Following the Obama administration’s release of memos regarding the Bush administration’s use of extreme measures to extract information from terrorists, and Obama’s own hints that he is open to prosecuting the memo’s authors, despite campaign assertions to the contrary, there are those on the right who wonder if Obama realizes that such hearings would expose the complicity of the Democrats currently in power (mentioned in Hugh Hewitt’s conversation with Michael Gerson here ).

My contention is that he does indeed realize this.  Obama and his associates are extremely crafty.  What he has done is throw red meat to the press and to Democrat demagogues, under the guise of the “transparency” he promised, even if it’s only transparency about the previous administration.  All he has to do now is sit back and let the court of public opinion do the work he knows he can’t risk having done in public hearings. 

When the characters have been assassinated, Barack the Merciful will step in and magnanimously refuse to prosecute the “criminals”.  “Move along.  We have more important things to do.  Nothing to see here.”   Yes, nothing but a few ruined reputations and a huge hole in our intelligence service’s ability to do its job of protecting the country.

Perhaps the GOP should call Barack’s bluff and insist on hearings - hearings not just on allegations of torture, but while we’re at it, on Fannie and Freddie, too.  While the Republicans don’t have the votes to combat Obama on legislative matters, public hearings could afford them the opportunity of exposing Democrat hypocrisy, while at the same time tying them up in a distraction.  And if Obama and the Dems refuse the hearings, the GOP can explain to the public exactly why they refuse.

Call their bluff!

Concerning President Obama's attempt to force Chrysler to merge witht the Italian automaker Fiat, has anyone thought of this apt connection?

Main Entry:fi·at 
Pronunciation:\'fe-?t, -?at, -?ät; 'fi-?t, -?at\
Function:noun
Etymology:Latin, let it be done, 3d singular present subjunctive of fieri to become, be done
1 : a command or act of will that creates something without or as if without further effort
2 : an authoritative determination : dictate <a fiat of conscience>
3 : an authoritative or arbitrary order : decree <government by fiat>

" ... Suspend the capital gains tax for a year to incentivize new investment, after which it would be reimposed at 10%. Then get out of the way! Once Wall Street starts ticking up 500 points a day, the rest of the private sector will follow. There's no reason to tell the American people their future is bleak. There's no reason, as the administration is doing, to depress their hopes. There's no reason to insist that recovery can't happen quickly, because it can."  [emphasis mine]  

'WASHINGTON – It popped out casually, a throwaway line as he talked to reporters about finding the right puppy for his young daughters.  But with just three offhanded words in his first news conference as president-elect, Barack Obama reminded everyone how thoroughly different his administration — and inevitably, this country — will be.  "Mutts like me"  '