# President Barack Obama is a shameful hypocrite. **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [June 18, 2012, 4:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/president-barack-obama-is-a-shameful-hypocrite/625485 "2012-06-18T04:45:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![WillFarnaby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/willfarnaby/32/514_2.png) [@WillFarnaby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WillFarnaby)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2012, 4:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/president-barack-obama-is-a-shameful-hypocrite/625485/1 "2012-06-18T04:45:01Z")
> [@](#): > > Over the past several months, including just last week, I’ve written numerous times about the two glaring contradictions that drive the Obama administration’s manipulative game-playing with its secrecy powers: (1) at the very same time that they wage an unprecedented war on whistleblowers, they themselves continuously leak national security secrets exclusively designed to glorify Obama purely for political gain; and(2) at the very same time they insist to federal courts that these programs are too secret even to confirm or deny their existence (thereby shielding them from judicial review or basic disclosure), they run around publicly boasting about their actions. Just over the past month alone, they have done precisely this by leaking key details about Obama’s commanding role in the raid that killed Osama bin Laden, drone attacks that have killed allegedly key Al Qaeda figures, sophisticated cyber-attacks on Iran’s nuclear program, and the selection of targets for Obama “kill list”: all programs that are classified and which the White House has insisted cannot be subjected to judicial review or any form of public scrutiny. > **[Probing Obama's secrecy games](https://www.salon.com/2012/06/07/probing_obamas_secrecy_games/)** > > Will high-level Obama officials who leak for political gain be punished on equal terms with actual whistleblowers? Even if you agree with his policies. Even if you think he’s a good father/ role model. Even if you think he’s better than Bush43/ McCain/ Romney. Even if you think Abraham Lincoln, Woodrow Wilson, and Franklin Roosevelt were great men. How can you endorse this man for office? ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2012, 4:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/president-barack-obama-is-a-shameful-hypocrite/625485/2 "2012-06-18T04:47:44Z")
I’m not bothered by this ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2012, 4:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/president-barack-obama-is-a-shameful-hypocrite/625485/3 "2012-06-18T04:48:46Z")
> [@WillFarnaby](#): > > How can you endorse this man for office? Because the alternative is the Republicans. I don’t like him, I don’t respect him, I don’t think he’s a good person or a good leader; but when the alternative is the Republicans almost anyone is better. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2012, 4:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/president-barack-obama-is-a-shameful-hypocrite/625485/4 "2012-06-18T04:55:39Z")
Because he’s better than any GOP alternative. [RationalWiki on Obama](http://rationalwiki.org/wiki/Obama) (non-copyrighted material): > [@](#): > > **Barack HUSSEIN Obama II** (born in Honolulu, Hawaii, Kenya, August 4, 1961) is the 44th President of the United States. A Democrat, he is also apparently a devout Christian, Muslim, Jew, Hindu, gay, atheist Martian Egyptian Antichrist.[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8] > > Obama is the first self-identified African American to be elected to the presidency,[9] a turning-point marking the end of racism in the United States. Do You Believe That?[/size] > > In October of 2009, he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, for his stunning success in not being George W. Bush. > > A lot of Americans are wary of Obama as they do not believe - and may never believe - he is actually an American. This fear of an ethnic “other” is compounded by a fiery political climate in which some critics have called him a socialist or “Kenyan anti-colonialist,”[10] which one would think would be a good thing in a country founded on the idea that being a colony really sucks. > > \ > > **Actions as President** > > President Obama’s term in office has been distinguished by starting with a deep recession that has left unemployment above 9% for more than a year, a political environment of steadily-increasing vitriol and obstructionism, and a general continuance of Bush-era policies in national security and trade. The largest shifts in actual policies that have occurred have been with foreign policy; while the U.S. did engage in military intervention in Libya, it was a markedly different style of attack when compared to the full commitment of Iraq and Afghanistan. This was of a piece with the inclusive rhetoric espoused by President Obama, as well as with his generally centrist (moderate-right by European standards) approach - we can’t see any socializmz there. > > Obama has been criticized for getting the federal budget deficit to unprecedented levels. However, many people forget that the budget for 2009 was actually a series of continuing resolutions that kept spending at roughly the same as Bush’s era.