# Fact-checking the Presidency of Obama **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [January 19, 2017, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fact-checking-the-presidency-of-obama/777563 "2017-01-19T19:29:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Clothahump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/51bf81/32.png) [@Clothahump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clothahump)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2017, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fact-checking-the-presidency-of-obama/777563/21 "2017-01-20T01:34:13Z")
If you can’t hit USA Today, the Washington Post has his top Ten list: > **[Obama’s biggest whoppers](https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/fact-checker/wp/2017/01/19/obamas-biggest-whoppers/?utm_term=.9f0e29f03859)** > > Out of more than 250 fact checks, here are the 10 ten ridiculous claims by Obama that really stood out. ---
**Author:** ![Superdude](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/superdude/32/13450_2.png) [@Superdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superdude)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2017, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fact-checking-the-presidency-of-obama/777563/22 "2017-01-20T02:00:03Z")
I am quite confident that Trump will have beaten this list by the time he gets done with his speech tomorrow, both in frequency and magnitude. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2017, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fact-checking-the-presidency-of-obama/777563/23 "2017-01-20T15:26:48Z")
> [@aldiboronti](#): > > The link works just fine for me, it goes to the correct article and there’s no paywall. I’m certainly not subscribed to USA Today so I’m not sure what the problem is for those who can’t get to it. > > I’m assuming that’s the reason very few of you are actually challenging the facts in the article. It surely couldn’t be that the record of Obama’s saying things he’s later denied saying (in other words lying) is rather difficult to challenge? He’s out of office. You can stop bashing him now. Oh, and nobody cares. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2017, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fact-checking-the-presidency-of-obama/777563/24 "2017-01-20T15:49:49Z")
> [@aldiboronti](#): > > The link works just fine for me, it goes to the correct article and there’s no paywall. I’m certainly not subscribed to USA Today so I’m not sure what the problem is for those who can’t get to it. > > I’m assuming that’s the reason very few of you are actually challenging the facts in the article. It surely couldn’t be that the record of Obama’s saying things he’s later denied saying (in other words lying) is rather difficult to challenge? The idea that someone contradicts themselves on occasion is utterly unremarkable. I’m sure you do it too sometimes. It appears to be offered here as a backhanded defense of Trump–“Sure he lies,” you suggest, “but since Obama lies, it’s unreasonable to criticize Trump for dishonesty.” But that’s nonsense. Unless you can show that Obama lies anywhere near as much as Trump does, or unless you can show that people reject politicians if they’re ever dishonest (not just if they’re constantly dishonest), the comparison fails. This thread is ridiculous and pointless. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2017, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fact-checking-the-presidency-of-obama/777563/25 "2017-01-20T15:58:37Z")
> [@aldiboronti](#): > > For those who believe that it’s only Trump that equivocates and denies saying things that he did > [@aldiboronti](#): > > I’m assuming that’s the reason very few of you are actually challenging the facts in the article. It surely couldn’t be that the record of Obama’s saying things he’s later denied saying (in other words lying) is rather difficult to challenge? Perhaps you could first share the reason you’re choosing to challenge what you wish people were saying rather than what they’re actually saying. ---
**Author:** ![Folacin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/folacin/32/3195_2.png) [@Folacin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Folacin)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2017, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fact-checking-the-presidency-of-obama/777563/26 "2017-01-20T16:35:03Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > He’s out of office. You can stop bashing him now. Oh, and nobody cares. Come on now, at the time you posted this, I believe there were still 1.5 hours before Trump was sworn in. Plenty of time for Obama to confiscate everyone’s guns and force a mass conversion to Islam in the FEMA camps. ---
**Author:** ![Omg\_a\_Black\_Conservative](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/7ba0ec/32.png) [@Omg\_a\_Black\_Conservative](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omg_a_Black_Conservative)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2017, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fact-checking-the-presidency-of-obama/777563/27 "2017-01-20T16:52:52Z")
Lots of deflection going on here. I remember how some posters (okay, a lot of posters) outright defended what were lies and denigrated people who called them lies (the biggest being in relation to Obamacare or Obama’s budgetary “prowess”). ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2017, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fact-checking-the-presidency-of-obama/777563/28 "2017-01-20T16:57:35Z")
> [@Omg\_a\_Black\_Conservative](#): > > Lots of deflection going on here. > > I remember how some posters (okay, a lot of posters) outright defended what were lies and denigrated people who called them lies (the biggest being in relation to Obamacare or Obama’s budgetary “prowess”). Yes, I’m sure that’s the way you remember it. Not much to be done about that. ---
