President Barack Obama (official thread)

[Gatorubet]

Originally Posted by DaytonBuck

Wired

Asking for a stay pending appeal of an evidenciary ruling that gives up sensitive material that may subject the government to future civil liability is not the same thing as Obama jumping aboard the Bush train on substantive issues of surveillance and privacy rights.

It is clear that the journalists covering this are not lawyers, as they make it seem like Obama is somehow saying "me too" to the entirety of the Bush counter terrorism and surveillance policies.

[DaytonBuck]

Originally Posted by Gatorubet

Asking for a stay pending appeal of an evidenciary ruling that gives up sensitive material that may subject the government to future civil liability is not the same thing as Obama jumping aboard the Bush train on substantive issues of surveillance and privacy rights.

It is clear that the journalists covering this are not lawyers, as they make it seem like Obama is somehow saying "me too" to the entirety of the Bush counter terrorism and surveillance policies.

I didn't get me too for the entirety of Bushes polices from the article.

The Obama administration fell in line with the Bush administration Thursday when it urged a federal judge to set aside a ruling in a closely watched spy case weighing whether a U.S. president may bypass Congress and establish a program of eavesdropping on Americans without warrants. In a filing in San Francisco federal court, President Barack Obama adopted the same position as his predecessor.

Is that part true or not? I'm not an attorney.

[Gatorubet]

Originally Posted by DaytonBuck

Is that part true or not? I'm not an attorney.

All that quote says is "We are asking for a stay while we appeal this ruling". I guess they thought Obama getting elected would mean that the Govt. would drop the appeal and say "You win Mr. Plainitff....change has come - yes you can!"

Requesting a stay pending appeal was the Bush Position too, so "The Obama administration fell in line" and "adopted the same position as (Bush)" is technically correct, they make it sound like some big [censored]ing deal. I mean, it is only my opinion, but it seems pretty mundane stuff to me from a litigation standpoint. Obama getting elected was never going to mean that everything that the Government was doing, they would now be doing it 180.

I doubt Barry is masterminding this one. If you are defendant, you want to stall. Only good things come if you delay, generally.

[DaytonBuck]

Originally Posted by Gatorubet

All that quote says is "We are asking for a stay while we appeal this ruling". I guess they thought Obama getting elected would mean that the Govt. would drop the appeal and say "You win Mr. Plainitff....change has come - yes you can!"

Requesting a stay pending appeal was the Bush Position too, so "The Obama administration fell in line" and "adopted the same position as (Bush)" is technically correct, they make it sound like some big [censored]ing deal. I mean, it is only my opinion, but it seems pretty mundane stuff to me from a litigation standpoint. Obama getting elected was never going to mean that everything that the Government was doing, they would now be doing it 180.

I doubt Barry is masterminding this one. If you are defendant, you want to stall. Only good things come if you delay, generally.

Can you explain the law of perpetuities?

[Unleded]

Originally Posted by DaytonBuck

Can you explain the law of perpetuities?

yes.

[DaytonBuck]

Counting Obama's campaign promises

Barack Obama made 510 promises when he was running for president, a list that is stunning in its scope and leaves almost no part of the executive branch untouched, according to a new analysis by PolitiFact.

The analysis found that Obama made more than twice as many promises as George W. Bush and Bill Clinton, whose campaign pledges were examined by other news organizations. Bush made 177 promises in 2000 and Clinton made 204 in 1992, as reported by the Knight Ridder Washington Bureau (now McClatchy).

Obama made sweeping promises like ending the Iraq war and cutting taxes on the middle class, and narrow ones like establishing programs to help animals survive global warming, weatherizing 1-million low-income homes per year and increasing tax deductions for artists.