[14] Keeping in mind the fact that Bush did not include war spending as part of his budgets, and the fact that the majority of debt is due to the recession, Obama has overall decreased the budget deficit, though it’s still present. > > **Fulfillment of campaign promises** > > While Obama’s presidency is an improvement from the previous Bush-era domestic and foreign policies, a large number of his campaign promises remain stalled or completely broken. Some examples: > > On January 22, 2009, President Obama signed an executive order to close Guantanamo Bay within a year, and for those incarcerated within to be dealt with as quickly as possible.[15] No change has occurred, and Guantanamo continues with little reduction in inmates, due to a large amount of Republican states disapproving. Some abortive attempts at moving them to other states or countries have met with very limited success - essentially, no one wants them. > > With regards to health care, President Obama extended the S-CHIP program, and enacted the Affordable Care Act (or “Obamacare”) on March 23, 2010, with the aid of united Congressional Democrats. The Act, a fairly balanced implementation of universal health care, has been widely criticized on the left for perceived failings (such as the lack of a public option, which Obama did not as enthusiastically support as he did in his campaign) while attacked hysterically from the right. > > On the other hand, Obama has fulfilled many of his promises on other issues, mainly foreign policy and gay rights. Here are examples of some of his more major actions: On February 27, 2009: Obama set the date of the Iraq War’s end to be August 31, 2010.[16] As of December 2011, virtually all troops have left and the war is officially over. The number of troops in Afghanistan has sharply spiked, on the other hand, as Obama has pushed military spending to all-time highs, though after the death of Osama Bin Laden, troops are expected to withdraw soon. [17] > > On January 30, 2009, the abortion funding “gag rule” (preventing any clinic anywhere in the world that receives US funding from mentioning the evil abortion word) was rescinded, along with other Bush-era executive orders.[18] This actions was shortly followed on February 9, 2009 by the lifting of restrictions on stem-cell research.[19] > > The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform bill signed on July 21, 2010, comprehensively regulated banks and insurance companies, ending the Bush-era financial bailouts and stopping “too big to fail” banks. This remains one of Obama’s most popular legislation, with over 60% of Americans approving. [20] > > He has told his Attorney General to cease defending DOMA, even though the Republican lead Congress has said they would fund the defense of DOMA themselves. > > In 2011, the restrictions in the DADT policy were eliminated, and gay and lesbian soldiers are allowed to serve openly. The military was even ordered to allow gay marriages in public buildings if straight marriages are allowed there.[citation needed] > > **Human rights record** > > Obama has mainly been criticized by the left for his somewhat disappointing actions concerning human rights in the wars in Afghanistan/Pakistan. Below are examples > > - On January 23, 2009, a mere 72 hours after taking office, Obama authorized an armed strike against a village in the Tribal Areas of Pakistan — an ally of the United States (although the area being bombed, the tribal belt, is not under control of Pakistan’s government),[21] because the Pakistan Taliban Movement in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) had launched a campaign to discover local informants for the Central Intelligence Agency, and had killed 40 of them[21] — “According to the Pakistani press, the strike not only killed the four Arab fighters and a Punjabi militant, but also the Pashtun host and some of his family members. A few hours later, missiles slammed into another residence near the village of Wana in a nearby tribal agency, South Waziristan, killing 10. Pakistani sources disagreed over whether there had been any foreign fighters at all at the second target, with locals claiming that 10 family members, including women and children, were the only victims. Villagers in Pakistan’s northwestern tribal belt sometimes rent to the Arab fighters because they are sympathetic to their struggle, but sometimes they just need the money.”