**Author:** ![Morgenstern](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Morgenstern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgenstern)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2017, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fact-checking-the-presidency-of-obama/777563/29 "2017-01-20T17:03:40Z")
> [@Omg\_a\_Black\_Conservative](#): > > Lots of deflection going on here. > > I remember how some posters (okay, a lot of posters) outright defended what were lies and denigrated people who called them lies (the biggest being in relation to Obamacare or Obama’s budgetary “prowess”). What scares me is that there are people who actually believe stuff like this. Kellyanne Conway comes to mind. BTW, how many blacks did Trump choose to be in his inner circle? I’m pretty sure there were more than a few who were well qualified for those positions. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2017, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fact-checking-the-presidency-of-obama/777563/30 "2017-01-20T17:18:22Z")
> [@Morgenstern](#): > > What scares me is that there are people who actually believe stuff like this. Kellyanne Conway comes to mind. > > BTW, how many blacks did Trump choose to be in his inner circle? I’m pretty sure there were more than a few who were well qualified for those positions. Sean Spicer was asked why there were no Hispanics and he said because [Trump hires only the brightest and the best.](http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/donald-trump-cabinet-latinos_us_5880f00be4b0e3a735677ce8) > [@](#): > > “I think that when you look at the totality of his administration, the people that he’s talked to, the people that he’s met with, the people that he’s appointing, you see a president who is committed to uniting this country, who’s bringing the best and the brightest together,” he said at Thursday’s news conference. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2017, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fact-checking-the-presidency-of-obama/777563/31 "2017-01-20T17:19:06Z")
Trump will outdo (and has outdone) Obama by telling lies that aren’t even plausible at the moment he tells them. ---
**Author:** ![AlsoNamedBort](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alsonamedbort/32/3213_2.png) [@AlsoNamedBort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AlsoNamedBort)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2017, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fact-checking-the-presidency-of-obama/777563/32 "2017-01-20T17:22:04Z")
> [@aldiboronti](#): > > The examples cover all areas of his Presidency: > > ACA ‘if you like your health plan you can keep it’ (no) > Otto Raddatz died because of cancelled insurance (no) > ‘my mother was almost denied health insurance’ (no) > ‘lower premiums’ (no) > ‘unprecedented for SCOTUS to overturn ACA’ (no) > > Middle East ‘I didn’t set a red line, the world did’ (no) > Never dismissed ISIS as the JV team (yep, he did) > > Tax ‘in 2011 I paid a lower tax rate than a teacher making > $50,000 a year’ (false) > Many millionaires pay a lower tax rate than the middle > class (no) > > Education High school dropout rate has “tripled in the past 30 years.” (no, > it had actually declined by 30%) > > Oil ‘We import more oil today than ever before’ (untrue, > imports peaked in 2005 and were substantially lower > at the time that the president made his remarks.) > . I read the article so I’ll actually address these one by one. ACA ‘if you like your health plan you can keep it’ (no) _Campaign promise made before congress got their hands on the ACA_ Otto Raddatz died because of cancelled insurance (no) _Yep, this one was a false anecdote_ ‘my mother was almost denied health insurance’ (no) _False anecdote, but only because it was disability insurance, not health insurance_ ‘lower premiums’ (no) _Campaign promise made before congress got their hands on the ACA_ ‘unprecedented for SCOTUS to overturn ACA’ (no) _Pretty clear that what he meant that he believed the law was constitutional, not that SCOTUS didn’t have that power_ Middle East ‘I didn’t set a red line, the world did’ (no) _So, on this one he said Chemical weapons was a red line. His second quote was saying that the world has decided chemical weapons is a red line. Which is true_ Never dismissed ISIS as the JV team (yep, he did) _okay, there’s one, but the quote was a bit more nuanced then that_ Tax ‘in 2011 I paid a lower tax rate than a teacher making $50,000 a year’ (false) _He didn’t say that_ Many millionaires pay a lower tax rate than the middle class (no) _He also didn’t say that_ Education High school dropout rate has “tripled in the past 30 years.” (no, it had actually declined by 30%) _yep, apparently they were looking at the ninth grade failing rate_ Oil ‘We import more oil today than ever before’ (untrue, imports peaked in 2005 and were substantially lower at the time that the president made his remarks.) _Yes, it was down from the peak_ ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2017, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fact-checking-the-presidency-of-obama/777563/33 "2017-01-20T17:23:27Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > Yes, I’m sure that’s the way you remember it. Not much to be done about that. I know. There’s a lot of deflection going on there. ---
**Author:** ![dasmoocher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/dbc845/32.png) [@dasmoocher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dasmoocher)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2017, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fact-checking-the-presidency-of-obama/777563/34 "2017-01-20T17:36:36Z")
> [@Bone](#): > > Please do not appear to insult other posters. If you feel you must the BBQ Pit is right around the corner. > > [/moderating] My bad. I apologise. ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2017, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fact-checking-the-presidency-of-obama/777563/35 "2017-01-21T03:06:50Z")
