Like Fonzie I Was Wuhwoo. I Was Wroooough. I Was Woughroooggh.

OK, so I voted for Barr, and thus "Barred" myself from playing with all the other kids in the Obama/McCain debate.

My main beef with Obama was that he wasn't taking a hard enough stand for the my America. My democratic friends all told me, "He can't take a hard stand for these issues because he'll look soft on terrorism, but he'll restore the 4th Amendment, finally do away with legalized torture, shut down Gitmo, and restore openness to the government." But he has to present a certain image to win. Sort of like when Clinton went back to Arkansas to sign the death warrant of Ricky Ray Rector.

"Maybe," said I, but I'm tired of voting for what I hope someone will become, rather than what they are. It's generally a bad bet. Leaders should lead, right?

Well, looks like I'm losing that bet.

In the first week of his Presidency, Obama has,

Made the move to close Gitmo and international "black site" prisons. From the article, Obama said,

The message that we are sending the world is that the United States intends to prosecute the ongoing struggle against violence and terrorism and we are going to do so vigilantly and we are going to do so effectively and we are going to do so in a manner that is consistent with our values and our ideals,

And,

We are willing to observe core standards of conduct, not just when it's easy, but also when it's hard.

Then the cherry on top,

We intend to win this fight. We're going to win it on our terms.

Doesn't he know from Bush/Cheney that morals are on a sliding scale of "at least its better than Saddam," and that we should all be ready and willing to suspend core American values because Bush said we're supposed to be scared? Where's Obama been? For eight years we were lead to believe that there is no core morality, no resolute American values. Now Obama's saying that it right to abide by a code of conduct when its hard? My mind's spinning. In one week we moved from morals are for losers, to morals are for victors.

I guess its hard to have core value and stick to them, but I'm game.

But surely the American value of knowing what the government is doing and questioning it is still a quiant, outdated ideal for a democracy. Right?

Let's check on Obama, in his first, week says.

The Freedom of Information Act should be administered with a
clear presumption: In the face of doubt, openness prevails.
The Government should not keep information confidential merely
because public officials might be embarrassed by disclosure,
because errors and failures might be revealed, or because
of speculative or abstract fears. Nondisclosure should never
be based on an effort to protect the personal interests of
Government officials at the expense of those they are supposed
to serve. In responding to requests under the FOIA, executive
branch agencies (agencies) should act promptly and in a spirit
of cooperation, recognizing that such agencies are servants of
the public.

Then, and it was hard to read this though my tears of joy,

The presumption of disclosure also means that agencies should take affirmative steps to make information public. They should not wait for specific requests from the public. All agencies should use modern technology to inform citizens about what is known and done by their Government. Disclosure should be timely.

Holy Smokes! Openess over secrecy? What kind of crazy radical thinks in order for democracy to prosper, the people have to have access to what's going on? Not only that, but that it's better to go ahead and inform the public, rather than making them jump thorugh hoops.

Yes it's been a week. And sure, some of those released will do bad things, but our prisions have been releasing people who have then done bad things for over 200 years, and we're doing ok. And yes, none of what he wrote above's been tested in action. Its certainly easy to say things, and harder to then do them. But I'll take these statements over what I've been hearing for the last eight all day long.

Frankly, this is much better than I anticipated. To all my friends that said this would happen, you were right. I hope it stays that way.

McCain hates torture, stymied by what to do about it

GOP Presidential hopeful(ly not) John McCain tells 60 Minutes,

We prosecuted Japanese war criminals after World War II, and one of the charges brought against them, for which they were convicted, was that they waterboarded Americans.

And now America does it. Does, anyone have any ideas on why, and how to stop it? Lets see the follow up.

Asked "how did we lose our way," McCain answered,

I don't know the answer to that.

OH, OH, I know, I know, call on me, call on me, OH, OH! Thank you. Ahem. I think the answer to "how did we lose our way" is when politically ambitious anti-torture Senators sell their souls and vote against a bill that would bring the CIA into compliance with the Army Field Manual banning torture. Then to complete the sell-out urge the President to veto said bill. Which he did. Meaning America still reserves the ability to torture.

So there you go Mr McCain. Feel free to cut this post out and keep it in your pocket next time you're asked the question.

McCain to Torture, "I hate you, but I need you."

AZ Senator, Presidential hopeful and former torture victim John McCain has come out repeatedly against the US' involvement in torture. This, more than any other issue has helped me not only get comfortable with him, but put him on the path to winning my vote. Long time readers (Hi Ma!) know that I abhor this practice, its a stain on our great nations honor, period.

In an election with lots of noise, pro-torture/anti-torture is one issue where there is no doubt that the President can act, and I think elections are about what a President can actually do. Call me silly.

So when the Senate took up a bill that would require that the CIA conform to the rules in the Army's field manual for interrogations, I thought, this is one good moment.

However, I was completely shocked (but fortunately not that kind of shocked) when Sen McCain voted against this bill. So it was right then that John McCain lost me for good. Why, you ask, did he vote against this bill? According to his rep, who said

that his vote does not mean the senator endorses any of these tactics. Instead, the aide said, there are noncoercive interrogation techniques not used by the Army that could be useful to the CIA. The aide declined to provide an example, but said it made sense for the CIA to use tactics that are not widely known through the field manual, which is a public document.

The great thing about not having much honor is that its really easy to hide it behind feeble words.

The good news is that its a Presidential Election so I can just read the article to see where his opponents stand.

Says Sen Obama,

I have been consistent in my strong belief that no Administration should allow the use of torture, including so-called 'enhanced interrogation techniques' like water-boarding, head-slapping, and extreme temperatures. It's time that we had a Department of Justice that upholds the rule of law and American values, instead of finding ways to enable the President to subvert them. No more political parsing or legal loopholes. I cannot support Judge Mukasey unless he clearly and unequivocally rejects techniques like water-boarding.

Ooooh, that's strong. I like that. Especially the whole "no Administration should allow the use of torture" part. So now I can mark down that President Obama would act against torture. Excellent. Hmmm, but he's not President Obama yet. I wonder what Senator Obama would do. Uh oh, it looks like Senator Obama is trying to becoming President Obama and neglected to vote. To recap, President Obama would not allow torture and is sick of "political parsing and legal loopholes" but Senator Obama, in a position to close a gaping version of said loophole, couldn't be bothered to vote. I think I like President Obama much better than Senator Obama.

What about Sen Clinton?

As a matter of policy it cannot be American policy, period.

Again, last I checked, the Senate plays a fairly large role in determining "American policy." Unless you have better things to do I guess, because she too, neglected to vote.

Look, I get that these two are running for President. I also get that they don't care nearly as much as I do about this particular issue. But Sen McCain dragged his butt to DC to sell his soul (again) to vote against a bill banning torture by the CIA, why couldn't these two do the same to show how they felt about this issue? Why? Well its becoming more and more obvious. The GOP is willing to take a stand, even if its terrible. The Democrats aren't willing to do anything that may "rock the boat" no matter how terrible the rocking.

So my choice is between a party that is willing to take stands on issues I completely disagree with them about, or a party that is filled with people who say the right things but are afraid to take any kind of stand. Awesome.

Honestly, I've held my nose every time I've ever voted in a Presidential election. Every time. This may be the year that I just go to the park and enjoy some fresh air.

PS. This great OPED about torture by Morris Davis former chief prosecutor for the military commissions at Guantánamo (and obvious hippy America hater) was just submitted by a long time reader. Mr Davis is clearly more eloquent than I, as evidenced by the great line,

Virtues requiring caveats are not virtues.

Yup. Please read the article.