# President Will Not Be Involved in Decision to Prosecute Zimmerman: Why Not? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [July 18, 2013, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/president-will-not-be-involved-in-decision-to-prosecute-zimmerman-why-not/663858 "2013-07-18T16:04:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**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:** [July 18, 2013, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/president-will-not-be-involved-in-decision-to-prosecute-zimmerman-why-not/663858/21 "2013-07-18T19:38:07Z")
Doesn’t the President have enough to do, keeping the Martians at bay? ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2013, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/president-will-not-be-involved-in-decision-to-prosecute-zimmerman-why-not/663858/22 "2013-07-18T19:55:23Z")
> [@Oakminster](#): > > On the other hand, if he says to DoJ something like “Conduct a thorough investigation, and make an appropriate decision based on the facts, law, and applicable DOJ policy”, then he doesn’t get blamed either way. And has Done The Right Thing besides. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2013, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/president-will-not-be-involved-in-decision-to-prosecute-zimmerman-why-not/663858/23 "2013-07-18T19:56:26Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > I don’t. Insisting on calling black guys pimps is hardcore, though. Well, you gots to keep your pimp hand strong. ---
**Author:** ![Ibn\_Warraq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e19b73/32.png) [@Ibn\_Warraq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ibn_Warraq)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2013, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/president-will-not-be-involved-in-decision-to-prosecute-zimmerman-why-not/663858/24 "2013-07-18T20:26:52Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > This is (still) so very edgy. I’ve always wondered why people so regularly use the term “pimps” regarding when it comes to Civil Rights activists, I.E. “poverty pimps” “race pimps” etc. but it’s never used for other types of activist such as environmental activists or gun rights activists. For that matter, I’ve heard it referencing the NAACP but never the ADL or other comparable organizations. Edit: that’s not to imply racism but a really odd for lack of a better term, bias. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2013, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/president-will-not-be-involved-in-decision-to-prosecute-zimmerman-why-not/663858/25 "2013-07-18T20:42:02Z")
> [@Ibn\_Warraq](#): > > I’ve always wondered why people so regularly use the term “pimps” regarding when it comes to Civil Rights activists, I.E. “poverty pimps” “race pimps” etc. but it’s never used for other types of activist such as environmental activists or gun rights activists. Whereas I’ve never wondered about it at all. However it got started, at some point it turned into ‘watch me use racially loaded language to show you I don’t give a fuck if you call me a racist.’ It’s pretty badass! ---
**Author:** ![Fotheringay-Phipps](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/d9b06d/32.png) [@Fotheringay-Phipps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fotheringay-Phipps)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2013, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/president-will-not-be-involved-in-decision-to-prosecute-zimmerman-why-not/663858/26 "2013-07-18T20:46:37Z")
> [@Ibn\_Warraq](#): > > I’ve always wondered why people so regularly use the term “pimps” regarding when it comes to Civil Rights activists, I.E. “poverty pimps” “race pimps” etc. but it’s never used for other types of activist such as environmental activists or gun rights activists. My guess is that the imagery being summoned up is someone who is pretending to be taking care of a weaker person but is really taking advantage of them. It’s more appropriate for the poverty pimps and race pimps (the first is a lot more common) than environmental activists or gun activists. > [@](#): > > For that matter, I’ve heard it referencing the NAACP but never the ADL or other comparable organizations. I don’t think it’s commonly used for the NAACP either. It’s commonly used for people like Jesse Jackson and Sharpton, who have made a lot of power, fame, and money off racial issues. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2013, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/president-will-not-be-involved-in-decision-to-prosecute-zimmerman-why-not/663858/27 "2013-07-18T20:51:51Z")
> [@Fotheringay-Phipps](#): > > I don’t think it’s commonly used for the NAACP either. Google returns 5 million hits for NAACP + pimps. ---
