# What are Obama's biggest flaws? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [November 8, 2008, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-obamas-biggest-flaws/471842 "2008-11-08T21:05:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2008, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-obamas-biggest-flaws/471842/21 "2008-11-09T01:26:40Z")
His biggest flaw is that he’s a consummate politician, in that he’ll do or say anything to gain (or keep) the Presidency. Of course, this is the “flaw” that got him elected. An example of this is his opposition to same-sex marriage. A lot of people suspect that he’s actually in favor of it, but obviously if he took that side it might be politically damaging. Yet he knows that he’s got huge GLBT support. So it’s a double-edged sword. Another possible flaw remains to be seen: how he deals with any kind of failure. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Carrot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f0a364/32.png) [@Captain\_Carrot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Carrot)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2008, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-obamas-biggest-flaws/471842/22 "2008-11-09T01:30:24Z")
> [@panache45](#): > > His biggest flaw is that he’s a consummate politician, in that he’ll do or say anything to gain (or keep) the Presidency. Of course, this is the “flaw” that got him elected. I don’t know about that. Throwing Reverend Wright under the bus would probably have been seen to be a better move, but in retrospect, his speech about race in America is perhaps one of his finest ever. I don’t think he just says whatever will get him the most votes; acknowledging Wright’s influence on him was very risky. > [@panache](#): > > Another possible flaw remains to be seen: how he deals with any kind of failure. He hasn’t won every race he’s run in, you know. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2008, 1:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-obamas-biggest-flaws/471842/23 "2008-11-09T01:54:14Z")
> [@Stoid](#): > > Smoking. I don’t believe he’s quit, he’s just hiding it. That isn’t a secret, as he’s admitted to bumming a smoke at times during the campaign. Regardless of politics one hopes that this transition period lets him quit without any caveats. ---
**Author:** ![Shayna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shayna/32/17976_2.png) [@Shayna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shayna)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2008, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-obamas-biggest-flaws/471842/24 "2008-11-09T02:15:21Z")
> [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > The flaw being that I think he’ll go along with it; that he’ll essentially concede to most of what they demand. Because that’s what happens when you “compromise” with people who refuse to compromise themselves. ::sigh:: One would think I haven’t been posting ad nauseum about his reputation for consensus-building on these boards for the past 11 months. [Illinois Death Penalty](http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/11/12/obama.death.penalty.ap/) [Lugar-Obama Nuclear Nonproliferation](http://obama.senate.gov/press/070111-lugar-obama_non/) [Coburn-Obama Transparency in Government Act](http://obama.senate.gov/press/071213-coburn_and_obam/) [The Lobby-Ethics Reform Bill](http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/03/washington/03lobby.html) I’m on my way out to dinner, so I don’t have time to copy and paste quotes. But read the links yourself – they’ll give you insight as to how Obama handles “compromise” and “resistance inside his own party”. If you really came away from this campaign believing that Barack Obama is a capitulator, then you haven’t done your due diligence to learn about the man who will become your President on January 20th. As for answering the OP, I think what will be perceived as his biggest flaw will be that he won’t tow the Liberal Line and steamroll the Democrats’ agenda through Congress. There will be a lot on the Left who will be angry about this, and may judge his presidency harshly because of it. ---
**Author:** ![LilShieste](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/9f8e36/32.png) [@LilShieste](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LilShieste)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2008, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-obamas-biggest-flaws/471842/25 "2008-11-09T02:18:24Z")
I was completely aware of those cases, **Shayna** - I just couldn’t come with anything else. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2008, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-obamas-biggest-flaws/471842/26 "2008-11-09T02:23:31Z")
Obama’s choice of Rahm Emanuel, his win over Alice Palmer years ago, and many of the details in the beginning of Newsweek’s big campaign piece also argue against the idea of Obama as a wimp. ---
