President Obama just reaffirmed that we are a country of tradition, procedure, cooperation, and LAW.
I think it is very important that we all notice and give credit to our new President for how well he understands our government's necessary procedures, working with a variety of peoples' views, and moving forward while clearly being in charge.
The specific examples I have seen are a) his handling of Chief Justice Roberts' major flub and b) the handling of detainees and the mock trials at Guantanamo.
more below...
First, President Obama tried to gracefully cover for Chief Justice Roberts' huge mistake.
Didn't work too well and did little more than cause Rush and the Rushbot Ditto Heads to explode.
So, does the President freak-out? NOPE. He simply and very quietly allows the Chief Justice to quietly correct his mistake, complete with black robe and everything. Sweet. Classy. Let the man save face with as little fanfare as possible (but with SOME witnesses, since the wing-nuts are claiming it wasn't the REAL oath because they did not personally hear it on national TV.) The Wingnut Chief, the Vice President, and the Press Pool were enough for me to believe Roberts got it right the 2nd time.
I saw a post yesterday on another board complaining that President Obama had only made a "request" that the military suspend the questionable trials of detainees.
I posted that I believed then, and firmly believe now, that it was an important step for the President to make such a request. It allowed the military judges the important face-saving opportunity to suspend the "trials" themselves, which they did.
Had the military judges not done so promptly, the President's "request" would have (and may have) allowed the military chain-of-command to step in and urge those judges to do the right thing.
I posted at the time that if the military judges did not react, we could expect to see a direct order from the Commander-in-Chief.
President Obama could have signed an Executive Order on Day One. The fact that he did not elect to do so is important.
So now today, just in case any other members of the military chain-of-command are in doubt, the Commander-in-Chief has issued a series of Executive Orders which confirm and codify his first-day request.
Bolding below is my own.
Executive Order regarding Guantanamo Bay detainees
...The Order establishes a review process with the goal of disposing of the detainees before closing the facility...The Order directs the Secretary of Defense to halt military commission proceedings pending the results of the review...Finally, the Executive Order requires that conditions of confinement at Guantanamo, until its closure, comply with Common Article 3 of the Geneva Conventions and all other applicable laws.
Executive Order regarding Detainee Policy
Executive Order creates a Special Task Force, co-chaired by the Attorney General and the Secretary of Defense, to conduct a review of detainee policy going forward.
Executive Order regarding Interrogation
Executive Order revokes Executive Order 13440 that interpreted Common Article 3 of the Geneva Conventions. It requires that all interrogations of detainees in armed conflict, by any government agency, follow the Army Field Manual interrogation guidelines. The Order also prohibits reliance on any Department of Justice or other legal advice concerning interrogation that was issued between September 11, 2001 and January 20, 2009.
Obviously today's orders were written, proofread, and ready long before today. President Obama cound have shot from the hip and totally offended the entire military.
Instead, he requested they modify their policy prior to being ordered to do so. And then issued the order just in case anyone was confused. And in doing so, in one sentence, "The Order also prohibits reliance on any Department of Justice or other legal advice concerning interrogation that was issued between September 11, 2001 and January 20, 2009." condemned and negated eight years of Shrub illegality.
I think the past two days tell us so much about how this President will lead - inviting anyone and everyone into our governmental process.
This is just my view, but I am very proud to be an American right now.