[21] > - On February 14, 2009, the United States, for the second time in a month, bombed a house in Pakistan that was being used as a hideout by the Taliban. Twenty-seven militants were killed.[22] > - On September 30, 2011, Anwar al-Awlaki and Samir Khan, both of whom were American citizens living in Yemen, were killed by a drone strike. Though both had been deemed terrorists, this action has been criticized for possibly violating the Fifth Amendment. > - On May 26, 2011, he signed an extension of the PATRIOT Act, which has been criticized by the left and civil libertarians as allowing violations of the Fourth Amendment. > - On December 31, 2011, he signed the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2012, which codifies the President’s authority to indefinitely detain terrorism suspects without trial (there is currently a dispute over whether it changes existing law or not, due to apparently contradictory passages in the bill on the matter). > > \*\*Various smear attempts > > Islam\*\* > > Many people have tried to smear Obama by claiming he is a Muslim (which, as Colin Powell rightly pointed out, shouldn’t be a smear, but, alas, it is in practice), since his father (who was African) was (or perhaps he may have been an agnostic[23] or even an atheist).[24] However, Obama is a staunch Christian, and often injects Jesus and God into his speeches. The myth of Obama’s connections with Islam originated during his original campaign for the United States senate. Ironically, there was a Muslim member of Congress elected only two years later: Congressman Keith Ellison. The Religious Right happened to target the wrong man.[25] > > **Birthers** > > Main article: [Obama citizenship denial](http://rationalwiki.org/wiki/Obama_citizenship_denial) > > Additionally, many attempted to discredit the Obama campaign by claiming that he was not born in the U.S., a requirement for any U.S. president.[26] Given that there is no evidence for him being a Martian, Muslim, gay or Communist, this has been the last refuge of those who, frankly, just can’t stand that a black man with a foreign name won an election. > > **Marxism** > > Some of Obama’s more hysterical opponents attempt to make the supporter of capitalism look like a Marxist by quote mining him, completely ignoring such glaring counter-evidence as the fact that he advocated for bailing out certain large corporations instead of nationalizing them. This is the same stuff that FDR had to go through. > > In his first run for the State Senate, he received (without so much as a by-your-leave, mind you[27]) the endorsement of the “New Party,” a highly obscure Marxist outfit that was aiming to reintroduce electoral fusion on a national level.[28] Of course, no one outside the moonbat community actually noticed this until the wingnut community, scraping the dregs for any excuse to use “Obama” and “communist” in the same sentence, happened upon it. Therefore, the New Party is most known today for the right-wing fit this nomination provoked. The nomination is so obscure that, by Wikipedia rules, it cannot be mentioned in the article on Obama. This prompted Conservapedia to call Wikipedia “fascist.”[29] > > **Lack of phony patriotism** > > Unlike many in the political arena, Obama does not routinely wear a flag pin in his lapel,[30] possibly because he can remember which country he’s President of without having to look at it every few minutes. However, he did wear one given to him by a veteran at one speech,[31] and has continued to wear one sporadically during his campaign, notably at major political events. > > In yet another horrific public display, Obama was observed not putting his hand on his heart while the National Anthem was being sung.[32] > > **Vacations** > > Among a certain section of the country, it is widely believed that Obama has spent too much time on vacation, playing golf. It is an article of faith for some conservatives that this is yet another way in which he has been a demonstrably poor President. Unfortunately, Obama’s vacation days are half of Reagan’s (at this point in his presidency), and a third of the time George W. Bush spent on vacation at this point in his presidency.[33] > **Abundance of melanin, etc.** > > His other major issues with winning over people include: > > - His name terrifies illiterate rednecks: > \*\* Barack (rhymes with Iraq, also means “blessed” in Swahili–derived from the same Semitic language root as Baruch in Hebrew) > \*\* Hussein ('nuff said) > \*\* Obama (spelled by Faux News as Osama) > \*His skin color terrifies racist morons. > - His alleged use of mind-control terrifies quacks. > - His refusal to foam at the mouth or to cater to people’s worst hatreds and fears has failed to motivate the extreme left; he continues to blindly stick with this strategy even though his opponents successfully use such methods to motivate their base. > > Several conservative blogs and commentators, suffering from a huge case of sour grapes over the election, have stated that Barack Obama is the first affirmative action President.