**Author:** ![UltraVires](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecccb3/32.png) [@UltraVires](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UltraVires)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2008, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-obamas-biggest-flaws/471842/27 "2008-11-09T02:49:23Z")
The fact that he has fathered two black children. ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2008, 3:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-obamas-biggest-flaws/471842/28 "2008-11-09T03:45:43Z")
That man’s mouth gonna get him in trouble. His well-polished and thoughtful public speaking persona doesn’t reveal how brutally sharp and dismissive he can be if he wants to. At some point, he’ll get impatient with someone being willfully obtuse or obstructionist, and he’ll mutter something under his breath with a nasty edge, and won’t realize till too late that the mike was on. And a lot of the public will temporarily stop seeing him as “brown Ward Cleaver” and suddenly view him as “scary black guy”. It will be blown out of proportion, sure, but it will take him a while to live it down anyway. Moral: Even smart guys should resist the temptation to be smart asses. ---
**Author:** ![AuntiePam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2008, 4:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-obamas-biggest-flaws/471842/29 "2008-11-09T04:05:38Z")
**Kimstu** , I think if he does that while we’re still basking in the afterglow, it’ll be viewed (and appreciated) as “Finally! Straight talk from a politician! About damn time!” Like the “fucking light bulbs” thing from the Newsweek article. And like Joe Biden asking that Fox reporter if she was serious when she asked a particularly stupid question. That was so refreshing. He’ll have to be careful not to be condescending when he’s talking to idiots. I saw a little bit of that in him. Speaking of idiots, in Iowa we voted to amend the State Constitution to substitute “mentally incompetent” for “idiot”, in the clause that prevents people who are mentally incompetent (formerly known as idiots) from voting. There’s a funny piece about it [here](http://political-fallout.blogspot.com/2007/02/incomplete-idiots-guide-to-amending.html). ---
**Author:** ![Sevastopol](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cdc98d/32.png) [@Sevastopol](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sevastopol)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2008, 4:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-obamas-biggest-flaws/471842/30 "2008-11-09T04:20:28Z")
He doesn’t look likely to push the limits of what appears possible. ---
**Author:** ![Rand\_Rover](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/db5fbb/32.png) [@Rand\_Rover](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rand_Rover)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2008, 6:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-obamas-biggest-flaws/471842/31 "2008-11-09T06:32:55Z")
His biggest flaw is that when thinking about a societal problem, he first thinks “what can the government do to help” instead of “is this something the government should be involved in helping.” ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2008, 6:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-obamas-biggest-flaws/471842/32 "2008-11-09T06:50:36Z")
> [@Rand Rover](#): > > His biggest flaw is that when thinking about a societal problem, he first thinks “what can the government do to help” instead of “is this something the government should be involved in helping.” Really? He doesn’t seem to shy away from the prospect of cutting out unnecessary government involvement. Didn’t you read his Sept. 22 [speech](http://transition2008.files.wordpress.com/2008/09/obama-mgmt-speech-09-22-08a.pdf)? (pdf) > [@Barack Obama](#): > > I am not a Democrat who believes that we can or should defend every > government program just because it’s there. There are some that don’t > work like we had hoped - like the Bush Administration’s > billion-dollar-a-year reading program that hasn’t improved our > children’s reading. And there are some that have been duplicated by > other programs that we just need to cut back - like waste at the > Economic Development Agency and the Export-Import Bank that has become > little more than a fund for corporate welfare. > > I understand there are parts of these programs worth defending and > politicians of both parties who will do so. But if we hope to meet the > challenges of our time, we must make difficult choices. As President, I > will go through the entire federal budget, page by page, line by line, > and I will eliminate the programs that don’t work and aren’t needed. ---
**Author:** ![pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a9a28c/32.png) [@pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pseudotriton_ruber_ruber)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2008, 10:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-obamas-biggest-flaws/471842/33 "2008-11-09T10:43:23Z")
> [@Kimstu](#): > > Didn’t you read his Sept. 22 [speech](http://transition2008.files.wordpress.com/2008/09/obama-mgmt-speech-09-22-08a.pdf)? (pdf) No, no, no. You quoted from “Barack Obama.” What **Rand Rover** is concerned about is “Liberal Boogeyman Haunting **Rand Rover** ’s Fevered Imagination.” Get with the program. ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2008, 11:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-obamas-biggest-flaws/471842/34 "2008-11-09T11:01:47Z")