**Author:** ![Buck\_Godot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/buck_godot/32/6573_2.png) [@Buck\_Godot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Buck_Godot)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2013, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/president-will-not-be-involved-in-decision-to-prosecute-zimmerman-why-not/663858/28 "2013-07-18T20:53:17Z")
> [@Fotheringay-Phipps](#): > > A lot of outlets are reporting this, e.g. [here](http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/07/16/obama-trayvon-martin_n_3603572.html) > President Obama is not any sort of military expert, but he made the ultimate call on whether to go after OBL. He is not an economic expert, but he ultimately makes the final call on economic policy. And the same for any number of other areas. Ironically, law is actually the one area he is probably most qualified for, so why should he absolutely not weigh in here? Those things have a direct impact on the state of the nation. Aside from the media hype and its relationship to the issue of race and stand your ground laws Martin Zimmerman case was just one of the 40 or so homicides that happen every year. The correct thing is to let the DOJ do their job, to determine whether there is any federal charges that can be brought, correctly determine that there aren’t and then let the thing drop. Obama getting involved inherently politicizes a decision that should be based on the facts of the case. Not to hijack but This was one of my main criticisms of the Bush administration was his exerting political influence over the decisions of the civil service. [http://seattletimes.com/html/politics/2010058489\_climate14.html](http://seattletimes.com/html/politics/2010058489_climate14.html) > **[Depositions Indicate Bush Administration Exerted Political Influence on FDA...](https://reproductiverights.org/depositions-indicate-bush-administration-exerted-political-influence-on-fda-during-plan-b-review-process/)** > > Center for Reproductive Rights Requests White House Subpoena Depositions released today by the Center for Reproductive Rights in its lawsuit against the ---
**Author:** ![Fotheringay-Phipps](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/d9b06d/32.png) [@Fotheringay-Phipps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fotheringay-Phipps)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2013, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/president-will-not-be-involved-in-decision-to-prosecute-zimmerman-why-not/663858/29 "2013-07-18T21:06:31Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > Google returns 5 million hits for NAACP + pimps. Google returned even more hits for ADL + pimps. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2013, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/president-will-not-be-involved-in-decision-to-prosecute-zimmerman-why-not/663858/30 "2013-07-18T21:15:01Z")
> [@Fotheringay-Phipps](#): > > Google returned even more hits for ADL + pimps. I get 29 million for NAACP + race + pimps and 5 million when I subbed in ADL. But yes, hardly anyone calls the NAACP race pimps because people who say this kind of stuff are famously circumspect with their language. ---
**Author:** ![Learjeff](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/94ad74/32.png) [@Learjeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Learjeff)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2013, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/president-will-not-be-involved-in-decision-to-prosecute-zimmerman-why-not/663858/31 "2013-07-18T21:17:04Z")
For the same reason that the Supreme Court often doesn’t take a case even if the outcome wasn’t legally correct. The role is to set policy, not make sure the right decision is made in every individual case. Of course, there’s also the cynical political agenda reason. He has nothing to win by doing so, quite the opposite of the OBL and econ examples. ---
**Author:** ![Learjeff](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/94ad74/32.png) [@Learjeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Learjeff)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2013, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/president-will-not-be-involved-in-decision-to-prosecute-zimmerman-why-not/663858/32 "2013-07-18T21:18:15Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > Google returns 5 million hits for NAACP + pimps. I only see 769,000 for Marley pimps. You’d better work on that. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Fotheringay-Phipps](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/d9b06d/32.png) [@Fotheringay-Phipps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fotheringay-Phipps)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2013, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/president-will-not-be-involved-in-decision-to-prosecute-zimmerman-why-not/663858/33 "2013-07-18T21:23:14Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > I get 29 million for NAACP + race + pimps and 5 million when I subbed in ADL. But yes, hardly anyone calls the NAACP race pimps because people who say this kind of stuff are famously circumspect with their language. If I understand you correctly, you’re rigging the searches. The NAACP is a race organization. The ADL is more of a religious/ethnic organization. So by putting race in, you’re automatically going to get more hits for the NAACP than for the ADL. My general point generally was that you can’t prove a whole lot from the number of google hits. The NAACP is going to be mentioned in a lot of articles in which others are being accused of being pimps. > [@](#): > > But yes, hardly anyone calls the NAACP race pimps because people who say this kind of stuff are famously circumspect with their language. Or, because they are not profiteering from race in the pimp-like manner of Jackson and Sharpton. > [@Learjeff](#): > > For the same reason that the Supreme Court often doesn’t take a case even if the outcome wasn’t legally correct. The role is to set policy, not make sure the right decision is made in every individual case. The same would also be true of Eric Holder, and he is clearly going to be involved in this decision. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2013, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/president-will-not-be-involved-in-decision-to-prosecute-zimmerman-why-not/663858/34 "2013-07-18T21:38:46Z")
> [@Fotheringay-Phipps](#): > > I do want to clarify that my OP was not intended as a criticism of Obama. So criticizing Obama is just kind of automatic with you at this point? Seriously, I can’t imagine anything Obama could do that his opponents wouldn’t then spin into somehow being the wrong thing. ---
