# Where was Barack Obama, to stand for Democracy? **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [January 12, 2015, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-was-barack-obama-to-stand-for-democracy/709597 "2015-01-12T03:49:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 25
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2015, 4:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-was-barack-obama-to-stand-for-democracy/709597/481 "2015-01-20T04:37:03Z")
Great comeback, but it’s true. The President reserves throwing staffers under the bus for actual problems. He doesn’t do it gratuitously, that would make him an asshole. I mean, you don’t think he blamed a staff member for nothing do you? Do you really think that little of him? ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2015, 5:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-was-barack-obama-to-stand-for-democracy/709597/482 "2015-01-20T05:34:14Z")
> [@Eonwe](#): > > Anyone here who is a member of the party of Freedom Fries and is bending over backwards to take issue with Obama in this circumstance should be disgusted with him/herself. Can’t argue with that one, _disgustibus non disputandum est_. ---
**Author:** ![Budget\_Player\_Cadet](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/budget_player_cadet/32/205_2.png) [@Budget\_Player\_Cadet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Budget_Player_Cadet)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2015, 11:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-was-barack-obama-to-stand-for-democracy/709597/483 "2015-01-20T11:38:10Z")
I honestly think the real scandal here is that the president apologized at all. The correct response would be to stand at a podium, say, “Dear FOX News and everyone else making hay at this:” and then flip them the bird. Because this is beyond stupid. Obviously, the president can’t do that, but boy wouldn’t it be nice if he could. ---
**Author:** ![El\_Kabong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/el_kabong/32/496_2.png) [@El\_Kabong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Kabong)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2015, 11:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-was-barack-obama-to-stand-for-democracy/709597/484 "2015-01-20T11:59:30Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > Great comeback, but it’s true. The President reserves throwing staffers under the bus for actual problems. He doesn’t do it gratuitously, that would make him an asshole. > > I mean, you don’t think he blamed a staff member for nothing do you? Do you really think that little of him? Sorry, but I seem to have missed where Obama blamed a staff member for not going to Paris, and a quick Google search didn’t turn up any news reports claiming that this was so. Could you provide a link, please? If that did happen, was the staff member named? If not, how is that throwing anyone ‘under the bus’ if no one knows who exactly was thrown? ---
**Author:** ![SciFiSam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/47e85d/32.png) [@SciFiSam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SciFiSam)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2015, 12:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-was-barack-obama-to-stand-for-democracy/709597/485 "2015-01-20T12:26:45Z")
> [@chappachula](#): > > No this isn’t the same thing. > In diplomacy, there are times when an Ambassador can represent the president at a formal event. Just like, in business, there are times when a salesman from Apple can represent the corporation at a computer convention. > > But there are other times when a lowly salesman doesn’t work–you need the boss himself. > (example: When presenting a major event like, say, the first Iphone, Steve Jobs himself was on center stage.) > > The mass march in France was led by 50 heads of state, not 50 amabassadors. > The White House belatedly realized the mistake, and officially apologized for their blunder.This proves that the OP was right, and the next 10 pages of the thread were unnecessary. > > Too bad that Obama’s supporters are still so starry-eyed that they can’t admit that their Dear Leader is capable of making a mistake. I can’t find a source saying which “world leaders” ie heads of state of their country (or real-life heads of state - Cameron is not the head of state of the UK, nor is Merkel of Germany, but in real-world terms they are) attended. But I sincerely doubt it was fifty. 50 world leaders or their representatives? That I believe. And it’s so, so much easier for European leaders to attend. And more immediate for them - they’re in the EU. It’s just not the same for other world leaders. And Obama attending would just have been dangerous, not just to him (he gets that anywhere) but to the people marching. It would have been stupid to send Obama. He doesn’t go anywhere outside the US at short notice because he’s such a huge target. It would have been grandstanding instead of actually making others’ safety paramount. Can you not at least admit that? That having the US President go to this march at short notice would have been a huge safety problem? If this had happened during GW’s Presidency I’d have said the same. And it’s not like the UK has ever been short of terrorist bombings. If one happened tomorrow I would really, really not want Obama to fly over here to express his support. ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_Kumquat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/4491bb/32.png) [@Gary\_Kumquat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_Kumquat)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2015, 12:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-was-barack-obama-to-stand-for-democracy/709597/486 "2015-01-20T12:48:47Z")
