Jim Webb: Let’s Keep Gitmo Open a Bit Longer
How things change when you’re in power:
He now opposes closing it anytime soon but naturally is A-OK with closing it at some murky, distant time in the future. Which, as far as I can tell, means he holds the same position on it as George W. Bush or Dick Cheney. Moe Lane thinks this is poll-driven but I’m more inclined to believe that someone with a national security background like Webb’s knew all along that it was a bad idea to close it and was simply giving The One political cover until there was a fig leaf available to let him flip-flop. The new military commissions are that fig leaf, allowing him to pretend that all the alleged defects in Bush’s approach have been cured and therefore Gitmo’s no longer a problem, so a flip-floppin’ we go. The more intriguing question is whether he’s undercutting Obama by doing this or actually secretly helping him out. Superficially it’s a headache for the White House to have a prominent Democratic senator disagreeing with them on Sunday morning TV, but given the respect Webb commands, this gives The One plenty of new political cover to do some flip-flopping himself.
Hot Air’s exit question: “Time to put the nutroots on suicide watch?”
I think it is, yes.
Liberal bloggers and activists do not handle defeat well. Not when they are defeated by Republicans, and especially not when the opponent is a fellow Democrat. They are determined to make this the most liberal presidency in history and will not rest until they have achieved just that.
Will Obama resist or will he eventually give in to demands from the liberal base; the base to which he essentially belongs to as well?
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I have to admit, given my limited exposure to Sen. Webb public pronouncements, there is something unlikeable about him. I’m not sure if he’s a moderate or an opportunist