4 ms·

This kind of shows the amount of power the people behind the scenes have on Obama.

corin_ 13y ago
Hypothetical other explanations: 1.) Obama always had the same views, but was lying to get elected 2.) Obama changed his mind, a possibility for any person on any topic 3.) Becoming president gave Obama new information which changed his mind, and which would change the mind of anyone elected president 4.) His opinions stayed the same, but now that he's president it's in his best interests to take this stance, which it wasn't before There's more than one possible cause here, and possibly more than one of them are the case. Despite the fact that it's much easier to blame external influences.
- leifaffles 13y ago
  I agree. It'd be great if we could just ask him, but I don't know if I've ever heard him say something that wasn't manipulative and to his perceived political advantage.
- ZoFreX 13y ago
  I think this advice to Kissinger really drives home what option #3 looks like - http://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2010/02/daniel-ellsberg-limitations-knowledge http://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2010/02/daniel-ellsber...
- nano111 13y ago
  5) They spied on Obama, and now are blackmailing him
- adventured 13y ago
  N) The kind of power Obama now possesses has corrupted him, amplifying existing character flaws and revealing an inner despot.
miles 13y ago
This kind of shows the amount of power the people behind the scenes have on Obama. No, this shows how willing Obama is to cave. We needed a Sam Adams or Lincoln or MLK and instead we got a Benedict Arnold.
- jivatmanx 13y ago
  It may be partly that he saw the Bush unilateralism and wanted more consensus-based governance. The problem being that, in the executive bubble, where most of seats and nearly all of the money is held by the military-industrial complex, that's the consensus you will get.
  - kunai 13y ago
    The more pressing problem is that many tough solutions aren't solved by committee, they're solved by leadership and expertise, a point where Congress fails, the executive branch fails, and where the roots of government (e.g. Constitution) start to fail under the stress of lobbying and corruption.
- zanny 13y ago
  Well, neither the RNC or DMC would nominate a Lincoln or MLK but love their Arnolds.
zokier 13y ago
Speaking of people behind the scenes, who are those two people standing with Obama in the San Jose conference?
mikevm 13y ago
Your post implies that Obama has been forced to go along with this surveillance program, so it wasn't directly his fault. Being a liberal myself, I'm shocked to see how much Obama has been getting the benefit of the doubt by liberals on all the crap that has been happening lately. The same liberals that qwew quick to criticize and blame Bush on everything, and never extend him the same courtesy.

Hypothetical other explanations: 1.) Obama always had the same views, but was lying to get elected 2.) Obama changed his mind, a possibility for any person on any topic 3.) Becoming president gave Obama new information which changed his mind, and which would change the mind of anyone elected president 4.) His opinions stayed the same, but now that he's president it's in his best interests to take this stance, which it wasn't before There's more than one possible cause here, and possibly more than one of them are the case. Despite the fact that it's much easier to blame external influences.

leifaffles 13y ago
I agree. It'd be great if we could just ask him, but I don't know if I've ever heard him say something that wasn't manipulative and to his perceived political advantage.
ZoFreX 13y ago
I think this advice to Kissinger really drives home what option #3 looks like - http://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2010/02/daniel-ellsberg-limitations-knowledge http://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2010/02/daniel-ellsber...
nano111 13y ago
5) They spied on Obama, and now are blackmailing him
adventured 13y ago
N) The kind of power Obama now possesses has corrupted him, amplifying existing character flaws and revealing an inner despot.

miles 13y ago

This kind of shows the amount of power the people behind the scenes have on Obama. No, this shows how willing Obama is to cave. We needed a Sam Adams or Lincoln or MLK and instead we got a Benedict Arnold.

jivatmanx 13y ago
It may be partly that he saw the Bush unilateralism and wanted more consensus-based governance. The problem being that, in the executive bubble, where most of seats and nearly all of the money is held by the military-industrial complex, that's the consensus you will get.
- kunai 13y ago
  The more pressing problem is that many tough solutions aren't solved by committee, they're solved by leadership and expertise, a point where Congress fails, the executive branch fails, and where the roots of government (e.g. Constitution) start to fail under the stress of lobbying and corruption.
zanny 13y ago
Well, neither the RNC or DMC would nominate a Lincoln or MLK but love their Arnolds.

zokier 13y ago

Speaking of people behind the scenes, who are those two people standing with Obama in the San Jose conference?

mikevm 13y ago

Your post implies that Obama has been forced to go along with this surveillance program, so it wasn't directly his fault. Being a liberal myself, I'm shocked to see how much Obama has been getting the benefit of the doubt by liberals on all the crap that has been happening lately. The same liberals that qwew quick to criticize and blame Bush on everything, and never extend him the same courtesy.