> [@SciFiSam](#): > > If this had happened during GW’s Presidency I’d have said the same. And it’s not like the UK has ever been short of terrorist bombings. In 2005 Islamists blew up 3 trains and one bus in London. 52 people were killed, hundreds injured. As far as I can find, GW Bush did not attend either the memorial service, or indeed make any visit to Britain to show solidarity. Could someone correct me on this? Because otherwise I’d like to know why the OP thinks Obama has been more derelict in showing support to allies than Bush? ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2015, 12:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-was-barack-obama-to-stand-for-democracy/709597/487 "2015-01-20T12:54:03Z")
> [@SciFiSam](#): > > … > > If this had happened during GW’s Presidency … G.W.B would at least have done a helicopter flyover. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2015, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-was-barack-obama-to-stand-for-democracy/709597/488 "2015-01-20T14:20:38Z")
> [@Gary\_Kumquat](#): > > In 2005 Islamists blew up 3 trains and one bus in London. 52 people were killed, hundreds injured. > > As far as I can find, GW Bush did not attend either the memorial service, or indeed make any visit to Britain to show solidarity. > > Could someone correct me on this? Because otherwise I’d like to know why the OP thinks Obama has been more derelict in showing support to allies than Bush? Bush was in Edinburgh for the G8 convention at the time. He called the PM to share America’s condolences and what not and then went home. In fairness, nobody (especially the locals) would have wanted the POTUS in London two days after its worst terrorist attack. Just like nobody wanted Obama to go to Paris except some reporters. ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_Kumquat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/4491bb/32.png) [@Gary\_Kumquat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_Kumquat)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2015, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-was-barack-obama-to-stand-for-democracy/709597/489 "2015-01-20T14:25:36Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > Bush was in Edinburgh for the G8 convention at the time. He called the PM to share America’s condolences and what not and then went home. In fairness, nobody (especially the locals) would have wanted the POTUS in London two days after its worst terrorist attack. > > Just like nobody wanted Obama to go to Paris except some reporters. But, you know, he could easily have attended the memorial service held several months later. And I’m not even saying he should have. I just want to understand why the OP thinks Obama has done the wrong thing, compared to Bush’s handling of a similar event. Hell, if I wanted to be a dick I could seize on the fact that Bush was in the country at the time, and didn’t even have to travel to come to London for solidarity. But I’m guessing that it wasn’t felt as either required, or a particularly good idea, so it didn’t happen, and yet no-one seemed to get particularly upset. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2015, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-was-barack-obama-to-stand-for-democracy/709597/490 "2015-01-20T14:40:48Z")
Yes, I pointed that out a few pages ago (along with the fact that Bush didn’t attend the 11-M memorials). Some people suggested that it wasn’t comparable because there was no march of world leaders in London. ---
**Author:** ![Clothahump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/51bf81/32.png) [@Clothahump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clothahump)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2015, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-was-barack-obama-to-stand-for-democracy/709597/491 "2015-01-20T15:56:37Z")
> [@F.U.Shakespeare](#): > > When have you ever favored support for the French? > > When have you ever thought of Obama as “(y)our president”? > > Heck, when have you ever thought? Well, apparently I think a helluva lot more than you do, because I don’t post stupid shit like you just did. And like it or not, Obama is our president. I don’t like it, but I have to deal with it. And he fucked up (once again) by not going. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2015, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-was-barack-obama-to-stand-for-democracy/709597/492 "2015-01-20T16:14:46Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > Great comeback, but it’s true. The President reserves throwing staffers under the bus for actual problems. He doesn’t do it gratuitously, that would make him an asshole. > > I mean, you don’t think he blamed a staff member for nothing do you? Do you really think that little of him? You’re just a fucking tape on continuous loop; a poster child for ignorance, seemingly incapable of critical thinking. I don’t put people on ‘ignore’, but it’s pointless to engage with someone who continues to post this sort of drivel. Cheers. Have a shitty life. ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2015, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-was-barack-obama-to-stand-for-democracy/709597/493 "2015-01-20T16:38:16Z")
