Recall how Bill Clinton's presidency got off to a rough start when he tried to throw a bone to his far-left supporters by moving to change the military culture on homosexuals -- by letting them serve openly.

He ran up against a wall of opposition, both in and out of the military, and had to back off, finally settling on the "Don't ask, don't tell" compromise policy that exists to this day.

Reports indicate that the first bone President-elect Obama plans to throw to his hard-left backers will be to close down the Guantanamo Bay prison camp in Cuba. His advisers are bumping up against the grim reality that it's a lot easier for a candidate to make a campaign promise than to keep it. No matter what Gitmo closure plan they come up with, it's likely to set off a political firestorm at home and abroad -- which certainly isn't a first impression a new president wants to make.

Under the still tentative plan, most of the 250 or so detainees would be released, but 60 to 80 of them would face criminal charges in federal court where they would receive constitutional rights and open trials. But in order to protect classified information inherent in some of the more sensitive cases, a unique new legal system would be constructed which would require some modification of a suspect's right to face his accusers, the latter often being CIA spies or terrorist turncoats whose lives would be put in jeopardy if their identities became known. This "hybrid court" plan, according to the Associated Press, has gained a good deal of support from legal scholars in both political parties, but not from the Democrats Obama is trying to please.

The ACLU-left wants the Arab terrorist suspects to enjoy the same constitutional rights that American citizens charged with a crime have. That, of course, could blow wide open the war-on-terror's entire intelligence operations, rendering them exposed, useless and endangered. We don't see how Obama could go along with that. Those far-lefties don't even seem to be on our side.

The simplest solution would be to continue with the military tribunals the Bush administration has already established. So far the tribunals have been eminently fair -- in our view, and that of other critics, too fair. Yet if Obama did stick with the tribunals, he could have a full scale revolt on his hands from his most fervid fans in the media and academia. We believe he'll continue trying to find some kind of compromise that will please the hard left, but like Clinton's "don't ask, don't tell" compromise, it's not likely to please anybody.

Obama will also be taking heavy fire from the right if he simply releases the 180 or so Gitmo detainees who don't go to trial. A host of terrorist POWs the Bush administration let return to their native countries have turned up later trying to kill American troops again. Intolerable.

Another problem with Obama's release plan is that some of the detainees' home countries have barred them from returning. Is he going to just set them loose on American streets? That too would be intolerable.

Whatever happens, the Gitmo conundrum is shaping up as the first dark cloud over the Obama presidency.