Obama’s Justice - The Atlantic
Interesting blog on the similarities and important differences between the Bush and Obama Administration.
In a provocative op-ed published in last Sunday’s WaPo, Princeton historian Julian Zelizer highlights continuities between the presidencies of George W. Bush and Barack Obama. Zelizer’s list includes the expansion of presidential power and secrecy, counterterrorism policy, and a faith in war as a vehicle for regime change. To the list, I would add public education.
Sugrue goes on to argue that major differences are happening beneath the surface:
Zelizer is right on the mark. But I would add a few important qualifications. Many of the Obama administration’s most important breaks from Bush are happening beneath the radar in the executive branch agencies whose activities seldom make the headlines. Consider, as a quick example, labor policy. Obama’s recess appointment of labor lawyer Craig Becker to the NLRB was one of the few publicly visible signs of the administration’s mostly quiet reversal of Bush’s antilabor policies.
Perhaps the most consequential changes have happened in the Department of Justice. That message came home yesterday in reports about the DOJ threatening to sue Maricopa, Arizona sheriff Joe Arpaio for failing to cooperate in an investigation of charges that his department discriminates against Hispanics.
Read the rest.