# Obama and Divisiveness **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [March 8, 2016, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-and-divisiveness/748286 "2016-03-08T15:38:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 9
**Author:** ![DerekMichaels00](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f14d63/32.png) [@DerekMichaels00](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DerekMichaels00)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2016, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-and-divisiveness/748286/161 "2016-05-14T21:32:04Z")
kicked to add the transgender thing to list of divisive actions by Obama. ---
**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:** [May 14, 2016, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-and-divisiveness/748286/162 "2016-05-14T21:36:43Z")
> [@DerekMichaels00](#): > > kicked to add the transgender thing to list of divisive actions by Obama. Totally ignored these in the thread about the [bathroom issue](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?p=19331063#post19331063), didn’t you? > [@Political fallout of transgender bathroom issue](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/political-fallout-of-transgender-bathroom-issue/754775/19): > > That is exactly what the school-bathroom memo does. It puts us all on the same page, under the same laws, where everyone has guaranteed rights. > > It was the assholes in North Carolina who were dividing us. They’re getting sued, and, with luck, they’ll be put in their place, along with the rest of their old Jim Crow brethren. > [@Political fallout of transgender bathroom issue](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/political-fallout-of-transgender-bathroom-issue/754775/20): > > You seem to think that Obama’s response to OBVIOUSLY divisive politics (the whole “transgender bathroom thing” was STARTED when some Republican politicians decided to MAKE it big thing)…Is for Obama to ignore it. > So when someone STARTS creating laws that are against a certain group… when there was no problem before… Then its DIVISIVE for the other side to say “NO.” > > Okay then. > [@Political fallout of transgender bathroom issue](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/political-fallout-of-transgender-bathroom-issue/754775/21): > > I guess in some books, “uniting” looks a lot like “give in to the bigoted assholes who want the freedom to hate and oppress others.” ---
**Author:** ![DerekMichaels00](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f14d63/32.png) [@DerekMichaels00](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DerekMichaels00)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2016, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-and-divisiveness/748286/163 "2016-05-15T14:02:37Z")
point; if Barack Hussein Obama actually apologizes for Hiroshima, I will ditch my Democratic Party registration for sure and put it online like that guy did with Trump and his card. The a-bomb saved Japan from communism, and saved both American AND Japanese lives. See; we shouldn’t have to wonder if Obama will apologize. The American people then and now supported it. Obama’s constituency should be the American people, not the uber left-wing of the Democratic Party. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2016, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-and-divisiveness/748286/164 "2016-05-15T14:32:25Z")
“Saved from Communism”? An extraordinary proposition. Have you any extraordinary evidence to support it? Stalin was going to move a million troops, with armor and support, all the way from Europe to Vladisvostok, and they they were gong to get on the boats and… Oh, wait, the boats! OK, first he was going to build a buttload of boats… Balderdash, sir! Tommyrot! ---
**Author:** ![Sinaptics](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/278dde/32.png) [@Sinaptics](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sinaptics)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2016, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-and-divisiveness/748286/165 "2016-05-15T14:47:43Z")
> [@DerekMichaels00](#): > > point; if Barack Hussein Obama actually apologizes for Hiroshima, I will ditch my Democratic Party registration for sure and put it online like that guy did with Trump and his card. The a-bomb saved Japan from communism, and saved both American AND Japanese lives. > > See; we shouldn’t have to wonder if Obama will apologize. The American people then and now supported it. Obama’s constituency should be the American people, not the uber left-wing of the Democratic Party. Sometimes you can do the right thing and still be sorry for it. If you didn’t feel bad about killing 150,000 people, even for the right reasons, you’re probably a sociopath. ---
**Author:** ![Bridget\_Burke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7cd45c/32.png) [@Bridget\_Burke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bridget_Burke)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2016, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-and-divisiveness/748286/166 "2016-05-15T14:59:26Z")
When the OP puts his Democratic Party Registration up for sale online–I trust he will provide us with a link. ---
**Author:** ![zoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zoid/32/336_2.png) [@zoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zoid)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2016, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-and-divisiveness/748286/167 "2016-05-15T15:00:03Z")
> [@elucidator](#): > > “Saved from Communism”? [Forget it, he’s rolling.](https://youtu.be/V8lT1o0sDwI?t=17s) ---
