Wednesday, August 25, 2010

Obama presidency: ‘squishy’?


By PAT MURPHY
Express Staff Writer

What should Americans really believe about the character of the Obama presidency?

The White House claims it doesn't rely on polls for decisions. Nosiree.

Yet now we learn that the Pentagon poll of 400,000 troops for opinions on repealing the "don't-ask, don't-tell" policy on gays has been expanded to 150,000 military spouses.

Is this not further confirmation that the president does, indeed, rely on polls?

Asking 44 questions for a simple conclusion about an issue that has bedeviled the military since the Clinton presidency more than a decade ago must set some sort of record.

The spouse poll asks whether gays in the military or at social events would prompt husbands or wives to leave the service.

Regardless of White House and Pentagon motives for the polling, the unavoidable impression is created that the Obama presidency: (a) uses the ruse of a poll to let everyone have their say before announcing either a repeal or retention of the gay ban and thus reduce some backlash, or (b) is unable to make a decision without a vote of GIs and their spouses.

Unintended consequences await President Obama on this gambit.

First, the poll will invite frivolous legal action. Anti-gay groups will sue if openly gay troops are allowed in uniform, claiming the poll was rigged to favor gays. Pro-gay groups will sue if gay troops are prohibited, claiming the polls were rigged against gays. It'll take months for courts to rule that polls are meaningless when executive policies are made.

The other fallout will be a reinforced public impression that President Obama is "squishy"—"resembling a sponge," as Merriam-Webster defines the word.

On other matters, he also preferred flight rather than fight. He equivocated last week on the Manhattan mosque dispute by first endorsing it in principle, then withholding specific support.

Obama skirted a fight with Republicans by literally providing de-facto pardons for criminal behavior by Bush White House officials involved in detainee torture and illegal wiretaps. But he hasn't stopped the Justice Department from a lesser abuse-of-authority investigation of the boorish, boastful, camera-addicted Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio and prosecution of the sleazy former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich. Uneven-handed justice, I say.

Maybe this is the change Barack Obama had in mind when he campaigned—changing the presidency from an office that evokes respect and pride to one that indulges in delay, equivocation, political appeasement and polling.

It's been contagious. Democrats in Congress have fallen in step and shown their own squishiness.




 Local Weather 
Search archives:


Copyright © 2024 Express Publishing Inc.   Terms of Use   Privacy Policy
All Rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium without express written permission of Express Publishing Inc. is prohibited. 

The Idaho Mountain Express is distributed free to residents and guests throughout the Sun Valley, Idaho resort area community. Subscribers to the Idaho Mountain Express will read these stories and others in this week's issue.