Posted on 04/24/2009 12:14:10 PM PDT by steve-b
As President Obama met with top advisers on the evening of April 15, he faced one of the sharpest policy divides of his young administration....
Seated in Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel's West Wing office with about a dozen of his political, legal and security appointees, Obama requested a mini-debate in which one official was chosen to argue for releasing the memos and another was assigned to argue against doing so. When it ended, Obama dictated on the spot a draft of his announcement that the documents would be released, while most of the officials watched, according to an official who was present. The disclosure happened the next day.
Obama's aides have told political allies that the last-minute conversation, which ended around 9:30 p.m., demonstrated the president's commitment to airing both sides of a debate that was particularly contentious. But it also reflected widespread angst inside the White House that a public airing and repudiation of the harsh interrogation techniques that the last administration sought to keep secret would spark a national security debate with conservatives that could undermine Obama's broader agenda.
Several top aides had argued, for example, that the question of whether to release the memos should be put before a "truth commission," effectively postponing resolution of the issue for months. But Obama vetoed the idea on the grounds that it would create the divisive debate his closest advisers feared -- a viewpoint he reiterated at a meeting with lawmakers yesterday. Craig also argued persuasively, other officials said, that the federal judge in New York overseeing a lawsuit seeking the memos' release was unlikely to approve any significant delay....
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
April 15th.....Tea Party Day....they met....
“Obama requested a mini-debate in which one official was chosen to argue for releasing the memos and another was assigned to argue against doing so.”
Which means he lacked the courage and judgement to make the decision himself.
That kind of pseudo deliberation and reflection is easy to do when you have a pre-set agenda.
i can hear the debate now.
Let me do it. No, let me do it.
Here’s the problem for them.
Waterboarding was bad but not bad enough to go after the people who actually did it but bad enough to go after the people who OK’ed it but not bad enough to go after the people who knew about it and said nothing.
It’s too hard to follow.
I thought 0bama was out of the country on the tea party day?
Read again. he made the decision before the so-called debate ever occurred. This was CYA.
I hate managers who operate like this. Most are stupid insecure people.
Yeah, but if the phone rang at 3am............
Must have been a little rattled that day.
this story was planted in the WaPo by Rahm Emanuel. you can bet your bottom obama bailout buck (formerly known as a “dollar”) on that.
the authors have brown spots on their noses
But the America-Haters/Crazies got their way, didn't they.
As they always will with this spineless bastard.
SHEEEEESH
I like how they don’t think this is not divisive
THis is bullcrap. What are they trying to prove here that he is fair and balanced, STFU Bama
Good grief. This is the way they make decisions?
A Magic 8-Ball would be better.
Not one argument in that debate about it weakening national security. That’s all I needed to know.
“Obama requested a mini-debate in which one official was chosen to argue for releasing the memos and another was assigned to argue against doing so.”
Wow, it sounds like a 6th grade debate assignment.
Intense debate by morons...proven by an idiotic outcome.
MaoBama released the memos in a narrow, redacted way that stinks to high Heaven in its putrid partisan approach: look noble while bashing Bush. His lame attempt to have it both ways demonstrates that he's a liberal/socialist first, President dead-last.
It’s like Watergate and coverup. Was what was done crimes or not? Let’s get that settled for America’s future.
What a stupid way to do things. Sounds like kindergarten.
And in the end, of course, Oshama chose the idiotic side.
Hmmm. what is it exactly that the Teleprompter administration thinks that GWB did...that was not also done by FDR, Truman, Eisenhower, Kennedy, LBJ... ETC?
Just how eager is this putz to be embarrassed ...even more?
I have a feeling it’s going to hurt the Obama Administration more than they think...while also hurting our servicemen & women.....I can’t say what I’m thinking...or I’ll get banned.
Obama is such a coward.
[first picture of Rahm Emanuel in a ballet costume in 3...2...]
Freakin' Stalinists.
Obama "chose" officials to role-play the different arguments. The article didn't say whether these were deeply held beliefs of the people making the arguments.
If people were just being Devil's Advocate for the purpose of role-playing the arguments, then the premise of the article is false, that "he faced one of the sharpest policy divides of his young administration." He faced nothing of the sort. He was just doing a game theory exercise of testing the different outcomes to different policy decisions to find the one that worked best for him.
-PJ
Which simply means that the announcement was later completely rewritten by someone else.
His entire draft statement was probably something along the lines of: "Well, uh, remember that I won, so, um, release the memo, uh, which I had, uh, planned to do before this, uh, mock debate."
Yeah sure. This bunch lies about their lying, just so they can lie some more.
You know, I think you're right, and if it was planted, then it simply lays the groundwork to halt the prosecutions, and now Obama can conveniently place blame on others. This was a mistake from the beginning, they didn't foresee that Cheney would call their bluff, and they didn't realize what a can of worms it would turn out to be.
This is hilarious!
I like your take on it.
Barry wetting his finger and holding it in the air.
Well, I sure feel better knowing bambi will hold a “mini-debate” when it comes to national security matters.
I see no intense debate mentioned, other than the junior one-on-one thing while everybody watched.
apparently they waterboarded 3 terrorists and got information that staved off an attack in Los Angeles.
Sounds like good work to me. Its not like they were torturing everyone all the time for no reason. This isn’t Cuba, Venezuela or North Korea after all.
yes its planted.
The media and this WH share beds, their daily conference calls are like political orgies I bet.
Far be it from me to defend the odious Obama, but actually, this is the way good executives make decisions.
Intense? They were fighting over who could be the most irresponsible.
I think you’ve got it! Story planted by Rahm. Notice the stated concern:
“But it also reflected widespread angst inside the White House that a public airing and repudiation of the harsh interrogation techniques that the last administration sought to keep secret would spark a national security debate with conservatives that could undermine Obama’s broader agenda.”
Angst my foot. The issue was raised to take the focus OFF of Obama’s broader agenda!
YES, especially when they are trying to look at Profits and Losses, Balance Sheets, etc....but YOU have to KNOW this was ALL about....how will this affect the DIMS vs. Repubs POLITICALLY....NOT how will this affect AMERICA (the company they are supposed to be representing!)
>>.Obama vetoed the idea on the grounds that it would create the divisive debate
LOL this worked out real well, didn’t it.
But to be accurate, the fuss didn’t really begin until he backtracked from his earlier position of no trials, purges or other legal action......
We can only hope the next big attack removes this regime and their running dog lackeys first so that "We the People" can get on with protecting ourselves.
Too true. To true.
So, by releasing past memos, does this mean the Obama administration will be releasing, in real time, all of his memos? Is this the start of true open government? Or is it just a vendetta?
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.