One of the biggest mistakes Obama made imo was treating the aftermath of the GWB admin like an essay question he could skip.
A government and ruling class that had tortured prisoners and covered it up, created a global system of gulags, made war on false pretenses, erected a bizarro legal system on a base in Cuba, sought to politically subvert DOJ, etc., was a serious policy problem.
Addressing that policy problem with patience and determination was a chance to make government better. Stronger laws against torture, stronger safeguards against ill-conceived wars, global standards for treatment/movement of detainees, even better preservation of CIA records, etc
It was also, to my way of thinking, Obama’s opportunity to change the political dynamic in DC. It was a chance to expose the authors of a lot of human suffering using facts and evidence, drive them out of the mainstream of American life, and deprive them of future power.
Obama chose not to pursue that policy problem or the bad actors. He chose to forgive and forget, and relieved Republicans repaid his mercy with 8y of maximal resistance to the rest of his agenda, the gradual dismantling of his trifecta, and eventually with Donald Trump.
Biden and congressional Dems face a similar choice with the aftermath of Trump’s admin and its spectacular denouement. The late unpleasantness is a real policy problem and tbh a nationwide social problem as well.
If addressed with patience and resolve, this crisis presents a real opportunity to make govt better and politics saner—to unite people around the wisdom of your response rather than your compromises with charlatans. But no matter what it’s not an issue you can reasonably skip.
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