Academic

FROM A READER: ?They told me if I voted for John McCain detainees would be held indefinitely at Gua?

By Glenn Reynolds

FROM A READER: “They told me if I voted for John McCain detainees would be held indefinitely at Guantanamo without trial, and they were right!” “Khalid Sheik Mohammed, the self-proclaimed mastermind of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, will probably remain in military detention without trial for the foreseeable future, according to Obama administration officials. The administration has concluded that it cannot put Mohammed on trial in federal court because of the opposition of lawmakers in Congress and in New York. There is also little internal support for resurrecting a military prosecution at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. The latter option would alienate liberal supporters.”

Ah, remember the fierce moral urgency of change? And the obvious illegality and ineptitude of the Bush Administration’s approach? Why, all we needed was to put some really smart people in charge and all the problems would magically disappear! Apparently, the people we elected aren’t that smart. . . .

Related: “After all the bold talk in the campaign, Obama apparently has no idea what to do with the detainees. Or, that he had ideas, but they encountered reality. Why not reach out to newly reddened America by saying Bush actually got it right and proceed with the military commissions?”

Instead, I predict robotic-and-anesthetized repetition of talking points.

Full post as published by Instapundit.com on November 14, 2010 (boomark / email).