How He Operates

Trying to make a decision on the release of the torture memos, Obama did the following, illustrating how he operates:

Seated in Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel's West Wing office with about a dozen
of his political, legal and security appointees, Obama requested a mini-debate
in which one official was chosen to argue for releasing the memos and another
was assigned to argue against doing so. When it ended, Obama dictated on the
spot a draft of his announcement that the documents would be released, while
most of the officials watched, according to an official who was present. The
disclosure happened the next day.