Charles Krauthammer: "Obama's deeds vindicate Bush"

In 2008 Democrat Barack Obama campaigned against the war policies of President George W. Bush. Now that Obama is in the Oval Office, the leftwing of his Party wants him to follow through.

In Charles Krauthammer's latest column, he notes the Democrat leftwingers are not happy, beginning the column with a May 21 New York Times quote from an "unnamed and dismayed human rights advocate, on legalizing indefinite detention of alleged terrorists:"

"We were able to hold it off with George Bush. The idea that we might find ourselves fighting with the Obama administration over these powers is really stunning."

The problem for them is that Candidate Barack Obama is now President Barack Obama with access to intelligence only available at the highest ranks. Knowledge of that type of information puts a difference face on issues of national security.

Armed with that knowledge makes it easier to act on behalf of defending the American people. Mr. Krauthammer writes:

On Guantanamo, it's Obama's fellow Democrats who have suddenly discovered the wisdom of Bush's choice. In open rebellion against Obama's pledge to shut it down, the Senate voted 90 to 6 to reject appropriating a single penny until the president explains where he intends to put the inmates.
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That doesn't leave a lot of places. The home countries won't take them. Europe is recalcitrant. Saint Helena needs refurbishing. Elba didn't work out too well the first time. And Devil's Island is now a tourist destination. Gitmo is starting to look good again.

Observers of all political stripes are stunned by how much of the Bush national security agenda is being adopted by this new Democratic government. Victor Davis Hanson (National Review) offers a partial list: "The Patriot Act, wiretaps, e-mail intercepts, military tribunals, Predator drone attacks, Iraq (i.e. slowing the withdrawal), Afghanistan (i.e. the surge) -- and now Guantanamo."
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What does it all mean? Democratic hypocrisy and demagoguery? Sure, but in Washington, opportunism and cynicism are hardly news.

There is something much larger at play -- an undeniable, irresistible national interest that, in the end, beyond the cheap politics, asserts itself. The urgencies and necessities of the actual post-9/11 world, as opposed to the fanciful world of the opposition politician, present a rather narrow range of acceptable alternatives.

Former Vice President Dick Cheney is speaking out in defense of the Bush policies and against the constant criticism from Obama himself.

The war policies of the Bush administration have kept America safe since 9/11. The fact that the Obama administration is retaining so many of those policies vindicates President Bush's national security decisions.