The Obama Exception

It took a few days, but leftists in America are beginning to notice that the killing of Osama bin Laden might not have lived up to their preferred principles and tactics in the Global War on Terror (Europeans observed the conundrum right away). Glenn Greenwald explains:

I think what's really going on here is that there are a large number of people who have adopted the view that bin Laden's death is an unadulterated Good, and it therefore simply does not matter how it happened (ends justify the means, roughly speaking). There are, I think, two broad groups adopting this mindset: (1) those, largely on the Right, who believe the U.S. is at War and anything we do to our Enemies is basically justifiable; and (2) those, mostly Democrats, who reject that view -- who genuinely believe in general in due process and adherence to ostensible Western norms of justice -- yet who view bin Laden as a figure of such singular Evil (whether in reality or as a symbol) that they're willing to make an exception in his case, willing to waive away their principles just for him: creating the Osama bin Laden Exception.

Although I don't agree with it, I have a healthy respect for that latter reaction.

Could it be that the Osama Exception is really an Obama Exception? Are Democrats willing to overlook due process because the execution of Osama helps the President politically? Greenwald's 2100-word post never mentions that possibility, but I have a feeling the applause from Democratic quarters would be quieter if the GOP held the White House. This view was best expressed by Barbara Walters on Monday, when she said: "I would hate now to be a Republican candidate thinking of running."