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Glenn: The most egregious sentence by Hildebrand is his statement "After all, he was elected to be the president of all the people - not just those on the left." It is hard to conceive of a more blithely meaningless statement. Or, to give it meaning, does it mean Obama must represent the viewpoint of every American regardless of the positions he enunciated during the campaign.
Lincoln was elected after he promised to end the expansion of slavery in our country. Once in office he didn’t suggest he had to take into account the views of others who sought to expand slavery into the territories and modify his own stand. He stuck by his promise. In his cabinet were people who agreed with his core premise.
If Hildebrand is suggesting that Obama must include in his cabinet people who believe torture is all right under exceptional circumstances, as Hayden, then Obama will be another Bush.. It would be as if Lincoln decided to let Jefferson Davis run the War Department on the premise that he represents all the people.
The most ominous aspect of Hildebrand’s article is the suggestion that it is not right to criticize Obama even if one disagrees with him. Does this portend a future “enemies list.” I just pray Obama is what he represents himself to be but if he appoints Hayden, then were looking at four more years of secrecy and diminishment of our rights just as we saw under his predecessor.