[34] This quite idiotic and clearly bitter accusation is completely at odds with observed polling behavior related to race, known as the Bradley effect, where people of ethnic minorities get fewer votes in reality compared to polls. No one believes he is the second affirmative action President.[35] > > Obama has been attacked because his former pastor, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, while definitely being outspoken, has been quoted severely out of context in attempts to make him seem like an America-hating batshit crazy loon.[36][37] > > \ > > 1.↑ [http://blog.washingtonpost.com/the-trail/2008/03/14/obama\_condemns\_pastors\_remarks.html](http://blog.washingtonpost.com/the-trail/2008/03/14/obama_condemns_pastors_remarks.html) > 2.↑ [Barack Obama's Background Crosses Religious Boundaries](http://www.religionnewsblog.com/17736/barack-obama-2) > 3.↑ [The Seattle Times | Local news, sports, business, politics, entertainment, travel, restaurants and opinion for Seattle and the Pacific Northwest.](http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2008413083_qaida20.html) > 4.↑ [http://www.qaya.org/blog/?p=555](http://www.qaya.org/blog/?p=555) > 5.↑ [The Globe: Obama Has Gay Lover; Michelle Heartbroken - WENDYISTA](http://wendyista.blogspot.com/2009/02/globe-obama-has-gay-lover-michelle.html) > 6.↑ [Barack Obama's Background Crosses Religious Boundaries](http://www.religionnewsblog.com/17736/barack-obama-2) > 7.↑ [http://www.americanthinker.com/2009/10/obama\_and\_akhenaten.html](http://www.americanthinker.com/2009/10/obama_and_akhenaten.html) > 8.↑ [http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/45878146/ns/technology\_and\_science-space/t/conspiracy-theory-obama-went-mars-teen/](http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/45878146/ns/technology_and_science-space/t/conspiracy-theory-obama-went-mars-teen/) > 9.↑ The Black Presidents of United States of America > 10.↑ “How Obama Thinks,” Dinesh D’Souza. Forbes. > 11.↑ Let’s Move! > 12.↑ [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jdzCxvbe5Hg](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jdzCxvbe5Hg) This is a clip from CBS News > 13.↑ [Edwards endorses Obama, praises Clinton - CNN.com](http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/05/14/edwards.obama/index.html) > 14.↑ How the Deficit Got This Big, The New York Times > 15.↑ [http://www.whitehouse.gov/the\_press\_office/ClosureOfGuantanamoDetentionFacilities/](http://www.whitehouse.gov/the_press_office/ClosureOfGuantanamoDetentionFacilities/) > 16.↑ [http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090228/ap\_on\_go\_pr\_wh/obama\_iraq](http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090228/ap_on_go_pr_wh/obama_iraq) > 17.↑ “Obama seeks record $708 billion defense budget for 2011,” Reuters. > 18.↑ [http://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing\_room/PresidentialActions/](http://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing_room/PresidentialActions/) > 19.↑ [http://www.whitehouse.gov/the\_press\_office/Removing-Barriers-to-Responsible-Scientific-Research-Involving-Human-Stem-Cells/](http://www.whitehouse.gov/the_press_office/Removing-Barriers-to-Responsible-Scientific-Research-Involving-Human-Stem-Cells/) > 20.↑ [http://www.gallup.com/poll/142967/Among-Recent-Bills-Financial-Reform-Lone-Plus-Congress.aspx](http://www.gallup.com/poll/142967/Among-Recent-Bills-Financial-Reform-Lone-Plus-Congress.aspx) > 21.↑ 21.0 21.1 21.2 [http://www.salon.com/opinion/feature/2009/01/26/obama/index.html](http://www.salon.com/opinion/feature/2009/01/26/obama/index.html) > 22.↑ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south\_asia/7889950.stm](http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7889950.stm) > 23.↑ Father Agnostic > 24.↑ Father atheist > 25.↑[http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2011/04/27/president-obamas-long-form-birth-certificate](http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2011/04/27/president-obamas-long-form-birth-certificate) > 26.↑ Article 2, Section 1, Clause 5 of the U.S. Constitution. > 27.↑ “Fight the Smears: The Truth About Barack Obama and the New Party” > 28.↑ New Party: October 1996 update. > 29.↑ [http://www.conservapedia.com/index.php?title=Examples\_of\_Bias\_in\_Wikipedia&diff=761880&oldid=761642img](http://www.conservapedia.com/index.php?title=Examples_of_Bias_in_Wikipedia&diff=761880&oldid=761642img) > 30.↑ [http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2007/10/05/obama-no-longer-wears-flag-pin/](http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2007/10/05/obama-no-longer-wears-flag-pin/) > 31.↑ For One Day Only: Obama’s Flag Pin Returns > 32.↑ Look at the picture and see where his hands are. His love for his country is apparent. > 33.