Steve Chapman on Obama's Continuation of Bush-Era Policies

Back in 2007, when Barack Obama was running for president, a mildly surprising bit of news emerged: He and Dick Cheney were eighth cousins. Today, though, it appears that report was wrong. Judging from Obama's record in office, the two are practically brothers. As a candidate, Obama criticized the last administration for holding Americans as enemy combatants without trial. He faulted it for wiretapping citizens without a warrant. He rejected the Republican claim that the president has the "inherent power" to go to war without congressional consent. He depicted George W. Bush and his vice president as a menace to constitutional limits and personal freedom. But look at him now, writes Steve Chapman. Last week, Obama signed a bill letting him detain U.S. citizens in military custody without convicting them of anything—not for a month or a year, but potentially forever.