> [@Gary\_Kumquat](#): > > In 2005 Islamists blew up 3 trains and one bus in London. 52 people were killed, hundreds injured. > > As far as I can find, GW Bush did not attend either the memorial service, or indeed make any visit to Britain to show solidarity. Ah yes, but did the British arrange for the world’s leading luminaries to hold hands and perform a “follow the yellow brick road” trot down a closed street in a show of heartfelt, spontaneous solidarity with the cameras? Because that evidently makes all the difference. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2015, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-was-barack-obama-to-stand-for-democracy/709597/494 "2015-01-20T18:46:09Z")
Wait a second! The rulers of the nations are all Munchkins? That explains so much! ---
**Author:** ![Kobal2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kobal2/32/20_2.png) [@Kobal2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kobal2)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2015, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-was-barack-obama-to-stand-for-democracy/709597/495 "2015-01-20T18:48:06Z")
> [@VinylTurnip](#): > > Ah yes, but did the British arrange for the world’s leading luminaries to hold hands and perform a “follow the yellow brick road” trot down a closed street **in a show of heartfelt, spontaneous solidarity with the cameras**? Because that evidently makes all the difference. Damn, that’s a good line. I am, in fact, going to steal that line. ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2015, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-was-barack-obama-to-stand-for-democracy/709597/496 "2015-01-20T19:11:43Z")
> [@El\_Kabong](#): > > Sorry, but I seem to have missed where Obama blamed a staff member for not going to Paris, and a quick Google search didn’t turn up any news reports claiming that this was so. Could you provide a link, please? > > If that did happen, was the staff member named? If not, how is that throwing anyone ‘under the bus’ if no one knows who exactly was thrown? That makes it even more stupid. > [@](#): > > Earnest said the White House agreed. He called the march through the streets of Paris “a remarkable display” and said that Obama would have wanted to be there “had the circumstances been a little bit different.” He said the security requirements for Obama or Biden would have been “onerous” and disrupted the event for those who participated. > > Earnest repeatedly declined to say who was at fault and said the decision not to send a high-profile delegate didn’t rise to the president’s level. The blame rests squarely within the White House and not with another cabinet department or agency [http://www.businessweek.com/news/2015-01-12/obama-on-defense-as-no-top-level-u-dot-s-dot-envoy-attends-paris-rally](http://www.businessweek.com/news/2015-01-12/obama-on-defense-as-no-top-level-u-dot-s-dot-envoy-attends-paris-rally) They do this pissant bullshit all the time. “The buck stops with the President, but he didn’t make the decision.” The guy couldn’t even own up to the Iraq withdrawal: [http://www.cnsnews.com/news/article/terence-p-jeffrey/obama-pulling-all-us-troops-out-iraq-was-not-my-decision](http://www.cnsnews.com/news/article/terence-p-jeffrey/obama-pulling-all-us-troops-out-iraq-was-not-my-decision) ---
**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:** [January 20, 2015, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-was-barack-obama-to-stand-for-democracy/709597/497 "2015-01-20T19:14:42Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > That makes it even more stupid. > > [Bloomberg Businessweek - Bloomberg](http://www.businessweek.com/news/2015-01-12/obama-on-defense-as-no-top-level-u-dot-s-dot-envoy-attends-paris-rally) > > They do this pissant bullshit all the time. “The buck stops with the President, but he didn’t make the decision.” > > The guy couldn’t even own up to the Iraq withdrawal: > > [http://www.cnsnews.com/news/article/terence-p-jeffrey/obama-pulling-all-us-troops-out-iraq-was-not-my-decision](http://www.cnsnews.com/news/article/terence-p-jeffrey/obama-pulling-all-us-troops-out-iraq-was-not-my-decision) Your interpretation of the events does not jive with your links. You are, apparently, despite all the times you’ve been criticized for it, unable to put aside your admitted incredible personal dislike and disdain for this President when you post about him. Your “The guy…” reminds of McCain’s “this guy…”. Like him, you just can’t seem to get over it. ---
**Author:** ![andros](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e480ec/32.png) [@andros](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/andros)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2015, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-was-barack-obama-to-stand-for-democracy/709597/498 "2015-01-20T19:15:31Z")
Keep throwing shit at the wall, **adaher**. Eventually some might stick. ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2015, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-was-barack-obama-to-stand-for-democracy/709597/499 "2015-01-20T19:16:29Z")
You are so out to lunch. What I’m saying is conventional wisdom these days. Get over it, you’re a dead ender. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2015, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-was-barack-obama-to-stand-for-democracy/709597/500 "2015-01-20T19:20:33Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > You are so out to lunch. What I’m saying is conventional wisdom these days. Get over it, you’re a dead ender. So, have you found an article yet where Obama blamed his staffers for his not going to Paris? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-was-barack-obama-to-stand-for-democracy/709597.md?page=24) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-was-barack-obama-to-stand-for-democracy/709597.md?page=26)