George Bush’s decision merely to eavesdrop on American citizens without
oversight, or to detain without due process Americans such as Jose Padilla and
Yaser Hamdi, provoked years of vehement, vocal and intense complaints from
Democrats and progressives. All of that was disparaged as Bush claiming the
powers of a King, a vicious attack on the Constitution, a violation of Our
Values, the trampling on the Rule of Law. Yet here you have Barack Obama not
merely eavesdropping on or detaining Americans without oversight, but ordering
them killed with no oversight and no due process of any kind. And the reaction
among leading Democrats and progressives is largely non-existent, which is why
Olbermann’s extensive coverage of it is important. Just imagine what the
reaction would have been among progressive editorial pages, liberal
opinion-makers and Democratic politicians if this story had been about George
Bush and Dick Cheney targeting American citizens for due-process-free and
oversight-less CIA assassinations.