↑ [http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2011/08/17/eveningnews/main20093801.shtml](http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2011/08/17/eveningnews/main20093801.shtml) > 34.↑ [http://www.conservapedia.com/index.php?title=Affirmative\_Action\_President&oldid=380208](http://www.conservapedia.com/index.php?title=Affirmative_Action_President&oldid=380208) > 35.↑ Bill Clinton is the whitest person alive. > 36.↑ [http://andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com/the\_daily\_dish/2008/03/the-wright-post.html](http://andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com/the_daily_dish/2008/03/the-wright-post.html) > 37.↑ [http://andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com/the\_daily\_dish/2008/03/wright-in-conte.html](http://andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com/the_daily_dish/2008/03/wright-in-conte.html) (RationalWiki is wrong on one point: I was active in the [New Party](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Party_(United_States)) myself, and it was not a Marxist organization, not even socialist, merely social-democratic/progressive. The nearest analogue now active is the non-socialist [Working Families Party](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Working_Families_Party). If you’re looking for an actual socialist organization, try the [Democratic Socialists of America](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Democratic_Socialists_of_America) or the [Socialist Party USA,](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Socialist_party_usa) each of which includes many Marxists, but neither of which is a Marxist organization.) ---
**Author:** ![WillFarnaby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/willfarnaby/32/514_2.png) [@WillFarnaby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WillFarnaby)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2012, 4:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/president-barack-obama-is-a-shameful-hypocrite/625485/5 "2012-06-18T04:59:58Z")
> [@Procrustus](#): > > I’m not bothered by this Because you are a fan of unhindered executive power or because you are a fan of other things he has done that outweigh this blatant hypocrisy? > [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > Because the alternative is the Republicans. I don’t like him, I don’t respect him, I don’t think he’s a good person or a good leader; but when the alternative is the Republicans almost anyone is better. Do you feel like George Bush was engaged with deception of this magnitude? ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2012, 5:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/president-barack-obama-is-a-shameful-hypocrite/625485/6 "2012-06-18T05:01:14Z")
> [@WillFarnaby](#): > > Do you feel like George Bush was engaged with deception of this magnitude? **Hell,** yeah, and much more! Obama is only using the “unitary executive” powers and shit as W expanded them. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2012, 5:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/president-barack-obama-is-a-shameful-hypocrite/625485/7 "2012-06-18T05:06:43Z")
Also from RationalWiki: [ > [@](#): > > \*\*Point > > Disdain for Human Rights\*\* > > Disdain for the Recognition of Human Rights - Because of fear of enemies and the need for security, the people in fascist regimes are persuaded that human rights can be ignored in certain cases because of “need.” Citizens tend to look the other way or even approve of torture, summary executions, assassinations, lengthy incarcerations of prisoners, etc. on the assumption that the government would not indulge in such actions unless it were absolutely necessary. The arrest of a suspect is considered proof of guilt. > > **Counterpoint** > > There have been several human-rights abuses noted under Obama’s administration, though these are mostly the legacy of the battles of former administrations. These include (scraping our own WIGO archives) a brief increased level of torture at Guantanamo Bay[2] and (while not an abuse itself, possibly an endorsement of others) affirmation of the secretive nature of business under the Bush administration.[3] However, Obama has tried to overall end the use of torture as a means of interrogation, and according to many groups such as the ACLU, he has succeeded.[4] > > \ > > 2.↑ [Lawyer says Guantanamo abuse worse since Obama | Reuters](http://www.reuters.com/article/newsOne/idUSTRE51O3TB20090225)](]Obama and Fascism:[/url) > 3.↑ [What's the president's rationale for keeping so many legal skeletons in the closet?](http://www.slate.com/id/2213027/?gt1=38001) > 4.↑ [Obameter: | PolitiFact](http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/promises/obameter/promise/175/end-the-use-of-torture/) ---
