When we distinguish a period of time and religious historical points we often refer to Anno Domini (AD) as in Before Christ or prior to the conception of Jesus Christ.  And today it seems as though we are in a period of time where President Obama continues to spend an inordinate amount of time distinguishing himself from the administration of George Bush and his ascension.

Every President prior to Obama understood the difference between campaigning for the office and ascending to the office and segueing to a leadership role.

This requires putting the political differences of the campaign aside and seeking bipartisanship cooperation once a president takes office .  This was something Obama promised, but so far has failed to deliver upon.

Obama’s Anno Domini concept not only prevails but has now entered the decision making process on what Obama calls ‘moral’ issues left-over from the ‘War on Terror,’ something that is still going on, but we no longer call it a ‘War’ — even though people are still dying.

One of Obama’s first moves after his ascension to office was to announce the closing of Guantanmo Bay where some 200 detainees are held, left over from the days of the War on Terror.  The move was the first to politically and morally distinguish himself from George Bush.  But as it turns out he can’t find any place to put these terrorists — no other country wants them and States here in the US do not want them in their backyard.

And as reported today in the New York Times, “Democrats are voicing growing unease over the Obama administration’s national security policies, including the seemingly open-ended commitment in Afghanistan and the question of what to do with prisoners held at Guantanamo Bay.”

There are reports from the White House that Obama is perhaps reconsidering the closing of Gitmo.

The next effort to distinguish himself from the Bush administration was to release some memos dealing with enhanced interrogation techniques including the use of waterboarding, which Obama defines as torture. He released what was politically helpful to his objective, but failed to release information contained in reports that said such interrogation techniques prevented further attacks by terrorists on the US since 9/11.

To further his cause he was going to release hundreds of photos from the Bush administration potentially showing US military personnel abusing prisoners in Iraq and Afghanistan in the aftermath of 9/11.

But in a sharp reversal he said yesterday he did not feel comfortable with the release of the photos because he believes they would endanger US troops, and that the national security implications of such a release have not been fully presented in federal court.

The Pentagon had planned to release the photos by May 28 in response to a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union.  That decision was made after the Justice Department lost its latest round in federal court and concluded that any further appeal probably would be fruitless, according to FOX News.

ACLU criticized the Obama decision stating, “The Obama administration’s adoption of the stonewalling tactics and opaque policies of the Bush administration flies in the face of the president’s stated desire to restore the rule of law, to revive our moral standing in the world and to lead a transparent government,”  Anthony D. Romero, executive director of the ACLU, said in a statement.

Waffle House spokesman Robert Gibbs said Wednesday that the president believes releasing the photos would only “sensationalize” rather than “illuminate” the investigation into detainee abuse.

Obama made many harmful statements and promises during his campaign for the office to distinguish himself from the Bush administration and is only finding out now that leadership — especially when dealing with national security — is much more difficult to execute than campaign rhetoric is to deliver.

It is time for Obama to begin acting as a President , not a candidate,