I don’t think anyone should claim that Obama is as bad as Trump or some of the other pathological liars who are part of our political class. But it is useful to remind people that Obama did not bring about change, that he never intended to bring about change, and that he was, as Bill Clinton described him in 2008, “an off the shelf Chicago politician”. He’s a politician. He dissembles, he spins, he misleads. That’s what they do. At least as long as we tolerate it. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2017, 4:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fact-checking-the-presidency-of-obama/777563/36 "2017-01-21T04:31:55Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > I don’t think anyone should claim that Obama is as bad as Trump or some of the other pathological liars who are part of our political class. But it is useful to remind people that Obama did not bring about change, that he never intended to bring about change, and that he was, as Bill Clinton described him in 2008, “an off the shelf Chicago politician”. > > He’s a politician. He dissembles, he spins, he misleads. That’s what they do. At least as long as we tolerate it. He brought some incremental change – Iran and Cuba policies were big changes; and the ACA was a big change (in that it drastically reduced the uninsured rate and was the first big change in health care in decades). He lies, spins, and misleads, but I think he does so considerably less than most politicians. Because of your personal hatred of the man, you’re unable to see anything good from him. Hopefully with time you’ll be able to get over this – not that you’ll necessary see him as a great president, but not as terrible a person as your posts make him out to be. ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2017, 4:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fact-checking-the-presidency-of-obama/777563/37 "2017-01-21T04:36:12Z")
I have seen some good things from him, but that’s not the point. The point is that he said he would change the way Washington works and he specifically attacked both Hillary Clinton and John McCain for all the things typical politicians do. Of course he brought about changes in policies. ALL Presidents do that. But not only did he not change the way DC works, that was never his intention. He was a fairly typical Democrat who wanted to enact fairly typical Democratic policies, sold in the typical Democratic way. There was nothing that Obama did or tried to do that Hillary Clinton wouldn’t have done had she won in 2008. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2017, 4:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fact-checking-the-presidency-of-obama/777563/38 "2017-01-21T04:38:42Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > I have seen some good things from him, but that’s not the point. The point is that he said he would change the way Washington works and he specifically attacked both Hillary Clinton and John McCain for all the things typical politicians do. > > Of course he brought about changes in policies. ALL Presidents do that. But not only did he not change the way DC works, that was never his intention. He was a fairly typical Democrat who wanted to enact fairly typical Democratic policies, sold in the typical Democratic way. There was nothing that Obama did or tried to do that Hillary Clinton wouldn’t have done had she won in 2008. You don’t know his intentions – how could you? I think he tried his best, but he underestimated the unwillingness of the Republicans in Congress to cooperate with him on anything important, and he overestimated the American people’s ability to discern reasonable criticism from total nonsense. You’re personally invested in the idea that he’s not extraordinary, and can’t be extraordinary in any positive way. Considering your personal feelings for him, I can’t take any of this type of criticism from you seriously. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2017, 4:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fact-checking-the-presidency-of-obama/777563/39 "2017-01-21T04:50:54Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > …Bill Clinton described him in 2008, "an off the shelf Chicago politician… Googling that quote does not lead me to Bill Clinton. It leads me, twice, to a sparkling message board called “SDMB” where we find > [@](#): > > “…Obama, on the other hand, was an insufferable, off the shelf Chicago politician(Clinton’s words)…” > **[Bill Clinton: net positive or net negative for Hillary?](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=788039)** > > Bill committed another gaffe yesterday by saying what he actually thought about the Obama administration: The Clinton campaign has “clarified” in the usual weaselly politician way that BIll was talking about the Republicans, but buy that BS or... And here. > [@](#): > > … Although his later attacks were true, calling Obama an “off the shelf Chicago politician”… > **[On BILL Clinton and Hillarys campaign.](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=779259)** > > Their is a story out that Bill will now be campaigning for Hillary. Do you think he will give her campaign a boost or not? You. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2017, 4:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fact-checking-the-presidency-of-obama/777563/40 "2017-01-21T04:50:59Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > He’s out of office. You can stop bashing him now. Oh, and nobody cares. Barack Obama served his country for 8 years and deserves the same respect and consideration given to his own predecessor after Obama’s inauguration. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fact-checking-the-presidency-of-obama/777563.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fact-checking-the-presidency-of-obama/777563.md?page=3)