**Author:** ![WillFarnaby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/willfarnaby/32/514_2.png) [@WillFarnaby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WillFarnaby)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2012, 5:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/president-barack-obama-is-a-shameful-hypocrite/625485/8 "2012-06-18T05:07:25Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > Because he’s better than any GOP alternative. On the specific issue of government transparency, do you think Obama is better than Romney would be? ---
**Author:** ![WillFarnaby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/willfarnaby/32/514_2.png) [@WillFarnaby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WillFarnaby)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2012, 5:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/president-barack-obama-is-a-shameful-hypocrite/625485/9 "2012-06-18T05:11:19Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > **Hell,** yeah, and much more! Obama is only using the “unitary executive” powers and shit as W expanded them. Could you post examples of Bush attempting to silence dissent while simultaneously engaging in egomaniacal schemes to assassinate American citizens without judicial oversight? ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2012, 5:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/president-barack-obama-is-a-shameful-hypocrite/625485/10 "2012-06-18T05:12:32Z")
> [@WillFarnaby](#): > > Do you feel like George Bush was engaged with deception of this magnitude? Bush lied like he breathed, constantly. As for the big lies, as much as a moron-puppet as he was it’s hard to tell what lies were his and which were Cheney & friends. ---
**Author:** ![WillFarnaby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/willfarnaby/32/514_2.png) [@WillFarnaby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WillFarnaby)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2012, 5:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/president-barack-obama-is-a-shameful-hypocrite/625485/11 "2012-06-18T05:19:49Z")
> [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > Bush lied like he breathed, constantly. As for the big lies, as much as a moron-puppet as he was it’s hard to tell what lies were his and which were Cheney & friends. Yes the war in Iraq was based on lies. As was the “war” in libya ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2012, 5:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/president-barack-obama-is-a-shameful-hypocrite/625485/12 "2012-06-18T05:24:17Z")
He isn’t a Republican. For that I will forgive all sins, real and imagined. ---
**Author:** ![YogSothoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/8edcca/32.png) [@YogSothoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YogSothoth)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2012, 5:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/president-barack-obama-is-a-shameful-hypocrite/625485/13 "2012-06-18T05:26:19Z")
I’m fine with Obama doing this ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2012, 5:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/president-barack-obama-is-a-shameful-hypocrite/625485/14 "2012-06-18T05:32:24Z")
> [@WillFarnaby](#): > > Yes the war in Iraq was based on lies. As was the “war” in libya :dubious: Why does a genuine civil war/revolution deserve scare-quotes? And what were the “lies”? None on Obama’s part. ---
**Author:** ![Measure\_for\_Measure](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/measure_for_measure/32/557_2.png) [@Measure\_for\_Measure](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Measure_for_Measure)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2012, 5:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/president-barack-obama-is-a-shameful-hypocrite/625485/15 "2012-06-18T05:35:24Z")
> [@WillFarnaby](#): > > Yes the war in Iraq was based on lies. As was the “war” in libya The Bush admin wrapped intelligence around a pre-conceived conclusion to invade Iraq. The WMD evidence was flimsy, inappropriately encompassing chem warfare and involving nuclear evidence suspiciously fabricated by foreign intelligence agencies. What parallel deceptions were involved in the Libyan war? I’m not aware of any. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2012, 5:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/president-barack-obama-is-a-shameful-hypocrite/625485/16 "2012-06-18T05:48:01Z")
