Bryan Fischer Award Nominees: John Yoo and John Bolton

March 13, 2012 by Ed Brayton

From the “you can’t make this shit up” department:

Constitutional principles seem to be mere inconveniences to Mr. Obama, however.

John Yoo said that. John fucking Yoo.

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Marcus Ranum

I just facepalm’d so hard I nearly broke my nose.

Yoo belongs as an exhibit at the International War Crimes Tribunal, not in the New York Times.
Zugswang

Apparently becoming a publicly conservative political figure requires having a specific kind of brain surgery that irreparably damages the part of your brain that is able to perceive, recognize, and appreciate irony.
juice

What he’s saying is that Obama treats constitutional principles as mere inconveniences when he should treat the constitution as an anathema.
matty1

It must be an incomplete quote that should read more like.

Constitutional principles seem to be mere inconveniences to Mr. Obama, however they never inconvenienced me
Michael Heath

Shame on the NYTs for providing a platform for Mr. Yoo, in the opinion section no less.
Reginald Selkirk

In other news, Little Ricky Santorum claims to be the only candidate with experience as Commander-in-Chief.
Chiroptera

Well, at least saying, “oh, shit, this is bad when a President I don’t like gets this much power,” is slightly better than the current Republican cheerleaders for executive power in Congress. At least you have a chance of explaining that this is pretty much why we are supposed to have Constitutional limitations in place.
omnicrom

This is the sort of thing that makes people wonder if humans can fail the Turing test. John Yoo? Are you SERIOUSLY lacking that much self-awareness? At the very least say “I don’t trust this president when he shreds the constitution”, I mean that’s why you mean right? You remember WHY people have heard about you at all right?
cottonnero

I’m curious: is Obama doing anything to the Constitution that can’t directly be traced to John Yoo?

I mean, yes, the former Con Law professor should know better, but still…
Modusoperandi

Michael Heath “Shame on the NYTs for providing a platform for Mr. Yoo, in the opinion section no less.”

Darn Liberal Media!
Nepenthe

As Tom Lehrer put it, “political satire became obsolete when Henry Kissinger won the Nobel Peace Prize”. It’s been downhill from there.
Freeman

Constitutional principles seem to be mere inconveniences to Mr. Obama

Glenn Greenwald agrees, though not for the same reasons.

John Yoo defended the same sort of things when Bush did it, but his saying “Constitutional principles seem to be mere inconveniences to Mr. Obama” doesn’t make it false, it just comes off hypocritical. But it’s certainly no more hypocritical than those who hold John Yoo in contempt for his defense of Bush over-reach, while giving Obama a pass.
abb3w

Double standards from a Right Wing Authoritarian?

I am shocked. Shocked, I say!