Beyond the Dome

You’re a senator running for president, and the first terrorism conviction is announced under the military commissions law you worked on. What do you say about it?

For John McCain, it’s not a problem. He voted for the Military Commissions Act of 2006, and not only that, but he worked on it actively, negotiating the language that was supposed to make sure it complied with the Geneva conventions.

So when a military jury convicted Salim Hamdan, Osama bin Laden’s former driver, on five counts of material support to a terrorist organization today, it wasn’t hard for McCain to figure out what to say. He welcomed the verdict and declared that the trial “demonstrated that military commissions can effectively bring very dangerous terrorists to justice.”

For Barack Obama, the task was a bit harder. He voted against the military commissions legislation in 2006, called it “sloppy,” and predicted it would be vulnerable to a Supreme Court challenge.

Now that he’s a presidential candidate, Obama didn’t go out of his way to remind the public of that vote. Instead, he praised the military and supported the verdict, but turned the lengthy process into an indictment of the Bush administration’s policies — and said he still prefers a system that would try suspected terrorists in the regular courts. It’s a fascinating statement to deconstruct, to see how Obama (and/or his speechwriters) handled the twists and turns:

“I commend the military officers who presided over this trial and served on the hearing panel under difficult and unprecedented circumstances. They and all our Armed Forces continue to serve this country with valor in the fight against terrorism. That the Hamdan trial - the first military commission trial with a guilty verdict since 9/11 - took several years of legal challenges to secure a conviction for material support for terrorism underscores the dangerous flaws in the Administration’s legal framework.

“It’s time to better protect the American people and our values by bringing swift and sure justice to terrorists through our courts and our Uniform Code of Military Justice. And while it is important to convict anyone who provides material support for terrorism, it is long past time to capture or kill Osama bin Laden and the terrorists who murdered nearly 3000 Americans.”

It wasn’t exactly three cheers for the verdict, or even two cheers. Maybe a cheer and a half. But under the circumstances, maybe that was the best he could do.