> [@WillFarnaby](#): > > Could you post examples of Bush attempting to silence dissent while simultaneously engaging in egomaniacal schemes to assassinate American citizens without judicial oversight? :rolleyes: :dubious: I recall the move to **incarcerate** American citizens without judicial oversight began under W. As for “silencing dissent,” W/Cheney made an art-form of it, with their controlled access to W’s public events, “free speech zones,” the war on science, ordering the CDC to stop gathering data on the effectiveness of sex-ed programs when no “abstinence-only” programs proved effective, suppressing scientific findings on climate change, firing USAG’s who wouldn’t go along with the voter-fraud hunt, etc., etc. – here, [RationalWiki](http://rationalwiki.org/wiki/George_W._Bush) again: > [@](#): > > **Presidency** > > Dubya’s presidency was one of the most infamous in American history. > > - The economy struggled - while the Dow Jones Industrial Average has recovered the “numbers” lost in the post-dot com boom crash, the dollar dropped by a similar amount against the euro - meaning that in euros (the currency used by the European Union), the U.S. economy was stagnant for six years. > - He ignored science on several every major issue, preferring to promote bizarre policies, such as abstinence-only sex education. > - His end-of term approval ratings were so low they fell down to numbers reminiscent of Richard Nixon after Watergate. > - His two potentially useful contributions, “No Child Left Behind”[4] and the (as yet unpassed) immigration reform thing, failed because of lack of funding and lack of support, respectively. > - In fact, almost everything his administration touched turned to custard. The American Dream Downpayment Act 2003 was crafted as laudable attempt to create 5.5 million new homeowners from ethnic minorities by 2010. In reality, it put pressure on lenders to reduce their lending standards (like, for instance, not being too fussed about documentation of income and assets), thus triggering the boom in so-called “subprime” mortgages in the first decade of the twenty-first century.[5] The result was tens of millions of dollars of debt for people who couldn’t be expected to repay them. This debt was taken to ratings agencies, “securitized” (they slapped “AAA” on them) and sold on to businesses, pensioners and even entire countries, thanks to financial reforms pushed through by Reagan and Dubya’s dad. This worked fine, so long as interest rates stayed low (so their debts didn’t increase rapidly - something Alan Greenspan was happy to do), people kept their jobs (so their income stream remained) and real estate prices kept rising (so the long-term value of their property asset increased). As anyone living in America, or the developed world as a whole, will realise, none of these things happened. > - Bush is also the creator of the White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives, an office of the White House that focuses on tearing down the wall of separation of church and state through the use of so called faith-based initiatives, which include teaching school children that prayer will magically solve all of their problems, and spreading blatant propaganda. > > **Accusations** > > The Bush Administration: > > - Outed an undercover CIA operative. > - Lied to Congress and the American people to get into an unnecessary war, as Saddam obviously didn’t have WMDs (but he did have a lot of oil in that country of his, have you seen Halliburton’s stocks?). > - Disregarded intelligence estimates, and instead manufactured its own intelligence to support political goals. > - Exerted political pressure to hide facts about climate change. > - Fired U.S. Attorneys who wouldn’t prosecute bogus voter fraud charges against Democrats, or who would prosecute voter fraud charges against Republicans[6] > - Defied Congressional subpoenas. > - Destroyed documents that should not, by law, be destroyed. > - Violated its own rules on document declassification. > - Authorized torture - or, as they like to call systematic sleep deprivation and simulating drowning, “enhanced interrogation” - in violation of both the U.S. Constitution and the Geneva Conventions. > > You know what, screw it. Go on the Wikipedia page and you won’t make it past the first few paragraphs. As for [Obama “silencing dissent”:](http://rationalwiki.org/wiki/Obama_and_fascism) > [@](#): > > \*\*Point > > Controlled Mass Media \*\* > > Controlled Mass Media - Sometimes the media is directly controlled by the government, but in other cases, the media is indirectly controlled by government regulation, or by sympathetic media spokespeople and executives. Censorship, especially in war time, is the rule rather than the exception. > > **Counterpoint** > > Since freedom of the press is so ironclad in the United States, this must be measured by attitudes rather than policies. > What has appeared in the media to date has not borne out the conclusion that Obama is exerting any control. The mainstream media did drool over Obama somewhat during his campaign, but they have cooled considerably now. And, of course, there is always the very hostile right-wing blogosphere (e.g., WorldNetDaily) right on hand to jump on any misstep. > > Obama himself has shown much less propensity toward controlling the press than have many of his supporters; for example, when The New Yorker ran their satiric “Jihadist Fist Bump” cover, many supporters waxed all offended, but Obama took it in good humor. That said, I don’t approve one little bit of the Obama Admin’s [Kill List](http://www.thenation.com/blog/168234/kill-kill-list) or its [war on whistleblowers](http://www.inthesetimes.com/article/13341/the_war_on_whistleblowers); but, as I see no reason whatsoever to expect better of Romney or the Pubs in those nor in any respects, Obama’s still my man, and should be yours, too, if you love America at all. ---
