When Did Obama Decide to Turn Against Himself?


Shocking video of Obama campaign promises that he wantonly violated with this stimulus bill!

We were told by every love struck denizen of the Old Media that Barack Obama was bringing a “new” politics to Washington. He was, we were assured, a candidate that was post-partisan, post-racial, and anti-business-as-usual. We were told we could bank on his campaign promises and that he wasn’t like any other politician.

Unfortunately, President Obama seems to have summarily dismissed the promises of candidate Obama, at least as far as this stimulus bill is concerned.

In a video of a 2007 campaign stop, candidate Obama promised a number of things. He said no pork would be allowed in any bill he signed. He promised “no more secrecy” when he became president. He said all bills would be on-line for five days so that the people could see what was in it. He spoke against lobbyists as if they were the bane of politics.

OK. Now he won — I know this because he likes to remind us of that fact. But I am left wondering exactly when Barack H. Obama decided to turn against Barack H. Obama? I ask this question because of this particular video, one that pertains specifically to this so-called stimulus bill.

So, after seeing the video, one cannot deny that Obama offered great and soaring promises. But, it makes one wonder… what happened with this stimulus bill? Where is the treatment of this bill that Obama promised would be de rigeur in D.C. once he became president? Obama violated nearly every promise he made with this bill. Unless, of course, he never meant any of the sentiment he offered as campaign fodder to his unthinking followers on the campaign trail?

Obama treated lobbyists as if they were the greatest evil in politics. He continually invoked them as the worst aspect of our system. Even in this clip he claimed he’d make proscriptions on them. Yet, since becoming president he’s filled his administration with former lobbyists and many thousands more have streamed to a Washington that accepted them with open arms.

Then, in this clip, he promised to make it “impossible” for pork barrel projects to be snuck into bills. But this stimulus bill is well known to be more than half pork barrel projects. Have we heard even a cross word from the Obama administration about this bill so stuffed with pork?

He also promised here that every pork barrel project would appear on-line as that “disinfectant” of “sunlight” that would hold Washington accountable. So, where is the great website showing us the pork in this so-called stimulus bill? We all know Obama has not tried in any way to shine “sunlight” to “disinfect” this stimulus bill. In fact, he has urged quick and hasty passage because we are in an “emergency. “

And what of that claim of “no more secrecy”?

That we can also see was an obvious lie. After all, not only did the public not get a glimpse of how this bill was debated but not even the Republicans in Congress were included in crafting it. On top of that, no one in Congress, much less the administration, even had time to read the thing before the Democrats were trying to force a vote. So, why the secrecy and haste here? What of Obama’s promises?

Additionally, Obama promised a five-day review period of on-line viewing of any bill. Did Obama host this bill on-line before it was pushed through Congress? Even for one day, much less five? Ah, but the weasel words on this one will be that it is on-line for five days before he signs it. But, you see, that is utterly meaningless because it has already been pushed through Congress by that point. Seeing it before he’s going to sign it anyway doesn’t do anyone any good. Seeing it before Congress votes on it, on the other hand, gives America time to stop or support it.

Obama promised that bills such as this would have an on-line listing of who would benefit, too. So do we have a great on-line listing hosted by the White House of all the groups that will benefit from the pork in this stimulus bill?

It all adds up to a President Obama that seems blissfully unaware of a single thing that candidate Obama ever said.

… or a president that doesn’t care what the candidate said.

Transcript of campaign appearance

(My bold for emphasis)

I’ll also institute an absolute gift ban so that no registered lobbyist can curry favor with members of my administration based on how much they can spend on a fancy dinner. I’ll make our government open and transparent so that anyone can ensure that our business is the people’s business. Justice Louis Brandeis once said “Sunlight is the greatest disinfectant,” and as president I am going to make it impossible for congressmen or lobbyists to slip pork barrel projects or corporate welfare into laws when no one’s looking because when I’m president meetings where laws are written will be more open to the public… no more secrecy, that’s a commitment I make to you as president. No more secrecy!

And, when there’s a bill that ends up on my desk as president, you the public will have five days to look on-line and find out what’s in it before I sign it so that you know what your government’s doing. When there are meetings between lobbyists and a government agency we’ll put as many as pos… as many of those meetings as possible on-line for every American to watch. When there’s a tax bill being debated in Congress you will now the names of the corporations that would benefit and how much money they would get. And we will put every corporate tax break and every pork barrel project on-line for every American to see, you will know who asked for them and you can decide whether your representative is actually representing you!

