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The President of United States is doing a Reddit AMA and all you can do is predict disappointment? Really? Why bother? If you're wrong, your comment will seem

by revorad 14y ago

The President of United States is doing a Reddit AMA and all you can do is predict disappointment? Really? Why bother? If you're wrong, your comment will seem too negative and cynical (which it is). If you're right, well, that'd be disappointing, right? Comments like yours make me want to rename this site Hater News.

waterlesscloud 14y ago
Do you think there will be actual answers in the spirit of an AMA? I don't see how anyone could truthfully expect that.
untog 14y ago
I'm trying to lay out what I think are the reasonable expectations from this AMA, and how they differ from what a lot of people will want. I'm sorry if this somehow offends you. In the future I'll try my best to be unrelentingly positive about everything, despite the evidence presented to me. Don't get me wrong, it's a bold and somewhat brave move by the Obama team to do this- there are myriad ways it can blow up in their faces (Rampart, anyone?). But as a consequence of that, they're going to be playing it very safe, I'm sure.
hooande 14y ago
"In all honestly, no-one should expect anything else- the POTUS is not going to unveil new thoughts and strategies through Reddit." <-- cold, hard common sense If understanding how the world works and telling others makes you a hater, then sign me up.
- Alex3917 14y ago
  This reminds me, in Chris Hedges' book War Is A Force That Gives Us Meaning, there is a great section on why everyone always hates reality-based thinkers. Essentially before and during when the war crimes (or whatever) are being committed, everyone hates the truth-tellers because they think they are wrong and they are challenging their worldview or whatever. And then afterwards, everyone hates the truth-tellers because they remind them that they were wrong. That's why you will never read an article about prominent Republicans coming forward and apologizing to Michael Moore or whatever.
  - twoodfin 14y ago
    Michael Moore, truth teller? Ha.
    - Alex3917 14y ago
      Don't worry, I'm sure we'll find those WMDs any day now.
- revorad 14y ago
  Maybe you're right, but I think I'm done with this site.
- deleted 14y ago
  [deleted]
phaus 14y ago
Well, he is a politician, it's not like he's going to say anything he wouldn't say on T.V. just because it's an internet forum. I still hope that something interesting will come out of it, but 99% of the people who do AMAs just answer the questions that they want to.
endlessvoid94 14y ago
Just because being right implies disappointment doesn't mean it's not worth saying.
FlukeATX 14y ago
Just want to chime in, it looks like Obama is heading out[1] after answering only ten questions. I think it's fair to call that disappointing when the thread had more than 12,000 comments. [1] http://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/z1c9z/i_am_barack_obama_president_of_the_united_states/c60nmtc http://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/z1c9z/i_am_barack_obam...
- dwhly 14y ago
  Quite possible he simply wasn't able to access the site like everyone else!
- untog 14y ago
  Is it? It appears that his AMA was online for maybe 45 minutes. How long should we expect the President of the United States to stay on the site for? Presumably has has other things to do.
  - fr0sty 14y ago
    He answered questions on these topics: 1. Space Race 2. Internet Freedom 3. Favorite Basketball Player 4. Small-Business tax breaks 5. First Activity on Nov 7 6. Most Difficult Decision 7. Money in Politics 8. White House Beer Recipe 9. Jobs 10. Work/Life Balance Hard hitting stuff there
    - jbooth 14y ago
      What would you have asked? Those are all pretty topical this particular election season. Any 10 questions seem inadequate for a president, no? Also, he brought up Afghanistan on his own in response to the 'hardest decision' question. That's not exactly a fluff answer.
      - fr0sty 14y ago
        They are largely boilerplate answers to softball questions. Nothing you couldn't get from listening to a White House press conference. Questions about the state of Iraq, Syria, Libya, Iran, Egypt, et al would have been more interesting. Characterizing sending more troops as a hard decision is not too surprising.
mikeash 14y ago
The typical politician will avoid giving real answers whenever possible, and respond to any questions with canned answers that carry as little meaning as is humanly possible. Obama has shown no sign of being any different from the usual in this respect. And why should he? The current US political environment punishes deviations incredibly harshly.
marcamillion 14y ago
This. People can be so cynical and unappreciative. It's easy to get caught up in the now and take the little things for granted. President Obama's predecessor didn't use EMAIL!!!! Now Obama is taking questions on Reddit. It's all about perspective. His use of technology is completely different than yours. There are so many ramifications for everything he says and does. You can't imagine living in a world like that - very few can, because very few will. So just take a deep breath and enjoy the entertainment. This is just a cool way to suck the air out of the RNC convention news cycle. Stroke of (political) genius, if you asked me.
B-Con 14y ago
It was a perfectly valid prediction, one that I also made, and it came true. The answers were only a handful and they were very fluffy. If he was right, it just shows that he understands how these things work. If he was wrong, he would be pleasantly surprised that the expected lack of substance was averted. One can hold a pessimistic opinion and be realistic at the same time.

