# I pit inexperienced Presidents who don't know what they are doing **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [November 4, 2013, 7:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-inexperienced-presidents-who-dont-know-what-they-are-doing/673042 "2013-11-04T07:24:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 12
**Author:** ![septimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/septimus/32/410_2.png) [@septimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/septimus)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2013, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-inexperienced-presidents-who-dont-know-what-they-are-doing/673042/222 "2013-11-09T16:04:28Z")
> [@sylmar](#): > > So you’re going to hand wave away the billions and billions of dollars WASTED by the GOP in their efforts to crash ACA implementation that could have gone towards constructive things like education/ social programs/infrastructure or _gasp_, improved healthcare for the majority of its citizens as “civil disobedience” and “patriotic duty” ? > [@adaher](#): > > Billions? Where does that figure come from? Heck, the GOP has saved taxpayers billions by not expanding Medicaid. The failure of fucktards(\*) to even grasp the difference between waste and distributed spending is one of the more exasperating symptoms of their inability to think. The shutdown represented billions of dollars wasted: the output of government employees who will be paid despite not working, the costs to stop and restart programs, rising interest costs and the loss of confidence in the U.S. throughout the world, etc… I’d ask **adaher** to look up _waste_ in a dictionary if he still doesn’t understand. Expanding Medicaid would mean _improved health care for millions of Americans_, more income for doctors and other healthcare providers, etc. Money would be _spent_, not wasted. One might _disapprove_ of such spending of course, but to conflate it with the pure _waste_ of the shutdown – jobs, production and prosperity simply flushed down the toilet – shows immense confusion. If that sort of confusion is sincere, and not just a debating stance, that may help explain why the beliefs of fucktards like **adaher** are so out-of-touch with those of sentient Americans. (\* - I’d prefer a better, less insulting word than “fucktard” to describe your politics, **adaher**. Can you help? Certainly “conservative” doesn’t work – that would be an insult to the many intelligent American conservatives of the 20th-century. Even “extreme right-winger” makes no sense; that term was applied to good-spirited sentient Americans like Goldwater or Reagan. Unless you can come up with an “ism” that encompasses your conflation of waste and spending, I’ll stick with “fucktard.”) ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2013, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-inexperienced-presidents-who-dont-know-what-they-are-doing/673042/223 "2013-11-09T16:29:13Z")
"…a seemingly insignificant event, the coining of the term “Tardist” presaged the rise of a political philosophy so utterly gormless as to render all previous definitions meaningless. A popular graffito and “bumper sticker” of the time captures its essence: “Facts have a liberal bias, so fuck 'em!”. Such historians as still exist cite the movement as directly leading to the rise of Chairman Beck and the subsequent collapse of civilization. This ends our series on the History of the World, and we thank you for your kind attention, even as we cannot imagine why you bothered…" ---
**Author:** ![Truman\_Burbank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecc23a/32.png) [@Truman\_Burbank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Truman_Burbank)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2013, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-inexperienced-presidents-who-dont-know-what-they-are-doing/673042/224 "2013-11-09T16:35:33Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > Some things are so unlikely that you can comfortably dismiss them. Attacking a site that isn’t working is senseless. You’ll forgive me if I don’t share your (unwarranted) confidence in your ability to discern the likely from the less so. ---
**Author:** ![Lobohan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobohan/32/79_2.png) [@Lobohan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobohan)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2013, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-inexperienced-presidents-who-dont-know-what-they-are-doing/673042/225 "2013-11-09T17:33:41Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > Some things are so unlikely that you can comfortably dismiss them. Attacking a site that isn’t working is senseless. And the average member of the Teaparty is profoundly delusional, leading to all sorts of counter-productive behavior. ---
**Author:** ![monavis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e0b2c6/32.png) [@monavis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monavis)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2013, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-inexperienced-presidents-who-dont-know-what-they-are-doing/673042/226 "2013-11-10T13:51:54Z")
The only way a person gets experience at being a President is to be elected one. There is no easy way to be president and when the majority of people pick one, and the one elected tries to do for the people that elected him. the other side will always complain. Now we are a very divided country so half the people will not be satisfied no matter what a president does, and it is not possible to put one’s promise’s to work. Too many times the opposition does all they can to make sure the policies do not get into law. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2013, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-inexperienced-presidents-who-dont-know-what-they-are-doing/673042/227 "2013-11-10T17:08:12Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > I don’t know who is doing it or why, beyond the fact that hackers like to attack websites that they consider threatening to their freedom, like NSA. Last month, a website I visit to download mods for _Fallout 3_ was hit by a DOS attack. What freedom, do you think, was that website threatening? ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2013, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-inexperienced-presidents-who-dont-know-what-they-are-doing/673042/228 "2013-11-11T03:27:55Z")
