April 27, 2012

pdrennan asked: what part of that obama quote did you not agree with?

I agree with 100% of it.  It is Obama’s actions, not his words, that I tend to disagree with.  One of my perennial struggles with Obama is that he often makes eloquent, well-spoken oral defenses of politically progressive policy positions which I find both articulate and moving.  But in more cases than not, he proceeds to act otherwise.  He talks about compassion on immigration policy, then deports record numbers of undocumented immigrants.  He speaks of winning hearts and minds in the Middle East, then drops an ever-growing number of drone missile strikes in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Yemen, many of which have resulted in collateral damage.  He celebrates the end the War in Iraq, then ignores the thousands of private mercenaries who have stayed behind on U.S. hire.  He speaks of the unfairness of federal crack sentencing guidelines, then proceeds to ratify an unprecedentedly aggressive federal enforcement against medical marijuana dispensaries that are legal in their respective states.  He speaks of government transparency, then goes to court to prevent the release of unflattering photos of U.S. troops committing unethical acts.  He criticizes the “same failed policies” of the Bush Administration in the realm of economics, then proceeds to keep most of them in place with respect to the War on Terror.

So yes, I agree with the quote.  I suspect Obama does too.  I just wish that his actions more closely resembled his rhetoric on a broader spectrum of issues.

5:24pm  |   URL: http://tmblr.co/ZMMjnxKRGQKr
(Notes: 20)
  
  1. deprimisme said: Why are you, a brilliant mind in our community, so lenient towards Obama? You take his abominable, corrupt actions too lightly. It is not about disagreement - it’s about human rights. I’m disgusted at this community’s lack of fury towards Bush II.
  2. letterstomycountry posted this