As Gitmo Closing Deadline Approaches, It's Time To Blame Someone (Besides Obama)

Bush? They're just about to wear that one out, particularly having just played that card again over the relatively trivial loss of the Olympic Games for Chicago (I say relatively trivial, except for the embarassment Obama brought on himself by sucking up to the IOC and getting his ass handed to him).

How about White House counsel Greg Craig?

Greg Craig, the top in-house lawyer for President Barack Obama, is getting the blame for botching the strategy to shut down Guantanamo Bay prison by January — so much so that he’s expected to leave the White House in short order.

But sources familiar with the process believe Craig is being set-up as the fall guy and say the blame for missing the deadline extends well beyond him.

Craig didn't screw this up, he just tried to carry out policy against overwhelming disapproval of it.

Obama blew it on Guantanamo for the simplest of reasons (and one of his favorites), he completely misread public opinion over closing Gitmo, and convinced himself (or his screechiest squeaky wheel supporters) that his election meant broad support for that policy.

It didn't. Not even close.

Obama boxed himself in making a commitment he couldn't keep when he put out the one year deadline. Since then he's faced overwhelming resistance from the public, from Congress, and from a bunch of countries who (unsurprisingly) don't want them either. What to do?

Can't blame the policy.

posted by Dave In Texas at 08:49 PM

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