It's very difficult to tell the difference between this year's Democrats and last year's Republicans. Obama has turned out to be a pro-choice Bush.
This tactic will work with people who get their news from the American mainstream media, but it won't fool many Afghans, or Muslims anywhere else. The best way to reduce outrage over civilian deaths is to reduce civilian deaths! Obamaesque reliance on smoke and mirrors might mitigate domestic dissent and help him win reelection, but it will lose the war.
Frank is correct that Obama is more dangerous, because he is continuing Bush's imperialist, warmongering ways while bamboozling enough of the American people to preclude large-scale opposition. His decidedly right wing policies, except on abortion-related issues, meet with approval or silence from most self-proclaimed progressives, which proves that their past anti-Bush rhetoric was partisan rather than principled.
Cheney and Obama are playing good cop/bad cop, and congressional Democrats get to look tough on national security while giving Obama political cover to break yet another campaign promise. Other than ostensibly banning torture, Obama is continuing Bush's policies while pretending to be different.