**Author:** ![DerekMichaels00](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f14d63/32.png) [@DerekMichaels00](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DerekMichaels00)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2016, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-and-divisiveness/748286/168 "2016-05-15T15:23:04Z")
> [@elucidator](#): > > “Saved from Communism”? An extraordinary proposition. Have you any extraordinary evidence to support it? Stalin was going to move a million troops, with armor and support, all the way from Europe to Vladisvostok, and they they were gong to get on the boats and… Oh, wait, the boats! OK, first he was going to build a buttload of boats… > > Balderdash, sir! Tommyrot! umm the Soviets had just declared war on Japan and overran Japan Occupied Manchuria very quickly. They had troops very near the Japanese mainland ready to invade. Hell, Russia still occupies several formerly Japanese islands. Also, the USSR always had tons of troops in the Russian far east. What, you think they left it unmanned? ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2016, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-and-divisiveness/748286/169 "2016-05-15T15:27:05Z")
> [@DerekMichaels00](#): > > Obama’s constituency should be the American people, not the uber left-wing of the Democratic Party. What does any of this have to do with taxi service? ---
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2016, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-and-divisiveness/748286/170 "2016-05-15T15:42:05Z")
Republican?.. No ride for you! ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2016, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-and-divisiveness/748286/171 "2016-05-15T16:27:20Z")
> [@DerekMichaels00](#): > > umm the Soviets had just declared war on Japan and overran Japan Occupied Manchuria very quickly. They had troops very near the Japanese mainland ready to invade. Hell, Russia still occupies several formerly Japanese islands. > > Also, the USSR always had tons of troops in the Russian far east. What, you think they left it unmanned? So, they were going to swim? ---
**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:** [May 15, 2016, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-and-divisiveness/748286/172 "2016-05-15T17:10:46Z")
> [@DerekMichaels00](#): > > point; if Barack Hussein Obama actually apologizes for Hiroshima, I will ditch my Democratic Party registration for sure and put it online like that guy did with Trump and his card. The a-bomb saved Japan from communism, and saved both American AND Japanese lives. > > See; we shouldn’t have to wonder if Obama will apologize. The American people then and now supported it. Obama’s constituency should be the American people, not the uber left-wing of the Democratic Party. If the things you posted about Obama weren’t so often fantasy bullshit ravings, you’d be more likely to be taken seriously. ---
**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:** [May 15, 2016, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-and-divisiveness/748286/173 "2016-05-15T18:01:03Z")
> [@DerekMichaels00](#): > > point; if Barack Hussein Obama actually apologizes for Hiroshima, I will ditch my Democratic Party registration for sure and put it online like that guy did with Trump and his card. The a-bomb saved Japan from communism, and saved both American AND Japanese lives. > > See; we shouldn’t have to wonder if Obama will apologize. The American people then and now supported it. Obama’s constituency should be the American people, not the uber left-wing of the Democratic Party. If you didn’t have a personal issues with the President’s ethnicity and heritage, then you wouldn’t be the only one on the board who insists upon using his middle name. That’s a giveaway that there’s something about him that you don’t like that is intrinsic to who he is, not what he says or does. ---
**Author:** ![Ramira](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ramira/32/344_2.png) [@Ramira](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ramira)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2016, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-and-divisiveness/748286/174 "2016-05-15T20:28:05Z")
> [@elucidator](#): > > So, they were going to swim? No, it seems they had some of the amphibious equipment from … _ **the Americans** _ ([(\*) but no real ability to undertake a great amphibious invasio](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Shumshu)n) and it was of course the Americans who pressurized the Soviets to attack Japan, they were not intending otherwise. So it is ironic, the Americans created the Soviet communist threat to save the Japanese from… (\*): the wiki > [@](#): > > “The Soviet Union and Japan maintained a fairly scrupulous neutrality toward each other after signing the Soviet–Japanese Neutrality Pact on 13 April 1941, although the two countries were allied with one another’s World War II enemies from 1941 until the conclusion of the war in 1945.[2] The Soviet Union turned down requests by the United States to base American aircraft on Soviet territory for operations against Japan and ignored Allied requests for any actions which might provoke Japan. … The United States soon began the work of meeting the Soviet requirements … In the spring and summer of 1945, the United States secretly transferred 149 ships and craft – mostly escort vessels, landing craft, and minesweepers – to the Soviet Navy at Cold Bay in the Territory of Alaska in Project Hula.[4] Even so, cooperation between the Soviets and Americans was minimal and in August 1945 the Soviets did not have the capability to mount a major sea-borne invasion of Japanese-held territory.[5]” It makes using 'saving the Japanese from Communism as a justification … very ironical. But it fits his narrative of the USA is Action Movie Good Guys against The Evil. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2016, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-and-divisiveness/748286/175 "2016-05-15T20:32:06Z")
> [@DerekMichaels00](#): > > umm the Soviets had just declared war on Japan and overran Japan Occupied Manchuria very quickly. They had troops very near the Japanese mainland ready to invade. Hell, Russia still occupies several formerly Japanese islands. > > Also, the USSR always had tons of troops in the Russian far east. What, you think they left it unmanned? > [@elucidator](#): > > So, they were going to swim? See, if the USSR had invaded Japan it would have been a cake walk. There were no logistical or tactical issues to solve, nothing anybody could do to stop it, and Japan would be Communist (boo! hiss!) to this very day. On the other hand, if the U.S. had tried to invade it would have been a massive undertaking followed by a bloodbath. There would have been hundreds of thousands of casualties on both sides. Better to just nuke 'em. ---
