Before jetting off to his $4 million vacay in Hawaii, President Obama signed into law the 2012 omnibus funding bill....along with a signing statement that pretty much said he's only going to abide by the parts he likes and ignore over 20 policy riders passed by Cpngress, including riders on gun control, Guantamano, and keeping the President's "czars" from being employed by the White House. He also objected to Defense provisions in the bill that limit the president's ability to put troops under foreign command and require 30 days advance notice to Congress for any use of the military which would involve more than $100,000 in construction costs.
This president has made extensive use of such signing statements, and they're scary because they point to another characteristic of the Obama Administration - its contempt for law when it gets in the way of the almighty agenda.
I can here the Obamabots churning over this from here and screaming "Bush did it too", the typical reply ten-year-olds use on the playground when caught in some misdeed.
That's your standard, the conduct of a president you hated? That makes it OK?
President Bush indeed 'did it too', and the fact that he did it far less egregiously and often than President Obama doesn't excuse it - any more than it excuses President Obama.
And keep in mind that things change. What President Obama is getting away with today sets precedent of what a different president can get away with tomorrow. And you just might not like the results.
"Bush did it to." Yes he did and he was roundly criticized in the media and most of the public for this as well. Where are the critics now? There are three factors at work here I think. 1.)Mr. Obama is clearly the media's man. As such, they are either less likely to criticize him or when they do criticize him the criticism is much less muted than it would be had Mr. Obama not been the media's man. 2.)Since the criticism is not existant or muted, the public is not as aware of what is happening, as opposed to whem Mr. Bush did it. The media made sure it was front and center and always in the minds of the public. 3.)Mr. Obama is our first African-American president. Americans on the whole all accross the political spectrum have a vested interest in ensuring his presidency succeeds and the general public is terrified of being accused of being racists.
ReplyDeletePoint 3 is espeically significant. There is much in his policies that need to be opposed, however, those opposing his policies need to keep in mind the fact that much of the American public has a vested interest in ensuring this president's success. As such, if the criticisms are not properly understood, the public will close ranks around this president and defend him like they would virtually no one else who could hold this office.