POLITICS
The Obama Legacy Flawed by “Compromise”
A week after granting her clemency, Obama has come under criticism by the former Army Intelligence Analyst, Chelsea Manning, who leaked classified documents to Wikileaks. “For eight years, it didn’t matter how balanced President Obama was. It didn’t matter how educated he was, or how intelligent he was. Nothing was ever good enough for his opponents. It was clear that he could not win, it was clear that no matter what he did, in their eyes he could not win,” Manning wrote in The Guardian.
Manning stressed that “one simple lesson to draw from President Obama’s legacy, do not start off with a compromise.” Surprisingly, a harsh Obama critic (President Trump) came to Obama’s aid, writing on Twitter “Ungrateful TRAITOR Chelsea Manning. Who should have never been released from prison, is now calling President Obama a weak leader, terrible!”
Chelsea Manning gave Obama credit for leaving behind a “progressive legacy” and how she felt hope and optimism, but also said his achievements were fleeting and that she believed he was too slow to speak up for the marginalized communities.
The American public for years has called for Obama to release Manning, citing that she did a public service to the country to shed light on US military war crimes in Iraq. Some also believe Obama should have granted freedom to Edward Snowden, the former NSA analyst who leaked information to Wikileaks about the NSA’s acts of spying on the American public’s phone calls and cameras. With this move, the American public cheered Obama for granting clemency to Manning, but he has been met with resistance from the GOP.
Chelsea Manning is set to be released from prison on May 17th, 2017.
Featured Image via Wikimedia