There is a final question that comes to mind concerning this campaign video. Where are the many media outlets playing this endlessly to show the difference between the actions of a president and his campaign rhetoric? Would the press be touting this video that they surely have access to if Obama was a Republican?


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Sometime after winning the Dem nomination.

Crowe (Diary) Sunday, February 15th at 12:13AM EST (link)

The general election rhetoric was the real self-betrayal. He returned to “real Obama” form promptly after his grandiose, vapid inauguration speech.

Most liberal senator, and least likely to work with the other party — or really work as a senator at all, for that matter… that’s the Obama we’ve got in the White House.

“We sleep soundly in our beds only because rough men stand ready in the night to visit violence upon those who would do us harm Dear Leader Obama gives us leave to do so.”

 

Lack of Principled Leadership

wilsonpickett Sunday, February 15th at 4:37AM EST (link)

The President’s despicable behavior during his rush to get the “porkulus” bill passed was a true indicator of his LACK OF PRINCIPLED LEADERSHIP. If he really believed what he continually reminded us during the campaign, then he would have reined in the House and Senate Democrats — on behalf of the American people — because this was not the time for them to act as drunken-sailor partisans. It brings to mind once again his eight-year track record in the Illinois Senate.

Below is a blog I posted February 5 on TeamSarah.org that reminds readers of what Obama was like while serving in Springfield, Illinois. His actions as President, though terribly disappointing, are not a bit surprising when you look at his record, which continues to be ignored by the mainstream media:

IF ONLY THE NEWS MEDIA HAD COME TO ILLINOIS………….

“Barack Obama’s early ineptitude and arrogant attitude — otherwise known as ‘Amateur Hour at 1600 Pennyslvania Avenue’ — were so predictable if only the mainstream media had taken the initiative to dig just a little and to ask questions like a high school journalism student could have done.

“Two of my Republican friends, highly respected by colleagues of both parties, have served in the Illinois Senate for well more than 10 and 20 years, respectively. Obviously, they were there for Obama’s eight years — 1997 to 2004 — in the Senate. I asked them, ‘What was he like for those eight years?’

“Here is how they described Obama: 1) intelligent, 2) knack for giving speeches with flowery, even soaring, rhetoric but little real substance, 3) DIDN’T REALLY DO ANYTHING except make it clear that he had a desire to run for higher office beyond Illinois, 4) arrogant, 5) aloof, 6) was NOT a leader in the Senate, 7) was not even a leader in his OWN party in the Senate, 8) protected at every turn by Chicago Democratic Senate boss Emil Jones, 9) rarely worked across the aisle except when he actually had to during the time the Republicans controlled the Senate, 10) projected the image that he thought he was just a little smarter or a little better than the others, 11) very smooth, so much so that he could skate around and in-between the Chicago corruption to which he had many close ties, but nothing critical ever stuck.

“When asked, ‘What do you fear about him?’, the Senators’ answers consisted of two main concerns: 1) underneath the camouflage of the ultra-liberal voting record that he compiled in Illinois and in the U.S. Senate is the heartbeat of a ‘Socialist,’ especially with respect to our country’s domestic policies, and 2) his disdain for the U.S. military, which will be reflected in how he approaches the ‘war on terror,’ along with his attitude that he can negotiate with rogue leaders and convince the enemy to back off because of his ‘superior’ intelligence and ‘powers of persuasion.’

“The Senators were asked these questions in the summer of 2008, prior to the Presidential campaign heating up. From what we now see in the White House, wouldn’t you agree that Obama’s current behavior was ‘predictable’? If only the news media had come to Illinois………….”

Remember, a leopard never changes its spots, not even one from Kenya.

 

His comments were stupid on their face

bk (Diary) Sunday, February 15th at 5:01AM EST (link)

Almost all of what he was talking about were dealings of Congress, not the President, and so not under his control to begin with.

And as far as waiting 5 days to sign anything, that’s just as stupid. The 5 days is needed during Congressional consideration to get all the hidden dirt out into the open. Once it’s passed Congress it’s too late.

Obama is certainly the most sophisticated president ever – oops I meant to say sophistic.

 

So...

Matthew (Diary) Sunday, February 15th at 8:40AM EST (link)

So… basically Obama promised to name names and that we would know their names.

Wonder where he got that idea?