There are a couple of things to consider in this unhappy news. One is that Obama is a gamer. He works the angles, plays both ends against the middle, and hedges his bets.

The other thing to consider is that the "U.S." foreign policy establishment is as cutthroat a gang of butchers as the world has ever seen. As much as we would like to blame Bush and his cronies for all the crimes of the past eight years, they had plenty of help, including from virtually the entire "U.S." Congress.

Obama has no real foreign "policy" experience. He also has no military experience. He is easily pushed around and manipulated by his advisers, especially those who used to be generals and admirals. If you haven't served in the military you can be overwhelmed by the insider lingo, the acronyms, the rituals, and the illusion of supercompetence and certainty. He likely has already been told numerous times, "You just don't know how the military works."

Another thing to consider is that Obama is perceived as "black" in a country that used to enslave people of similar perceived origin. As a nation, we have oppressed "blacks" for centuries. Given the hatred expressed by many people who cannot accept the election of a "black" person to the presidency, Obama is vulnerable to intimidation by his security whether, subtle or overt.

That does not mean Obama is not a man of high ideals. It just means he is an ordinary person, complicated, strong, weak, and inconsistent just like the rest of us. He is now the President, and he is in a different realm than he was as a candidate.

What we can do is shame him, protest, ridicule him, point out the duplicity and criminality of his policy, and organize to replace him in 2012. He may have his understandable reasons for caving on the issue of torture, just like he did when he caved on FISA, but we don't have to go along with it. We can replace him just as easily as we put him there in the first place.

A bit of further probing of the "cross-section" nature of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange might be worth the effort. The rampancy of cocaine use among the traders might be an item of interest. Drunk driving arrests might also be a curiosity.

Even more curious would be the incidence of foreclosures on homes owned by "Merc" traders. They make their money by windfall, in high-risk trading that can cause big losses as well as gains. When people make windfall gains, they tend to spend foolishly and buy above their means.

I happen to know a bit about the culture of middle class Chicago and its suburbs. It's no cross-section of "America." It's as artificial and superficial as can be found anywhere - descendents of poor immigrants from all over "Europe," they now cohere in a vapid, hyped, monoculture of superiority and affluence. As the economy continues to decline, they will likely resort to more intense substance and domestic abuse, and no small amount of barroom brawling.

One saving grace for Chicago monoculture is that its working class roots are not so far in the past. Most people there have some experience with "blue collar" work. Returning to those roots will be painful, but not impossible.

I find the question a bit obnoxious. "Karl Rove: Self-deluded or consciously dishonest?" Is there any mystery about the too-many-minutes-of-fame personage of Karl Rove? Has he ever demonstrated any qualities of honesty? Has he ever shown himself to be other than self-deluded?

If our species survives to have a study of history a few decades from now, one of the curiosities will likely be how the silly deceits of the political and media classes were allowed to pass for serious debate for so long. For so long, I might add, in the face of genuine, serious problems and crises that could have been addressed intelligently and decently well before they became disasters.

In a rational, sensible world, the truly criminal and worthless being known as the "genius" Karl Rove would never be given any more attention than a gnat. Somehow, in today's upside down world, he is taken seriously. Or at least what passes for serious, like the question of whether he is self-deluded or consciously dishonest. At least it's a start. The real question should be which prison he should be confined in for the rest of his misspent life. I kind of favor Leavenworth. Field work would suit him well.

This is great! The best thing to do with the Limbaugh rise to prominence is what Rahm Emmenuel is doing: upping the ante. I'm not particularly a fan of Rahm Emmanuel, but he is showing the killer instinct of a very tough political infighter. Limbaugh is a coward and a bully, and he will lose this contest.

As the fight progresses, Limbaugh will implode. When he had the chance to show real toughness, he came up with an anal cyst, enabling him to avoid military service. This is his benchmark as a human being. As things heat up for him he will not be able to withstand the pressure.

I give him six months. Then, as in Macbeth, "Out, out, brief candle! Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player that struts and frets his hour upon the stage and then is heard no more: it is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing." - (Act V, Scene V).