I think Obama knows history will look kindly on Snowden, and thus will look poorly on him. I think if Obama takes the 20 year view pardoning Snowden is his best chance at saving his legacy.
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I'm pretty sure this entire affair will only be a tiny blip in Obama's historical legacy.
Addendum: People on HN tend to vastly over-estimate the importance of privacy to the American populace. It's a very niche issue in politics.
One of the things I've learned from this is that our security apparatus has a will of its own well beyond whoever's sitting in the White House. I doubt it will be closely tied with Obama, rather just lumped into the "Post 9/11 security state" chapter.
I feel like it's in the organization's DNAs. Take like J. Edgar Hoover.
I think Obama's legacy will only be a blip.
Yes, but this is true of most presidents.
Issues related to privacy in the digital era are going to be a huge part of humanity's future. Obama's historical legacy will be a small blip compared to the actions of individuals like Snowden.
I can't tell who you are referring to with your his and him.