Eric Holder's law firm available to take on more terrorists as clients?

[PeterUK]

It looks as if Holder will be inspecting the suspension of the bus sometime soon.

[J West]

1. Most of the decisions are probably being made by Ivy League credentialed SES'ers in the West Wing, at justice, DHS, etc.
2. They are full of themselves, very much like Clinton's crowd was back in '93.
3. See President Obama less as spineless, more clueless.
4. He's mouthing policy that is conflicting for a variety reasons: sources, pressure, mind changing among female staff, etc.
5. Think a lot of his staffers suffer from the Kael syndrome. More than that, they are condescending and arrogant.
6. Move over, 535 members of the legislature.
7. Can't wait to see what happens next.
V/R JWest

[markg8]

I like this Kael syndrome thingy. Though it seems to be you guys who are suffering from it. One of the biggest reasons Obama and Dem popularity has sagged is because many on our side are impatient and get easily disillusioned. Prosecuting torturers and passing the health care bill will do a lot to remedy that. You guys will still be shouting "I want my country back" but eventually your numbers will dwindle when the saner, less partisan of you realize the benefits of health care reform and the nation is repulsed at the crimes Bush and Cheney committed in our name. But for those of you who aren't I'd be happy to carve a big "R" in your forehead if you like.

[Tim]

Keep dreaming, Mark. Obumbles is losing the vaunted "moderate swing voters", not the wacko base. Those idiots are still out they're flailing away and trying to defend this snowballing disaster. Know waht I mean? Of course you do. But keep pinwheeling - it's a great alternative energy source.

[markg8]

You just keep thinking that Tim and you'll be saying “How can he have won? Nobody I know voted for him” again.

[Tim]

Mark, I know plenty of people who voted for him. But then again, I work with a few idiot liberals (BIRM). I also know some people who have said, "why did I vote for him?". But then again, I also work with some of the prized "centrist" voters.

[markg8]

So Tim just for shits and giggles who do you like for the Republican nomination in 2012?

[DENNIS2012]

" So Tim just for shits and giggles who do you like for the Republican nomination in 2012? "

If Palin's the nom, I'm writing in Dennis.