For Obama, being president is like parallel parking.

In a Tight Spot

Presidential decision-making can be like parallel parking, Barack Obama told Secretary of Defense Robert Gates in January during his first presidential visit to the Pentagon. Were the street clear, he could park anywhere. But he came into office with two wars and a host of other issues left over from the previous administration. His goal, he explained, was to carefully find his spot between existing commitments.

On Wednesday Obama announced another turn of the wheel in this exercise. He has reversed himself and decided to oppose the release of photographs of detainees in military custody in Iraq and Afghanistan. It's an 11th-hour reversal—the photos were scheduled to be released by May 28—but aides say over the last 10 days, military commanders have pressed the case with increasing urgency that the photos would make it harder for troops in battle. The move comes amid a debate over whether his release of the Bush administration's torture memos has endangered American national security.

Gently, gently goes this presidency. Obama has been a thoroughly activist president. He plans to expand the role of government in American life. Yet his interventions always seem bound by a pragmatism that his aides constantly talk about. Obama may talk about parallel parking, but even when he's on the road, his presidency never seems like it's going to veer too far into the shoulder or across the center yellow line.


http://www.slate.com/id/2218360/?from=rss