Obama Breaks Toward the Center

As he has to. He ran the general election on the conservative principle of reducing taxes even though it was an out and out lie and accused McCain of raising taxes on health care. He has to move right or be stuck in the company of Jimmy Carter after four years.

It sure as hell isn't going to make his acolytes happy:

WASHINGTON -- President-elect Barack Obama is unlikely to radically overhaul controversial Bush administration intelligence policies, advisers say, an approach that is almost certain to create tension within the Democratic Party.

Civil-liberties groups were among those outraged that the White House sanctioned the use of harsh intelligence techniques -- which some consider torture -- by the Central Intelligence Agency, and expanded domestic spy powers. These groups are demanding quick action to reverse these policies.

...Yet he more recently voted for a White House-backed law to expand eavesdropping powers for the National Security Agency. Mr. Obama said he opposed providing legal immunity to telecommunications companies that aided warrantless surveillance, but ultimately voted for the bill, which included an immunity provision.

The new president could take a similar approach to revising the rules for CIA interrogations, said one current government official familiar with the transition. Upon review, Mr. Obama may decide he wants to keep the road open in certain cases for the CIA to use techniques not approved by the military, but with much greater oversight.

Welcome to reality, rookie. We are in the midst of fighting one hot war that won't soon be over and mopping up in another (one in which he was staunchly against). We've not been attacked on our soil again and that is chiefly because of the Bush polices of offensive action and no-holds-barred tactics whereby we find 'em, we liquidate 'em. Should Obama change that and we get hit once again, he'll spend the rest of his first (and probably only) term explaining why he rescinded a policy that was working. Saying he did it because he wanted (hope and) change from the Bush policies isn't going to cut it.

Obama has a great many things to live up to as he promised everything to everyone during the primaries and the general including calling for removing the troops from Iraq and fighting the real battle in Afghanistan. His supporters want every one of our military men and women home pronto and will not budge on that. While Afghanistan is now the battle we face, he'll have to stick to his guns lest the Taliban regain power and he'll have some explaining to do (granted he'll have about as much time a W. had before 9/11 before we can really hammer him).

Welcome to the big time, O. It's not shaking hands with laid off Ohioans or counting money brought in from San Francisco elites anymore, you've won and will have to make key decisions in 70 days. If Biden was right, you'll have a major issue to deal with before next June so step to it and keep those highly successful Bush national security policies in place regardless of what your inane, leftist supporters want.