The real Obama revealed, at last!

Summary: During the election we were warned by Republicans about the horrors of Obama’s second term, when the radical leftist anarchist socialist would show his true colors. Now that day has arrived, and we see the real Obama revealed in his first two appointments.

20130108-Stop-Torture-sticker — National Religious Campaign Against Torture

President Obama’s fist two major appointments:

For Secretary of Defense: Chuck Hagel — former GOP Senator for Nebraska.
For Director of the CIA: John Brennan, appointed by Bush Jr as Director of the National Counterterrorism Center (August 2004 – August 2005). Famous for his advocacy of torture (but not waterboarding) and immunity for telephone companies’ illegal surveillance of their customers for the government.

So they were not just wrong in a sense, but 180° wrong. As they are so often these days, blinded by their madness. Will they learn from their experience, their failed predictions?

But they were right in another sense. Obama has reveal his true values. Again, as he has done repeatedly during the past four years. With Obama what we see is what we get; but most of the Left refuses to see (blinded by their dreams). For the significance of this we turn to the essential Glenn Greenwald.to explain what this reveals about Obama, about us, and about the significance of these events.

What this shows about Obama:

{T}he very idea that someone should be disqualified from service in the Obama administration because of involvement in and support for extremist Bush terrorism polices seems quaint and obsolete, given the great continuity between Bush and Obama on these issues. Whereas in 2008 it seemed uncertain in which direction Obama would go, making it important who wielded influence, that issue is now settled: Brennan is merely a symptom of Obama’s own extremism in these areas, not a cause. This continuity will continue with or without Brennan because they are, rather obviously, Obama’s preferred policies.

What this reveals about us:

“Still, this is worth commenting on because the drastic change between the reaction to Brennan in 2008 and now is revealing. The New York Times article this morning on the appointment claims that “it is uncertain whether the torture issue will now cause any problems for Mr. Brennan.”

Of course, there is nothing at all uncertain about that: “the torture issue” won’t cause any problems for Brennan, as it did in 2008, because Obama has buried that issue with his “Look Forward, not Backward” decrees; because most people who claimed concern over such issues back in 2008 have resigned themselves to Obama’s posture in this area; and because, with very rare exception, there are no more serious campaigns mounted against Obama’s decisions except from the American Right.”

What historians might say about the significance of these events:

“It is a perfect illustration of the Obama legacy that a person who was untouchable as CIA chief in 2008 because of his support for Bush’s most radical policies is not only Obama’s choice for the same position now, but will encounter very little resistance. Within this change one finds one of the most significant aspects of the Obama presidency: his conversion of what were once highly contentious right-wing policies into harmonious dogma of the DC bipartisan consensus.”

For More Information

About John Brennan see Obama’s national security team: I hope you didn’t really believe in change?

About Obama, his Administration, and his Policies.

About torture: