President Obama’s Got a Secret (And it’s that he’s more secretive than Bush was)
Now, I’ve deferred many times (and often broken with some partisans) when it comes to keeping secrets at the highest levels of the government. I believe, for instance, that people should be allowed to give the president (whomever he is) their unvarnished and honest opinions on policies when he asks. As such (again, for example), they should be able to do so with the assurance that this act can be held in confidence if they so desire. Such has always been the deference paid by the Executive, and a necessary aspect of receiving expert opinion. Therefore, I’ve never been one to hop on the The-President-Needs-To-Release-White-House-Visitor-Logs bandwagon, regardless of who sits in the Oval Office.
That being said, the latest from the AP shows how the conspiracy theories of some of the most unhinged critics of the most recent Administration (and the empty promises of the current president) were all a bit overwrought.
-Nick (ColoradoPatriot, from HQ)
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They told me if I voted for McCain, the US would abandon its allies, embrace its enemies and e’d enter a new level of paranoia and secrecy.
They were right!
Comment by The_Livewire — March 16, 2010 @ 12:51 pm - March 16, 2010
Captain Renault would no doubt be as shocked by this news as I am!
Comment by John — March 16, 2010 @ 1:44 pm - March 16, 2010
See John…
We can agree on something!
Comment by The_Livewire — March 16, 2010 @ 1:58 pm - March 16, 2010
3: Well of course we can while still disagreeing in other areas. I’ve yet to meet anyone I agree with 100% of the time. Have you?
Comment by John — March 16, 2010 @ 3:08 pm - March 16, 2010
No, of course not. I should have included a smiley
Comment by The_Livewire — March 16, 2010 @ 4:44 pm - March 16, 2010
They told me if I voted for McCain, we get an idiot for a vice president, gitmo would never be closed, the war in Iraq would never end, the economy would tank, unemployment would pass 10%, wall street would control our economy and big pharma would spend big bucks to sell drugs. Yup, they were right.
Comment by John in Dublin Ca — March 16, 2010 @ 10:34 pm - March 16, 2010
That being said, the latest from the AP shows how the conspiracy theories of some of the most unhinged critics of the most recent Administration (and the empty promises of the current president) were all a bit overwrought.
That’s not it at all. The people that I read who used to have a problem with Bush’s total lack of transparency and openness have the exact same problem with Obama’s lack of transparency and openness. There’s absolutely no reason to not insist that visitor logs need to be released, and e-mails need to be properly cataloged, and more members of Congress need to be briefed on secret intelligence issues, unless you like your government oozing with corruption. There really is no better way to ensure that your government is going to turn into a cesspool than believing that politicians shouldn’t be held accountable for the things they’re doing on the public dime with our tax dollars.
Please do explain this bogus line about people needing to feel sure that their advice to the President can be held in confidence. Like, I just can’t really picture this scenario, unless you’re talking about protecting people that give the President horrible advice? It just doesn’t make sense.
Additionally, for all the overly dramatic and blatantly insincere bellyaching that conservatives such as yourself do about how evil and big government is, you don’t really follow through on the areas where government can really overstep its bounds and start causing serious crises for a society. Too much secrecy is the biggest problem caused by big government and is the thing that needs to be most held in check. It’s not entitlements, it’s not health care, it’s not education, it’s not energy issues, it’s secrecy. Those other things are the areas where government is meant to function, and it is secrecy that compromises government’s ability to administer the country’s problems effectively. This is where the double-dealing and the tit-for-tat and the bribery comes into play and that’s how you end up with bailouts and massive intelligence failures and wiretapping. This is the stuff that ruins the democracy, this is the stuff that is stomping all over the Constitution, and Bush and Obama are just about equally guilty of it.
And all that the ColoradoPatriot can muster is a big fat ‘meh.’ You’ve got to get back to fighting the real problems where the government tries to do sinister things like provide healthcare, right?
Comment by Levi — March 16, 2010 @ 11:42 pm - March 16, 2010
The people that I read who used to have a problem with Bush’s total lack of transparency and openness have the exact same problem with Obama’s lack of transparency and openness.
But, unlike with Bush, they’re not screaming that Obama is a war criminal and Constitution-shredder who ought to be impeached.
So what it makes obvious is that they don’t really care about it, as long as it’s an Obama Party member doing it.
Comment by North Dallas Thirty — March 17, 2010 @ 12:05 am - March 17, 2010
Well, Levi, here’s someone you must not be including in that group:
Obviously, he continues to enjoy “making history”. And considering, all the people you “read” notwithstanding, there is ONE person who’s actually accountable for his own hypocricy, looks like you’ve completely missed the point.
Comment by ColoradoPatriot — March 17, 2010 @ 1:41 am - March 17, 2010
Which is unconstitutional and the liberals you circle the wagons around are using unconstitutional methods to do it.
Comment by ThatGayConservative — March 17, 2010 @ 2:11 am - March 17, 2010
TGC, like any good fascist, Levi doesn’t care about the constitution, he doesn’t understand how it works anyway. He just feels the democrats are doing the right thing by dragging all of us lesser beings to his future.
Comment by The_Livewire — March 17, 2010 @ 7:27 am - March 17, 2010
Obviously, he continues to enjoy “making history”. And considering, all the people you “read” notwithstanding, there is ONE person who’s actually accountable for his own hypocricy, looks like you’ve completely missed the point.
I didn’t miss any point – I’m actually criticizing the current President on this issue more than you are, as are most other liberals. He is being a hypocrite and he is lying, yes.
You’re missing my point, which again is this; government secrecy is the problem that you would think small government conservatives would be railing against. It’s totally counter-intuitive that one who claims to be as mistrustful of the government as you are to sit wherever you are and actually defend government secrecy. As for the others that have responded, it’s absolutely moronic to say that passing a legislative item like healthcare reform is unconstitutional. You’re like five-year old children that haven’t learned the rules of debate or argument and will just spout any old thing that comes into your head – healthcare reform is unconstitutional? Really, defend that statement, please. I’d like to see you try.
Comment by Levi — March 17, 2010 @ 7:39 am - March 17, 2010
Again, Levi proves he doesn’t understand the constitution.
I’d ask him to point out where healthcare is in the constitution, but he’d jsut point out that judges say it is, and they’re more important than the document itself.
Comment by The_Livewire — March 17, 2010 @ 10:13 am - March 17, 2010
I didn’t miss any point – I’m actually criticizing the current President on this issue more than you are, as are most other liberals. He is being a hypocrite and he is lying, yes.
Which obviously means nothing, since you’re not calling for his impeachment and imprisonment the way that you did the previous President.
You keep trying to deflect and accuse others, Levi, but your hypocrisy and blatant racism are out and visible for everyone to see. Man up, demonstrate you have some principles, and demand Barack Obama’s impeachment and imprisonment in exactly the same fashion you did Bush.
You continue to make it obvious how everyone here is far more moral and upright than you and your fellow Obama Party supporters. Your support of child rapists, of mass murderers and torturers, and the like make it obvious that you have no values or morals, as is typical for the Obama Party and for liberalism.
Comment by North Dallas Thirty — March 17, 2010 @ 5:30 pm - March 17, 2010