by revorad 14y ago

waterlesscloud 14y ago

Do you think there will be actual answers in the spirit of an AMA? I don't see how anyone could truthfully expect that.

untog 14y ago

I'm trying to lay out what I think are the reasonable expectations from this AMA, and how they differ from what a lot of people will want. I'm sorry if this somehow offends you. In the future I'll try my best to be unrelentingly positive about everything, despite the evidence presented to me. Don't get me wrong, it's a bold and somewhat brave move by the Obama team to do this- there are myriad ways it can blow up in their faces (Rampart, anyone?). But as a consequence of that, they're going to be playing it very safe, I'm sure.

hooande 14y ago

"In all honestly, no-one should expect anything else- the POTUS is not going to unveil new thoughts and strategies through Reddit." <-- cold, hard common sense If understanding how the world works and telling others makes you a hater, then sign me up.

Alex3917 14y ago
This reminds me, in Chris Hedges' book War Is A Force That Gives Us Meaning, there is a great section on why everyone always hates reality-based thinkers. Essentially before and during when the war crimes (or whatever) are being committed, everyone hates the truth-tellers because they think they are wrong and they are challenging their worldview or whatever. And then afterwards, everyone hates the truth-tellers because they remind them that they were wrong. That's why you will never read an article about prominent Republicans coming forward and apologizing to Michael Moore or whatever.
- twoodfin 14y ago
  Michael Moore, truth teller? Ha.
  - Alex3917 14y ago
    Don't worry, I'm sure we'll find those WMDs any day now.
revorad 14y ago
Maybe you're right, but I think I'm done with this site.
deleted 14y ago
[deleted]

phaus 14y ago

Well, he is a politician, it's not like he's going to say anything he wouldn't say on T.V. just because it's an internet forum. I still hope that something interesting will come out of it, but 99% of the people who do AMAs just answer the questions that they want to.

endlessvoid94 14y ago

Just because being right implies disappointment doesn't mean it's not worth saying.

FlukeATX 14y ago

Just want to chime in, it looks like Obama is heading out[1] after answering only ten questions. I think it's fair to call that disappointing when the thread had more than 12,000 comments. [1] http://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/z1c9z/i_am_barack_obama_president_of_the_united_states/c60nmtc http://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/z1c9z/i_am_barack_obam...

dwhly 14y ago
Quite possible he simply wasn't able to access the site like everyone else!
untog 14y ago
Is it? It appears that his AMA was online for maybe 45 minutes. How long should we expect the President of the United States to stay on the site for? Presumably has has other things to do.
- fr0sty 14y ago
  He answered questions on these topics: 1. Space Race 2. Internet Freedom 3. Favorite Basketball Player 4. Small-Business tax breaks 5. First Activity on Nov 7 6. Most Difficult Decision 7. Money in Politics 8. White House Beer Recipe 9. Jobs 10. Work/Life Balance Hard hitting stuff there
  - jbooth 14y ago
    What would you have asked? Those are all pretty topical this particular election season. Any 10 questions seem inadequate for a president, no? Also, he brought up Afghanistan on his own in response to the 'hardest decision' question. That's not exactly a fluff answer.
    - fr0sty 14y ago
      They are largely boilerplate answers to softball questions. Nothing you couldn't get from listening to a White House press conference. Questions about the state of Iraq, Syria, Libya, Iran, Egypt, et al would have been more interesting. Characterizing sending more troops as a hard decision is not too surprising.

mikeash 14y ago

The typical politician will avoid giving real answers whenever possible, and respond to any questions with canned answers that carry as little meaning as is humanly possible. Obama has shown no sign of being any different from the usual in this respect. And why should he? The current US political environment punishes deviations incredibly harshly.

marcamillion 14y ago

This. People can be so cynical and unappreciative. It's easy to get caught up in the now and take the little things for granted. President Obama's predecessor didn't use EMAIL!!!! Now Obama is taking questions on Reddit. It's all about perspective. His use of technology is completely different than yours. There are so many ramifications for everything he says and does. You can't imagine living in a world like that - very few can, because very few will. So just take a deep breath and enjoy the entertainment. This is just a cool way to suck the air out of the RNC convention news cycle. Stroke of (political) genius, if you asked me.

B-Con 14y ago

It was a perfectly valid prediction, one that I also made, and it came true. The answers were only a handful and they were very fluffy. If he was right, it just shows that he understands how these things work. If he was wrong, he would be pleasantly surprised that the expected lack of substance was averted. One can hold a pessimistic opinion and be realistic at the same time.