What Does Obama See in the Mirror?

The Guardian reports that top U.S. legal scholars are outraged by Bradley Manning's treatment. They call it "torture" and, "in a stinging rebuke" to Barack Obama that is nothing if not personal, they question "whether his conduct as commander in chief meets fundamental standards of decency."

Glenn Greenwald's column today tipped me to the report. He writes:

Although, as Commander-in-Chief, Obama was technically responsible for Manning's treatment, there was no evidence that he even knew about it, let alone planned it. But since then, the Manning controversy exploded into national prominence and Obama has explicitly defended the treatment, leaving no doubt that it directly reflects on who he is as a leader and a person.

Couple that with Paul Krugman's column today -- about an entirely different subject (the budget) -- which calls Obama "this bland, timid guy who doesn't seem to stand for anything" and which declares in essence that he lacks moral backbone. Makes you wonder how the nation's great black hope can look himself in the mirror these days.