As Most Liberals Now Want Guantanamo Kept Open, NYT's Rosenthal Shifts Blame from Obama
A new Washington Post/ABC News poll with a striking finding has New York Times Editorial Page editor Andrew Rosenthal in dismay: 53 percent of self-described liberal Democrats support keeping Guantanamo Bay open. Does this mean their previous virulent opposition was not based on concern for civil liberties, but was just partisan Bush-hatred? Of course not.
Rosenthal’s Thursday morning post “Hurray for Guantanamo Bay” ignored that clear Democratic hypocrisy while making excuses for President Obama. Apparently it’s all the fault of Republicans in Congress. (Left-wing civil liberties advocate Glenn Greenwald strongly disagreed in a March 2011 op-ed for Salon.) Rosenthal wrote:
There’s a new poll out from the Washington Post and ABC News that contains some bad news for two sorts of people – those, like me, who are concerned about the Obama administration’s position on civil liberties; and Republicans, not like me, who think they can make President Obama look weak on national security.
According to the poll, 70 percent of Americans say they approve of President Obama’s decision to keep open the Guantanamo Bay prison. The Post said 53 percent of self-described liberal Democrats and 67 percent of moderate or conservative Democrats support keeping it in operation.
Before expressing shock and dismay, let me clear something up. Mr. Obama never really made a “decision” to keep the prison open. He failed to follow through on the announcement that he would close it, and then let himself get rolled by Congressional Republicans when members of his administration tried to keep the promise.
I’ve been told that the administration decided against taking a stand on this issue because their internal research indicated that Americans didn’t care all that much. The Post poll, sadly, confirms that political diagnosis. It shows how soon we, as a nation, forget. Or rather, it shows that we have a distressingly short attention span, and that we allow ourselves to accept outrages so long as they’re familiar.
Or at least as long as those outrages occurred under the watch of a despised Republican. After that, it's no longer that big a deal.
- Clay Waters's blog
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Comments
Well if this doesn't prove...
Submitted by DumbCanuck on Thu, 02/09/2012 - 4:18pm.
...that liberals are not persuaded by principles, nothing will.
"There... Are... Four... Lights!"
Exactly
Submitted by Galvanic on Thu, 02/09/2012 - 4:22pm.
This was one of the most emotional planks in Obama's platform. We had to shut Guantanamo down because it stood against our American principals. It's very existence was immoral, we were told. Whenever he promised to close Guantanamo, his audience would hoot and shout wildly.
But now, according to Rosenthal and apparently the WH dweeb he spoke with, it's not necessary because, hey, the polls indicate the public doesn't really care.
When the Obama campaign launches their full-scale attack on Romney and his switching on positions, he can certainly fire back with stuff like the super PACs and GTMO.
That was Obama 2008
Submitted by motherbelt on Thu, 02/09/2012 - 5:56pm.
Obama 2012: Nevermind.
It's not a stain on our national character any more, because Obama is so righteous and has the "right" intentions.
You can look at this another way too.....the same people who were enraged over Gitmo when Bush was president are now OK with it when it's Obama.
persuaded by principles
Submitted by Agnostic on Thu, 02/09/2012 - 4:24pm.
You are obviously missing the nuance with no appreciation for the higher intellect it takes to come to the realization that even though you have changed your standing on the issue doesn't mean you were not right the whole time. Besides we all know it was Bush's fault.
Which is worse?
Submitted by Newsbubba on Thu, 02/09/2012 - 4:29pm.
That this RBFSOB president is obviously indecisive, politically devious, lacks leadership qualities, and is a born liar; or that he "let himself get rolled by Congressional Republicans."
I'd say that since the NYT would rather admit that Bambi could be "rolled" by Republicans than admit to the former, it is a sure sign that he is all of the above and more.
It gets tougher every passing day to make this clown look like the Messiah they wished he was.
What do you want to bet when
Submitted by inquiringmind on Thu, 02/09/2012 - 4:35pm.
What do you want to bet when a republican wins the White House in November that we will start to hear rumblings about Gitmo needing closed. From the Left.
Hyprocrisy, thy name is liberal.
As an aside. I really like Roland Martin. He's just a big o'l burlap sack of stupid.
Yes the Republican Congress
Submitted by Sude23 on Thu, 02/09/2012 - 4:39pm.
Yes the Republican Congress (AKA House of Reps.) that came in majority two years later made him change his mind... Sounds legit.
Without double standards, the
Submitted by John21 on Thu, 02/09/2012 - 5:10pm.
Without double standards, the liberals would have no standard at all
They received a new version (222.0) of the Obama/DNC/Liberal talking points and must justify the last 5 years of deceit and propaganda of the organization and provide cover for their masters. Anything printed in this rag is at least 75% liberal and wrong.
Education without values, as useful as it is, seems rather to make man a more clever devil.
C. S. Lewis
How Clintonian.
Submitted by motherbelt on Thu, 02/09/2012 - 5:58pm.
Mr. Obama never really made a “decision” to keep the prison open. He failed to follow through on the announcement that he would close it,
He didn't decide to keep it open, he just didn't close it.
I guess Mr. Rosenthal never learned that "not" making a decision is, in fact, a decision.
If he had actually closed it, he wouldn't have gotten "rolled."
now we know what the
Submitted by TruthMonger on Fri, 02/10/2012 - 6:10pm.
now we know what the definition of is is....
Congratulations Jimmy Carter!
Rosenthal must be brain damaged.
Submitted by drsamherman on Thu, 02/09/2012 - 7:18pm.
How easily he forgets that Odumbo had both houses of Congress in the first two years and still could not get legislators to agree to close Gitmo.
Rosenthal's memory must be impaired by the high levels of lithium he probably needs.