**Author:** ![DerekMichaels00](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f14d63/32.png) [@DerekMichaels00](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DerekMichaels00)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2016, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-and-divisiveness/748286/176 "2016-05-16T01:23:49Z")
Here’s what Obama [needs to do more of](http://finance.yahoo.com/news/obama-chides-rutgers-students-pressuring-203403559.html): > [@](#): > > Speaking at the university’s commencement Sunday, Obama said pressuring Rice to drop the speech was “misguided.” > > “I don’t think it’s a secret that I disagree with many of the policies of Dr. Rice and the previous administration. But the notion that this community or this country would be better served by not hearing a former secretary of state or not hearing what she had to say — I believe that’s misguided,” Obama said. “I don’t think that’s how democracy works best, when we’re not even willing to listen to each other.” and > [@](#): > > During a commencement address at Howard University earlier this month, Obama recalled how engaging with law enforcement in Illinois helped him pass a piece of anti-racial profiling legislation. > > “When I was a state senator, I helped pass Illinois’s first racial profiling law, and one of the first laws in the nation requiring the videotaping of confessions in capital cases,” Obama said. “I didn’t say to them, ‘Oh, you guys are so racist, you need to do something.’ I understood, as many of you do, that the overwhelming majority of police officers are good, and honest, and courageous, and fair, and love the communities they serve.” Obama needs to do MUCH more of this kind of thing; that Bill Clinton did it a lot is why I like him. That Reagan did it a decent amount, like on immigration, tax reform, and a bunch of other things, is what’s separated them from Obama, for the most part. If Obama can continue to rebuke the right _and the extreme-left_, I’ll like him better, and I bet his approvals go up too. I did vote for him twice. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2016, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-and-divisiveness/748286/177 "2016-05-16T01:37:56Z")
Are we allowed to call people gullible and delusional outside the Pit? Refresh my memory, please. ---
**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:** [May 16, 2016, 12:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-and-divisiveness/748286/178 "2016-05-16T12:08:06Z")
> [@DerekMichaels00](#): > > Obama needs to do MUCH more of this kind of thing; that Bill Clinton did it a lot is why I like him. That Reagan did it a decent amount, like on immigration, tax reform, and a bunch of other things, is what’s separated them from Obama, for the most part. If Obama can continue to rebuke the right _and the extreme-left_, I’ll like him better, and I bet his approvals go up too. I did vote for him twice. No Hussein this time? What’s the rhyme or reason to when you choose to call him Hussein and when you leave it out of your posts? This is nothing new from him – he’s made many statements like this, since the very start of his Presidential campaign. ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2016, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-and-divisiveness/748286/179 "2016-05-16T22:12:03Z")
> [@jayjay](#): > > Are we allowed to call people gullible and delusional outside the Pit? Refresh my memory, please. No. [/Moderating] ---
**Author:** ![Moriarty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/moriarty/32/49_2.png) [@Moriarty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moriarty)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2016, 3:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-and-divisiveness/748286/180 "2016-05-17T03:45:58Z")
> [@DerekMichaels00](#): > > Here’s what Obama [needs to do more of](http://finance.yahoo.com/news/obama-chides-rutgers-students-pressuring-203403559.html): > > Speaking at the university’s commencement Sunday, Obama said pressuring Rice to drop the speech was “misguided.” > > “I don’t think it’s a secret that I disagree with many of the policies of Dr. Rice and the previous administration. But the notion that this community or this country would be better served by not hearing a former secretary of state or not hearing what she had to say — I believe that’s misguided,” Obama said. “I don’t think that’s how democracy works best, when we’re not even willing to listen to each other.” > > and > > During a commencement address at Howard University earlier this month, Obama recalled how engaging with law enforcement in Illinois helped him pass a piece of anti-racial profiling legislation. > > “When I was a state senator, I helped pass Illinois’s first racial profiling law, and one of the first laws in the nation requiring the videotaping of confessions in capital cases,” Obama said. “I didn’t say to them, ‘Oh, you guys are so racist, you need to do something.’ I understood, as many of you do, that the overwhelming majority of police officers are good, and honest, and courageous, and fair, and love the communities they serve.” > > Obama needs to do MUCH more of this kind of thing; that Bill Clinton did it a lot is why I like him. That Reagan did it a decent amount, like on immigration, tax reform, and a bunch of other things, is what’s separated them from Obama, for the most part. If Obama can continue to rebuke the right _and the extreme-left_, I’ll like him better, and I bet his approvals go up too. I did vote for him twice. When you approved of President Obama, you quoted him directly. But all of the times that you expressed disapproval of President Obama, such as when you accused him of being insufficiently patriotic or not properly against Islamic terrorists, you never quoted his words on the subject. Why is that? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-and-divisiveness/748286.md?page=8) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-and-divisiveness/748286.md?page=10)