Obama Administration Never Understood Public Sentiment on Closing Gitmo

And now a current White House lawyer and former defender of Bill Clinton's impeachment may get the boot as the fall guy:

Greg Craig, the top in-house lawyer for President Barack Obama, is getting the blame for botching the strategy to shut down Guantanamo Bay prison by January — so much so that he’s expected to leave the White House in short order.

But sources familiar with the process believe Craig is being set-up as the fall guy and say the blame for missing the deadline extends well beyond him.

Instead, it was a widespread breakdown on the political, legislative, policy and planning fronts that contributed to what is shaping up as one of Obama’s most high-profile setbacks, these people say.

The White House misread the congressional mood – as it found out abruptly in May, when the Senate voted 90-6 against funds for closing the base after Republicans stoked fears about bringing prisoners to the U.S. The House also went on record last week opposing bringing Gitmo detainees here.

The White House misread the public mood – as roughly half of Americans surveyed say they disagree with Obama’s approach. A strong element of NIMBY-ism permeates those results, as Americans say they don’t want the prisoners in their backyards.

But most of all Obama’s aides mistook that political consensus from the campaign trail for a deep commitment in Washington to do whatever it takes to close the prison.

“The administration came in reading there to be wide support for closing Guantanamo at home and abroad, and I think it misread that attitude,” said Matthew Waxman, a Columbia law professor who held Defense and State Department positions on detainee policy. “In general, they were right….but there was very little willingness to accept the costs and risks of getting it done.”

There were surprisingly few people who really wanted Gitmo closed, especially if it meant transferring dangerous terrorists to American soil. But like many issues, Obama thought his election meant big time support for all of his policies. It didn't.

The election was about "hope and change" and not about actual policies. For one thing, Obama was very careful not to tell us exactly what he planned to do, and once he started to try and enact his policies he's run into roadblocks all along the way. A 53% election victory does not translate into a mandate for anything.

Gitmo is absolutely the best place to keep these animals and rational people understand that. If the rest of the world wants it closed, they're welcome to take these guys off our hands. Meanwhile, I expect that Gitmo will be in operation for many years to come.