The Hypocrisy of Barack Obama

By David Kretzmann on October 5th, 2011

On the second day of his presidency, Barack Obama promised, “Transparency and the rule of law will be the touchstones of this presidency.” Here is an honest look at Barack Obama in his own words, to ensure his promise of transparency does not fall by the wayside.

Due Process

“The detention of American citizens, without access to counsel, fair procedure, or pursuant to judicial authorization, as enemy combatants is unconstitutional.” — Barack Obama; December 2007

Tell that to Anwar al-Alwaki.

Presidential War Powers

“After Vietnam, Congress swore it would never again be duped into war, and even wrote a new law — the War Powers Act — to ensure it would not repeat its mistakes. But no law can force a Congress to stand up to the president. No law can make senators read the intelligence that showed the president was overstating the case for war. No law can give Congress a backbone if it refuses to stand up as the co-equal branch the Constitution made it.” — Barack Obama; October 2007

“The President does not have power under the Constitution to unilaterally authorize a military attack in a situation that does not involve stopping an actual or imminent threat to the nation.” — Barack Obama; December 2007

Message to Obama: You probably wouldn’t have people in Congress suing you over the Libya War if you had followed your own words.

Medical Marijuana

“I don’t think that should be a top priority of us, raiding people who are using … medical marijuana. With all the things we’ve got to worry about, and our Justice Department should be doing, that probably shouldn’t be a high priority.” — Barack Obama, June 2007

“I would not have the Justice Department prosecuting and raiding medical marijuana users. It’s not a good use of our resources.” — Barack Obama; August 2007

Obama has undeniably contradicted himself, with his Administration approving raids of medical marijuana businesses (even in states where medical marijuana is legal).

Debt Ceiling

“The fact that we are here today to debate raising America’s debt limit is a sign of leadership failure. It is a sign that the U.S. Government can’t pay its own bills. It is a sign that we now depend on ongoing financial assistance from foreign countries to finance our Government’s reckless fiscal policies.” — Barack Obama; March 2006

The debt ceiling has been raised three times under Obama’s presidency as of summer 2011.

Iraq War

“What I am opposed to is a dumb war.” — Barack Obama; October 2002

“I will promise you this, that if we have not gotten our troops out by the time I am president, it is the first thing I will do. I will get our troops home. We will bring an end to this war. You can take that to the bank.” — Barack Obama; October 2007

The Iraq War is not close to ending. No troops have been brought home; if anything, they have simply been moved to Afghanistan. This doesn’t even account for the thousands of contractors hired by the Department of State and Department of Defense. In addition, the U.S. has continually bombed Pakistan and Yemen under Obama’s presidency.

Libya War

On March 18, 2011, Obama declared that U.S. military excursions in Libya would last “days, not weeks.” Six months later, we’re still counting.

Guantanamo Bay

“Why don’t we close Guantanamo and restore the right of habeas corpus, because that’s how we lead, not with the might of our military, but the power of our ideals and the power of our values. It’s time to show the world we’re not a country that ships prisoners in the dead of night to be tortured in far off countries. We’re not a country that runs prisons which locks people away without ever telling them why they’re there or what they’re charged with. We’re not a country which preaches compassion to others while we allow bodies to float down the streets of major American cities. That’s not who we are.” — Barack Obama; 2007

It’s a nice sentiment from Obama, but Guantanamo remains open to this day.

PATRIOT Act

“That means no more illegal wire-tapping of American citizens. No more national security letters to spy on citizens who are not suspected of a crime. No more tracking citizens who do nothing more than protest a misguided war. No more ignoring the law when it is inconvenient. That is not who we are. And it is not what is necessary to defeat the terrorists.” — Barack Obama; August 2007

As President, Obama twice signed legislation extending the PATRIOT Act for five years until 2015.

Torture

“The President is not above the law, and the Commander-in-Chief power does not entitle him to use techniques that Congress has specifically banned as torture. We must send a message to the world that America is a nation of laws, and a nation that stands against torture.” — Barack Obama, December 2007

“I also reject the view, suggested in memoranda by the Department of Justice, that the President may do whatever he deems necessary to protect national security, and that he may torture people in defiance of congressional enactments. In my view, torture is unconstitutional, and certain enhanced interrogation techniques like ‘waterboarding’ clearly constitute torture.” — Barack Obama, December 2007

Unfortunately, torture continues under the Obama Administration.

Is this the change we expected when we elected Barack Obama in 2008?

What has Obama done, either as Senator or President, to earn the trust of the people?

At what point do we acknowledge the broken promises of Obama and his Administration?