Polifact

[generaladm]

Originally Posted by DaytonBuck

Polifact

Excerpt from an op/ed piece by Jamison Foser:

So the recent announcement by PolitiFact.com, the St. Petersburg Times' political fact-checking operation, that it plans to closely track Barack Obama's progress in keeping his campaign promises is an encouraging sign that the news media will apply to Obama the kind of substantive scrutiny Bush too often escaped.
Unfortunately, PolitiFact's effort seems to lack a much-needed sense of perspective. PolitiFact has compiled a list of what it describes as 510 promises Obama made during his presidential campaign and plans to rate each a "Promise Kept," a "Promise Broken," or a "Compromise."
But PolitiFact does not distinguish between promises large and small, or between those that are urgent and those that might well be considered luxuries during times of economic crisis. Instead, it lumps them all together in a list of 510, topped by a box score tallying up the number of promises kept, broken, compromised, stalled, in the works, and with no action taken.
And so Obama's promise to "get his daughters a puppy" is given as much weight as his promise to "sign a 'universal' health care bill." His pledges to "push for a college football playoff system" and to "expand access to places to hunt and fish" are treated as though they are as important as his promises to extend unemployment insurance benefits and restore habeas corpus rights and end warrantless wiretaps. His promise to "expand the Senior Corps volunteer program" and his promise to "direct military leaders to end the war in Iraq" are given equal treatment.
President Obama has inherited a nation that faces serious problems. The news media will not serve their readers and viewers well if they obsess over whether Obama has kept 64 percent of his promises or 72 percent -- or if they pretend that a college football playoff system is as important as a successful economic recovery package.
To be clear: This is not an argument against holding Obama accountable; it is an argument for focusing such efforts on the things that matter most. Few Americans will mind if some of the less urgent promises go unfulfilled as long as the nation's economic conditions improve, the war in Iraq comes to an end, and we have a president who views the Constitution as something more than a list of optional recommendations. And few will be much impressed that Obama got his daughters a puppy if those other things do not come to pass.
The mess Barack Obama inherited constitutes a challenge not only for his administration and lawmakers of both parties, but for the media as well. Serious times require serious journalism -- an appropriate equilibrium between the outright hostility with which reporters covered Bill Clinton and the obsequiousness that marked their coverage of George W. Bush. But an appropriate level of scrutiny is not enough; it must be joined with sound judgment about where that scrutiny is most important.

Media Matters - Media Matters: Media menu: Scrutiny, with a side order of sound judgment

[NYBuckeye]

Originally Posted by generaladm

or if they pretend that a college football playoff system is as important as a successful economic recovery package.

This is where I stopped reading. If choosing a college football playoff over a successful economic recovery is wrong, I don't want to be right. Besides, I'm sure the NCAA would have to hire some new employees to put a playoff in place, so really, its a win-win.

[Bucky Katt]

The 5:00 mark is where it gets really good.

YouTube - The Soup: Obama Inauguration 2009...

[Ttown]

Gallup Poll. Jan. 16-17, 2009. N=1,046 adults nationwide. MoE ? 3.

.

"Do you think the United States should or should not close the prison at the Guantanamo Bay military base in Cuba?"

.

1/16-17/09

Should 35
Should not 45
Unsure 20

[Buckeyeskickbuttocks]

Well, I guess Obama can make unpopular decisions...... Good thing he's no Clinton, eh?

[Ttown]

If Obama signed to close the base just as a political whim then I do find fault with it. That might be the case since he hasn't come out with his plan on how to handle the prisoners.
I have no problem with closing the base as long as the prisoners are handled properly. I see no reason to transfer them from a military to a civilian authority either. In fact, I don't think they should be.

[OSUsushichic]

Originally Posted by BucyrusBuckeye

If Obama signed to close the base just as a political whim then I do find fault with it. That might be the case since he hasn't come out with his plan on how to handle the prisoners.
I have no problem with closing the base as long as the prisoners are handled properly. I see no reason to transfer them from a military to a civilian authority either. In fact, I don't think they should be.

I'm assuming that's why he didn't demand the prison to be closed immediately. He has given folks a year to work out those details.

[Bucklion]

Originally Posted by Buckeyeskickbuttocks

Well, I guess Obama can make unpopular decisions...... Good thing he's no Clinton, eh?

Here's hoping.

[Bucky Katt]

Originally Posted by Bucky Katt

The 5:00 mark is where it gets really good.

YouTube - The Soup: Obama Inauguration 2009 1/23/09

The original (much shorter) clip without McHale's reaction.

YouTube - Barack and Michelle Obama Fisting?