Obama Vindicating Bush? Not Really

Image by BL1961 via FlickrCharles Krauthammer, well-known to New Yorkers for his reactionary diatribes in the paragon of reasonableness known as the New York Post, argues that outgoing President George W. Bush is being vindicated as we speak.

Never mind the campaign oratory, Krauthammer says, Barack Obama's appointments tacitly acknowledge that Bush's conduct of the war in Iraq, the condoning of the use of torture, and laissez-faire economic policy were all appropriate.

The very continuation by Democrats of Bush's policies will be grudging, if silent, acknowledgment of how much he got right.

Krauthammer says the selection of Timothy Geithner to head Treasury demonstrates Obama's approval of Bush economic policy; likewise, keeping Gates at Defense means continuity of Bush's Iraq strategy; and Obama's refusal to summarily dismiss every single one of Dick Cheney's policy suggestions means Obama now supports torture.

It's a pathetic and blatantly transparent attempt by Krauthammer to whitewash not only 8 years of disastrous policy and incompetent administraton, but by extension, 8 years of unapologetic babbling in support of those policies by one of the most unreflective and unself-critical pundits on the Washington scene (what a coincidence).

Krauthammer is conflating unrelated events to suit his theorem, but reality is more complex and, thankfully, Obama is as non-ideological as promised.

Where the selection of Geithner is concerned, Obama is choosing to continue with the implementation of a policy he supported from the beginning--in September 2008--and which is at odds with not only 8 years of Bush incompetence but more than a century of free market principles.

Geithner himself is typical of the people Obama has picked to fill his Cabinet: highly intelligent, capable, and expert in the matter at hand. Geithner is by all accounts brilliant, and because he had a hand in the bail-out, can help Obama administer it better than any outsider, especially in the short term.

Gates is hardly a Bush favorite, and went so far as to contradict Bush's statements on Iraq during his confirmation hearings in 2006. Moreover, Gates is in the middle of the kind of badly needed institutional reform at the Pentagon, and Obama has wisely decided to allow him to finish his work.

It wouldn't surprise me to see SoS Hillary Clinton and National Security Advisor James Jones have more say in policy matters than Gates--hardly a ringing endorsement of the Bush Iraq strategy.

Finally, Obama's refusal to make overly-sweeping statements does nothing to diminish his firm statements about our use of torture and the need for America to earn back the respect of the community of nations.

If by rehabilitating Bush, Krauthammer means that Obama will close the Guantanamo prison, end our policy of extraordinary rendition, move our troops out of Iraq in as orderly and rapid manner as possible, step up the war on the Taliban in Afghanistan and Pakistan, and replace unprovoked war with diplomacy as the primary instrument of foreign policy, then I guess we can call that a vindication.

If by rehabilitating Bush, Krauthammer means spending on public works programs, extending unemployment benefits, creating a national health insurance program and reaffirming the role of proactive government in American life is vindication of Bush politics, then I guess we can call that a vindication.

After all, historian Ferdinand Braudel credits the excesses of feudalism with paving the way for capitalism, so in a way, the excessive incompetence of George Bush's "Administration" can certainly be seen as paving the way for a return to progressive American politics.

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