> [@monavis](#): > > The only way a person gets experience at being a President is to be elected one. There is no easy way to be president and when the majority of people pick one, and the one elected tries to do for the people that elected him. the other side will always complain. Now we are a very divided country so half the people will not be satisfied no matter what a president does, and it is not possible to put one’s promise’s to work. Too many times the opposition does all they can to make sure the policies do not get into law. Which is why a good President doesn’t make their success contingent on what the legislature does. The Presidency is a co-equal branch. If 99% of your agenda requires new laws, you are likely doomed to failure even if your party controls Congress. LBJ was the last President to make such an agenda work, and despite that, he still failed because while he was a great Legislator in Chief, he didn’t actually know how to be President. He failed at his core job, while being successful at the things he could have done simply by being Senate Majority Leader. Obama is on the same track. Good at getting legislation passed in his first two years, pretty awful at actually implementing that legislation. He seems to still think he’s a Senator, and that pesky bit about actually executing the laws is someone else’s job. Whose, he’s not sure. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2013, 4:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-inexperienced-presidents-who-dont-know-what-they-are-doing/673042/229 "2013-11-11T04:37:24Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > Which is why a good President doesn’t make their success contingent on what the legislature does… Think carefully about this sentence, mull it over for a while. I have every confidence that, in time, you will see the flaw in the reasoning. Here, let me help a bit. A hint: the flaw has to do with it being amazingly stupid. That should be enough, don’t want to give it away… ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2013, 4:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-inexperienced-presidents-who-dont-know-what-they-are-doing/673042/230 "2013-11-11T04:42:01Z")
Someone didn’t take American Government in high school. Now let’s go over Chapter 1. What is the role of the executive branch? ---
**Author:** ![Truman\_Burbank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecc23a/32.png) [@Truman\_Burbank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Truman_Burbank)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2013, 5:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-inexperienced-presidents-who-dont-know-what-they-are-doing/673042/231 "2013-11-11T05:35:13Z")
Oh, **Adaher.** You are the _last_ person around here who should be using a condescending tone…it actually makes me feel kinda sad. And still wondering why you haven’t left us for those other, superior message boards. You never did answer my question about that… ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2013, 6:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-inexperienced-presidents-who-dont-know-what-they-are-doing/673042/232 "2013-11-11T06:26:44Z")
I think it’s a fair question. What is the role of the executive branch? The only constitutional roles the executive has in regards to legislation is the veto power, and the Recommendation Clause, which is to recommend legislation. Obama recommends legislation. He’s done his job in that regard. The rest of his job is to faithfully execute the law. THAT is what determines whether he’s a good President and it is the core of the Oath of Office. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2013, 6:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-inexperienced-presidents-who-dont-know-what-they-are-doing/673042/233 "2013-11-11T06:56:42Z")
Do you have to type so fast, and use all those big words? ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2013, 8:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-inexperienced-presidents-who-dont-know-what-they-are-doing/673042/234 "2013-11-11T08:03:29Z")
Here’s another one that you’ll love. Did you know that ACA is not a federal health care program? > **[Strategic Move Exempts Health Law From Broader U.S. Statute (Published 2013)](https://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/05/us/politics/federal-health-law-may-not-be-a-federal-health-care-program.html?pagewanted=1&_r=0)** > > A surprise decision by the Obama administration exempts subsidized health insurance from a law that bans rebates, kickbacks and bribes in federal health programs. ---
**Author:** ![42fish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/4/b487fb/32.png) [@42fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/42fish)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2013, 1:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-inexperienced-presidents-who-dont-know-what-they-are-doing/673042/235 "2013-11-11T13:19:06Z")
> [@Truman\_Burbank](#): > > And still wondering why you haven’t left us for those other, superior message boards. You never did answer my question about that… I suspect his Canadian girlfriend got custody of them during a recent break-up. It also explains why \*\*adaher \*\*never answers your question: clearly it’s just too painful for him to talk about. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-inexperienced-presidents-who-dont-know-what-they-are-doing/673042.md?page=11)