After breakfast at Pacific Whey Cafe this morning, I had the opportunity to settle in with my online LA Times and get caught up on some of the latest political news.  I had heard rumblings (via Facebook, a smidgeon of Rush Limbaugh yesterday, and an email from an anti-prop 8 group) that President Obama has been taking stances that are increasingly unpopular with the left wing of the Democratic Party.

First case in point has to do with a gay man, Dan Choi, formerly a member of the U.S. Military, who was dismissed from the service after outing himself on the Rachel Maddox show.  Rather than reverse or hold the decision by the military to oust Choi, Obama indicated (through White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs) that the best approach is for Congress to pass legislation making Don't Ask, Don't Tell as obsolete as it deserves to be.

Obama's critics on the left were frustrated by this position, seeing it as a reversal of his stance during the campaign.  I personally would prefer that he overturn Don't Ask, Don't Tell by Presidential fiat...but there were a lot of fiats from the last guy in the White House that I didn't like so much.  So maybe Obama has a point about making the law of the land come from our legislators rather than our President's whim.

Second case in point, Obama's refusal to make all of the photos from Abu Ghraib public.  The criticism from the left here is that Obama promised a more transparent government.  Again, I can see that this may feel like more of the same old, same old--another cover up under the title of "in the interest of national security."  However, I also remember how inflammatory the pictures we've already seen were to the Arab world...and I don't think that releasing more such photos will assure that part of the world's citizenry of our good nature and intentions.

Last, but not least, Obama's decisions to modify Bush era Military Tribunal regulations rather than start from scratch with a new system.  He proposed 5 changes to the rules:

1.  Statements coerced by torture will not be admissable.

2.  Restrictions on the use of hearsay evidence, making it encumbent upon the prosecution to prove the worth of the evidence rather than the defense to disprove the worth of the evidence.

3.  Enhanced ability for the accused to choose their own legal representation.

4.  Protection of the basic rights of those who choose not to testify.

5.  Military Tribunal judges can establish the jurisdiction of their own courts (no idea what this last one means, but it's in the press release...even Gibbs couldn't edify us with what this last rule change accomplishes).

I lean more in line with the critics on this one.  When Bush first came up with the Tribunals, I was writing for The Signal in Santa Clarita and came out strongly against them as not worthy of a country where we are supposed to adhere to the rule of law; provide for fair and just trials; allow the accused to confront his accusers.

Gibbs defended Obama's decision as "in the best security interests of the people of the United States."  Unfortunately, Gibbs and Obama are following eight years of a guy who said, "Trust me, I've got this."  And then consistently dropped the ball all over the globe.  So when the new administration says, "Trust us, it's in your best interest," well, it sounds a bit hollow.

How much better it would have been for Gibbs to say, "Look, if we don't revise these rules and ask for a 120 day continuance for the 9 cases currently pending, we will have to let some folks go free that we strongly feel should be punished for their actions against our nation.  We would not be in this position if the prior administration hadn't made a policy of warehousing prisoners of war without due process.  We've reversed that policy and now we have to live up to our promise to keep America safe while upholding the rule of law."

Ah well.  Gibbs is learning, too.

As I ruminated over these three decisions, and especially over the emphasis by the White House Press Corps on Obama's seeming to go back on his campaign platform, I found myself thinking back over the Bush years.

And remembering that one of the things that I least liked about Bush II was his bullheadedness; his mulish refusal to change his opinion even in the face of hard facts.  So maybe, boys and girls on the left, it's not such a bad thing that we've got a President now who is willing to look at facts, situations and options...and change his mind.

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