Obama's Faith

Just got through reading Obama's comments this morning on national security.

Favorite comment:

... the problem of what to do with Guantanamo detainees was not caused by my decision to close the facility; the problem exists because of the decision to open Guantanamo in the first place.

On holding people accountable:

I think I have a clearer sense of Obama's point of view and where the conflict comes from. Obama firmly believes that an independent commission or a special prosecutor would only inflame partisan finger pointing. He may be right. But does that mean we can't have accountability? No, we can, IF our existing institutions function as they are supposed to. That is Obama's faith. The problem is that many people don't have his faith in those institutions. Many DON'T trust Congress or the Justice Department to bring to account those who got us into this mess. And that's the real tragedy of the hand Obama has been dealt.

We need to be able to trust that the Congress and the Law can act in our best interest. The last eight years (and, arguably, the last couple of decades) have seen a serious undermining of that faith. Obama needs to work to restore that faith. Just saying that he has faith will not be enough. He has to convince us that that faith is justified.

So far, he is failing.