Saw an opinion piece in Politico in which the author ponders whether Democrats in Congress are being more lenient on Obama for doing the same things the Bush administration did. And a few of those odious actions include

During confirmation hearings, top Obama officials acknowledged that the CIA will continue its so-called rendition program of transporting prisoners to countries with less-developed legal codes.

• Obama’s solicitor general, Elena Kagan, said anyone suspected of financing Al Qaeda could be detained indefinitely.

• And in a questionnaire, the president’s new director of national intelligence, retired Navy Adm. Dennis Blair, endorsed retroactive immunity for companies that participated in the National Security Administration’s warrantless wiretapping program — a major flashpoint in the tussle over expanding the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act.

As Chris Bridges says

Reports also correctly pointed out that during the Democratic primary campaign, Obama vowed to fight such legislation to update the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, or FISA. But he has switched positions and now supports a compromise hammered out between the White House and the Democratic congressional leadership.

Any president, regardless of party, should support civil liberties, not promote ways to take them away.

For myself, I believe that any person who is in elected office needs to be held accountable, regardless of party. I happen to have voted for Obama but that doesn't give him a free pass, free of criticism when he does what I consider to be the wrong thing. I am happy about a number of other actions Obama has taken that have been rolling back the Bush administration's ill-considered plans, but items such as letting telecom companies avoid having their day in court to decide whether they were right to illegally surveill people without their knowledge shows a contempt for the constitution, the process of law and makes Obama appear quite the hypocrite.