Belated Happy Birthday, Mr. President. I hope you spent some relaxing time with your family and were able, if only for a day, to feel like you were once again simply Barack Obama, husband and father.
Like many of us, you probably spent some of your birthday reflecting on the trajectory of your life. I shook your hand once, exchanged a few words and wished you well, at the 2004 rally at the Heartland Cafe in Rogers Park that established your credibility as a candidate in the Democratic Senate Primary. It was a small room, tiny compared to the venues you've spoken in since, and your honesty and compassion absolutely filled it. I was more enthused by your candidacy than I'd been by any mainstream politician since the death of the late great Harold Washington.
A lot has happened since then. It's safe to say that neither of us anticipated that less than five years later, you would be on the way to the White House. It's no secret that I've been less than satisfied with many of your policies, but I'll leave it to others to recap the successes and failures of your life and Presidency. Your birthday is no time for that anyway.
One thing needs to be said though. I hope some portion of your birthday was spent reflecting on Bradley Manning; not so much on his recent conviction, but more on the treatment he received while in custody. That treatment--solitary confinement, forced nudity and all the rest--has been well-documented. I'm certain you know the details. I hope you asked yourself if the true interests of America are really served by his continued confinement. Mr. Manning's detractors are many, but not even the most vicious among them can plausibly claim that he poses an ongoing "threat" to America. Locking him up for many years--or forever--can only be a manifestation of vengeance and blood lust.
I hope you can rise above that. American justice owes a debt to Bradley Manning for the torture and degradation he experienced, regardless of his "crimes". Executive clemency is the only way that debt can be discharged. You now have the opportunity to pardon Manning, or commute his sentence--whatever it turns out to be--to time served.
Mr. Obama, you can earn my gratitude and respect by doing that.
You SHOULD do that.
If you are the thoughtful compassionate leader so many believe you to be, you WILL do that.
Happy Birthday.