WITH HELP LIKE THIS – AT 8:49 P.M. ET:  It seems that the decision on where to try the biggest terror suspects in U.S. custody will be helped by that master of governing, that ear-to-the-ground world-class executive...Barack Obama.  From the Washington Post:

President Obama is planning to insert himself into the debate about where to try the accused mastermind of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, three administration officials said Thursday, signaling a recognition that the administration had mishandled the process and triggered a political backlash.

Now, of course, with Obama involved, it will be well handled.  You may laugh.

Obama initially had asked Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. to choose the site of the trial in an effort to maintain an independent Justice Department.

Oh come on.  This Justice Department is as politicized as any of them.

But the White House has been taken aback by the intense criticism from political opponents and local officials of Holder's decision to try Khalid Sheik Mohammed in a civilian courtroom in New York.

So the very White House that couldn't anticipate what any child could, that New Yorkers would be upset by a terror trial in a crowded neighborhood, will now lend its expertise to improving the situation.  Smart move.

Administration officials acknowledge that Holder and Obama advisers were unable to build political support for the trial.

It probably took a White House team weeks of study to figure that out.

And Holder, in an interview Thursday, left open the possibility that Mohammed's trial could be switched to a military commission, although he said that is not his personal and legal preference.

"At the end of the day, wherever this case is tried, in whatever forum, what we have to ensure is that it's done as transparently as possible and with adherence to all the rules," Holder said. "If we do that, I'm not sure the location or even the forum is as important as what the world sees in that proceeding."

Administration officials said the president's involvement has to do with securing congressional funding for the costly trial before bipartisan efforts to strip financing for the case against Mohammed and four alleged co-conspirators gain greater momentum. They said it was a matter of national security, not just politics.

Uh, right.

COMMENT:  Apparently, according to news reports, the Obamans are having trouble finding a city to take the trial.

Hey, what about Chicago?  This could be a substitute for the Olympics.  A new courthouse could be built.  Housing for the lawyers.  Endorsement deals for the defendants.  And, of course, since it's Chicago, they could arrange the verdicts in advance.  What could be more perfect?

Pass it on.

February 12, 2010