IT'S NOT THAT HE PLAYED THEM, BUT HOW EASILY HE DID:

Democrats Take a Pass on Civil-Liberties Reform: While we were busy fretting about Obama's Nobel, the Democrats dropped the ball on reforming Bush-era civil-liberties abuses. (Adam Serwer | October 14, 2009, American Prospect)

For a minute, it almost looked like Democrats were going to put up a fight on the PATRIOT Act as it came up for reauthorization. With a majority in Congress, a clear list of reforms set out by Russ Feingold and six other Democrats in the JUSTICE Act, and a president who had presented himself as a friend to civil libertarians, it certainly seemed possible.

To whom?

Posted by Orrin Judd at October 14, 2009 1:50 PM