**Author:** ![Measure\_for\_Measure](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/measure_for_measure/32/557_2.png) [@Measure\_for\_Measure](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Measure_for_Measure)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2012, 5:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/president-barack-obama-is-a-shameful-hypocrite/625485/17 "2012-06-18T05:48:14Z")
Here’s the big picture objection to the OP though. The ACLU has little pull under Democratic Administrations, but even less during Republican ones. At least the Democrats don’t refer to it as the “Criminal’s Lobby.” Kevin Drum reviews Daniel Klaidman’s _Kill or Capture_, a book about the Obama Admin’s terrorism policy. "…what happened to the idealistic Obama of the 2008 campaign who was going to shut down Guantanamo, end indefinite detention, try terrorist suspects in civilian courts, take civil liberties more seriously, and end the rabid secrecy of the Bush era? " Well Obama knew he would be hammered by the Republicans. And public opinion was never especially sympathetic to shipping the Guantanamo inmates to mainland courts.\* But the plain fact is that if the entire national security apparatus and the opposition party and public opinion and your own party are pretty much all lining up on the same side, there’s not much a president can do. That’s right, behind closed doors Democratic congressional reps pilloried those who advocated any small loosening of the national security state. > **[Why Obama Caved In on National Security](https://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2012/06/why-obama-caved-national-security/)** > > One reason: He got mugged by the reality of his own party. This is not to say that there are no differences between the parties on the subject. Stopping the “War on Terror” rhetoric flummoxed Bin Laden and Al Quada. Ending waterboarding was an ethical decision which I support. And while drone attacks certainly merit monitoring and will inevitably blow back on us, my outrage on the subject is decidedly checked. It ain’t torture and the alternatives are not pleasant. - I’m not sure why. It seems to me to be a terrific money spinner for a small town on the border of a military base. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2012, 5:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/president-barack-obama-is-a-shameful-hypocrite/625485/18 "2012-06-18T05:54:41Z")
> [@WillFarnaby](#): > > On the specific issue of government transparency, do you think Obama is better than Romney would be? Absolutely. ---
**Author:** ![LouisB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/dfb087/32.png) [@LouisB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LouisB)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2012, 6:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/president-barack-obama-is-a-shameful-hypocrite/625485/19 "2012-06-18T06:27:08Z")
When I think of a republican president, I resolve to vote for Obama be he live or be he dead. ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2012, 6:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/president-barack-obama-is-a-shameful-hypocrite/625485/20 "2012-06-18T06:30:15Z")
> [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > Because the alternative is the Republicans. I don’t like him, I don’t respect him, I don’t think he’s a good person or a good leader; but when the alternative is the Republicans almost anyone is better. This. I agree with a lot of the other stuff, but it boils down to this. I don’t think that Obama was the best person for President, but he was better than any of the people that the Republicans put up. The Republicans (and when I say “The Republicans”, I mean the people who are currently making Republican policies and platforms) are trying to take this country back to what they regard as the Golden Age of the 1950s, when wimmin and colored folk knew their places, dammit! Big business and big religion rule the Republican party, and can do no wrong. I don’t agree with the Democratic platform 100%. But I find very little in the Republican platform that I can agree with. In fact, right now I can’t think of ANYTHING that I agree with the Republicans about. Surely there’s something…but I can’t think of anything. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/president-barack-obama-is-a-shameful-hypocrite/625485.md?page=2)