**Author:** ![Cheshire\_Human](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/5f8ce5/32.png) [@Cheshire\_Human](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheshire_Human)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2013, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/president-will-not-be-involved-in-decision-to-prosecute-zimmerman-why-not/663858/35 "2013-07-18T22:10:11Z")
Some people will see it as him politicizing it on gun control grounds, others will see it on racial grounds. No political benefit to him, and plenty of harm to him with both those groups, no matter how it turns out. Best to publicly and pointedly butt out. > [@Fotheringay-Phipps](#): > > The same would also be true of Eric Holder, and he is clearly going to be involved in this decision. Too bad for him, that’s what Presidential underlings are for. To take the political heat for their boss. ---
**Author:** ![Fotheringay-Phipps](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/d9b06d/32.png) [@Fotheringay-Phipps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fotheringay-Phipps)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2013, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/president-will-not-be-involved-in-decision-to-prosecute-zimmerman-why-not/663858/36 "2013-07-18T22:13:25Z")
I don’t see that he really gets shielded from criticism by avoiding direct involvement in the issue (other than to the extent that people think a president shouldn’t be directly involved, which begs the question). I think he is going to be saddled with whatever decision Holder makes, and people who would criticize the decision on gun control or racial grounds will criticize it just the same. ---
**Author:** ![Ibn\_Warraq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e19b73/32.png) [@Ibn\_Warraq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ibn_Warraq)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2013, 4:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/president-will-not-be-involved-in-decision-to-prosecute-zimmerman-why-not/663858/37 "2013-07-19T04:07:28Z")
> [@Fotheringay-Phipps](#): > > My guess is that the imagery being summoned up is someone who is pretending to be taking care of a weaker person but is really taking advantage of them. It’s more appropriate for the poverty pimps and race pimps (the first is a lot more common) than environmental activists or gun activists. Ah, so it’s just a coincidence that it happens to evoke hackneyed racial stereotypes? ---
**Author:** ![Caffeine.addict](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f475e1/32.png) [@Caffeine.addict](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Caffeine.addict)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2013, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/president-will-not-be-involved-in-decision-to-prosecute-zimmerman-why-not/663858/38 "2013-07-19T13:26:37Z")
Without getting into the pimping discussion, I think that Obama is making the right call. The Zimmerman case, while publicly controversial, shouldn’t be legally controversial. I think that the President’s office only gets involved when they are setting some sort of new groundbreaking policy, which they wouldn’t be here. Getting the President involved would politicize the entire thing even more, and would cause people to think it was purely political. ---
**Author:** ![Fotheringay-Phipps](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/d9b06d/32.png) [@Fotheringay-Phipps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fotheringay-Phipps)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2013, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/president-will-not-be-involved-in-decision-to-prosecute-zimmerman-why-not/663858/39 "2013-07-19T16:39:14Z")
> [@Ibn\_Warraq](#): > > Ah, so it’s just a coincidence that it happens to evoke hackneyed racial stereotypes? I wouldn’t call it a coincidence. There are quite a few “hackneyed racial stereotypes” out there, and you’re inevitably going to get a lot of criticisms that happen to fit one or another of them, even if there’s no specific intention to do so. ---
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2013, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/president-will-not-be-involved-in-decision-to-prosecute-zimmerman-why-not/663858/40 "2013-07-19T17:42:59Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > So criticizing Obama is just kind of automatic with you at this point? > > Seriously, I can’t imagine anything Obama could do that his opponents wouldn’t then spin into somehow being the wrong thing. Ok, but why did Obama inject himself into this in the first place? He saw some kind of political hay in this, so he should be judged by his actions. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/president-will-not-be-involved-in-decision-to-prosecute-zimmerman-why-not/663858.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/president-will-not-be-involved-in-decision-to-prosecute-zimmerman-why-not/663858.md?page=3)