He has no flaws. He’s God. ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2008, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-obamas-biggest-flaws/471842/35 "2008-11-09T14:36:19Z")
> [@pseudotriton ruber ruber](#): > > What **Rand Rover** is concerned about is “Liberal Boogeyman Haunting Rand Rover’s Fevered Imagination.” Oh, **that** guy! Yeah, that guy sucks. He’s going to take away my paycheck and my rights and make children study the Koran in school. It’s true, I read it in an Internet banner ad. By the way, in the intervals of a 48-straight-hour stint in the office hopped up on caffeine, I have compiled the following lexicon for handy reference when translating Freeperese and the like. You may find it useful for identifying Obama’s flaws. The Anti-Obama Dictionary **Arab** , 1. _n._ A Kenyan-American with no Arab heritage and no knowledge of Arabic who does not set foot in the Middle East until he’s over 40. 2. _adj._ Not decent. **Inexperienced** , _adj._ Never having served as Governor of Alaska. **Marxist** , _n._ A moderate follower of the Chicago School of capitalist economics who favors a slight increase in the progressivity of the federal income tax. **Muslim** , _n._ A baptized, churchgoing Christian who has lived in a Muslim country. Other prominent Muslims in history include St. Albert, Richard the Lionhearted, and Napoleon. **Terrorist** , _n._ A law-abiding opponent of terror tactics who has ever had any acquaintance with anyone who ever used or advocated any form of illegal violence at any point in the past. Feel free to contribute your own entries! ---
**Author:** ![Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e480ec/32.png) [@Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Least_Original_User_Name_Ever)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2008, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-obamas-biggest-flaws/471842/36 "2008-11-09T17:00:52Z")
> [@Liberal](#): > > He has no flaws. He’s God. You may or may not have someone up in the clouds that may take offense to that. ---
**Author:** ![furt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/439d5e/32.png) [@furt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/furt)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2008, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-obamas-biggest-flaws/471842/37 "2008-11-09T17:31:56Z")
In my limited observation, he does not respond well to sharp questioning. Modern presidents have to put up with loaded, leading, disrespectful, biased, stupid and aggressive questions from the media; it’s part of the gig. The media love Obama now, but they love themselves more, and at some point are going to start being adversarial. He’ll need to deal with that. IMO, it was not a good first step to snub Fox news at his first press conference. Like them or not, they’re the highest-rated news network, and they have the right to ask him questions. ---
**Author:** ![Clothahump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/51bf81/32.png) [@Clothahump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clothahump)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2008, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-obamas-biggest-flaws/471842/38 "2008-11-09T17:36:52Z")
The fact that he is far, far more interested in doing things to spread the wealth around than he is in doing things to create wealth in the first place. ---
**Author:** ![Shayna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shayna/32/17976_2.png) [@Shayna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shayna)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2008, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-obamas-biggest-flaws/471842/39 "2008-11-09T17:47:56Z")
> [@Clothahump](#): > > The fact that he is far, far more interested in doing things to spread the wealth around than he is in doing things to create wealth in the first place. This is so ironic, given that “creating wealth in the first place” is exactly what he meant when he said he’d like to see the wealth spread around more in this country. Perhaps if you actually paid attention and read/listened in context you’d be better informed and less concerned about boogeymen that don’t exist. ---
**Author:** ![Rand\_Rover](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/db5fbb/32.png) [@Rand\_Rover](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rand_Rover)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2008, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-obamas-biggest-flaws/471842/40 "2008-11-09T18:05:34Z")
> [@pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](#): > > No, no, no. You quoted from “Barack Obama.” What **Rand Rover** is concerned about is “Liberal Boogeyman Haunting **Rand Rover** ’s Fevered Imagination.” > > Get with the program. Reported. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-obamas-biggest-flaws/471842.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-obamas-biggest-flaws/471842.md?page=3)