Nation/World

Candidate Obama vs. President Obama on presidential power

58 Comments

After listening to President Obama’s speech this afternoon regarding Syria, I read an article in the newspaper. I imagine the national pundits have already made note of the contradiction I discovered, but I don’t listen to a lot of talk radio, so it struck me as a profound about-face.

Here’s what Candidate Obama told the Boston Globe in December 2007 (which was quoted in an AP story I read in the Journal Star this morning):

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.

But today, President Obama had something different to say (emphasis mine):

Now, after careful deliberation, I have decided that the United States should take military action against Syrian regime targets. […] Yet, while I believe I have the authority to carry out this military action without specific congressional authorization, I know that the country will be stronger if we take this course, and our actions will be even more effective.

So Candidate Obama believed the President does not have the power to authorize military action unilaterally, but President Obama does believe the President has the authority to take military action unilaterally. What has changed since 2007? Well, obviously, Obama is now President! It appears that the power of the Presidency has changed Obama’s mind.

58 thoughts on “Candidate Obama vs. President Obama on presidential power”

  1. He probably took a poll and discovered that 80% of the public is against military action. Those “red lines” have a way of coming back to bite you. He looks so weak as a leader that I wouldn’t be surprised to see Iran do something provocative. Let’s see, Congress returns Sept.9th and debates for 3 days. They have a vote on the 12th and they vote no military action. Obama says “the American people have spoken and while I respect their input I’ve decided to launch an attack anyway”

  2. Obama can take action and you can thank Dubbya for that. Obama is taking the correct course. He threw it to Congress. If they vote no, then nothing happens. Nothing makes you Republicans happy. Obama knows as do most Americans, whatever Obama wants, the GOP wants the opposite. Obama wants to bomb, so now after weeks of saying he can’t bomb, Republicans will have to decide. Genius. BTW POO, the latest poll is 67% against but since when has a Republican listened to the will of the American people. Not even in 2012. Before you accuse the President of doing something, he about for a change and wait for something? Obama is calling out Repubs because we attack a country that was supposed to have WMDs under their leadership, and now we actually have a country that has used WMDs. Boy what a bunch of hypocrites.

  3. This is the arrogance of Obama coming to fruition as has been predicted and publicized for many months. The entire approach of the Obama family has been to treat the Presidency as if they were a part of an American “peerage” that stands above the law and beyond the reach of the great unwashed. Ironically, it is the ignorance and prejudice of the great unwashed that put him in that office, and he now bites his thumb at us. One more reason history will reveal this Presidency as the least effective and most offensive of all.

  5. You are full of it Smith. Pray tell….what would you have Obama do? Bomb away? then you and your ilk would be crying foul that Obama didn’t have the authority to. Damn, some people. You don’t like the President, then fine, but your opinion of him is bull. I have to wonder what you thought of Dubbya?

  7. The blame George Bush for Obama’s decisions is waaay over Randall. Obama put this country in a bind by supporting Al Queda backed rebels and worshipping at the Arab Spring. Even Putin is taking stabs back at Obama for the BS Obama gave Russia. Obama is too used to Chicago style politics, now he’s in the real world with people that aren’t going to cow down to his backers.

    Obama won’t make a decision, he will leave this one to Congress only because he will still need someone else to blame for yet another of his decisions. The handling of this situation is well out of hand. The rest of the world is watching and their views aren’t being shielded by the liberal press. A wrong move and the packs of terrorists infighting have a common enemy, the USA. We have a weak president leading a weak economy leading a now weakened nation of lazy people and that is on him, no one else.

  8. CFD Worshiping Arab Spring? The whole World embraced it. Obama put this country in a bind? What the hell did Bush put us in then? The worst economic disaster ever in this country! Obama went into Libya and bomb them. What happened? Congress Repubs started crying foul. He didn’t have the authority to bomb they said . They said Obama was starting a war without Congress approval. Well, this time Obama is asking for Congress approval. Your opinion is not only laughable but has all the talking points of Limbaugh.

    BTW: Obama is the one who caught and kill Bin Laden, something Bush gave up on while we went to a war with a country that had no WMDs.

  9. Oh and Russia is our good friend. Russia supplies and supports Syria and has for decades. Are you suggesting we should kiss Putin? Those people (terrorists) in that region have hated the USA and you can thank Bush/Cheney for implementing a lot of that hate. After all, the worst terrorist strike ever to hit this country was during the Bush Administration.

  10. I am baffled by people who are going after Obama for seeking Congressional approval but in the same breath say he needs Congressional approval. Also, I am a proud Democrat and an Obama supporter (most of the time) but enough with the blame Bush…it just seems desperate

  11. I agree Leslie but blaming Bush is a most as the GOP seems to forget history many times. Bush just didn’t screw up, his polices and those of his party caused pushed this country to near bankruptcy. I’ll never forget. For one thing, the GOP has forgotten as they are pushing for the exact same polices all over again.

  12. If President Obama authorized military action without Congressional approval, the right-wingers would blast him on that anyway. And now he says he will let Congress decide. Now the right-wingers are blasting him for ‘abdicating’ his responsibility as Commander-in-Chief. And if President Obama had decided to not attack at all, then the right-wingers would attack him for supporting terrorists, Al-Queada, and the Muslim Brotherhood.

    No matter what the POTUS does, he gets criticized by the Right.

  13. It’s such a shame that it took more than one Presidential cycle for people to realize how pathetic Obama really is.

  14. It has nothing to do with Republican vs. Democrat. It’s about the Constitution. Congress must authorize military action. I have – and will – condemn any President – regardless of party – who takes military action (except in the most excigent circumstances – like an attack on the U.S. – which would include a U.S. Embassy) without Congressional approval – and especially against a recognized government which, like Syria, that does not threaten the United States. Granted, Syria is not our friend, but a lot of countries are not our friend. We don’t go willy-nilly attacking them or interfering in their civil wars.

  15. Randall: During which President’s term were home ownership requirements changed and significantly lowered so that everyone could own a home?

  16. BTW: Obama is the one who caught and kill Bin Laden, something Bush gave up on while we went to a war with a country that had no WMDs.

    Yikes!!!! Randall writes like an unhinged MSNBC commentator! šŸ˜›

    The fact is, Obama, regardless of who was president, simply gave an order. It was Seal Team 6, not Obama, that killed Osama bin Laden. And Randall conveniently forgets that intelligence first gathered during the Bush Administration (nickname of UBL’s courier) is what led to the operation.

    Now that I’ve gotten that out of the way, let’s recall that GWB got congressional authorization for military action in both Afghanistan and Iraq. This, after much screaming by the Democrats that he must. So he did. Republicans are only asking Obama and the Democrats be consistent.

    Should we use military action against Syria? Only if it helps end the conflict and leads to a peaceful, freer Syria. Somehow, I don’t think that is possible short of a full-scale invasion and occupation of the country.

  17. Yikes Jordan!! If Bush had killed Bin Laden (gave the order) we would have had another landing on an aircraft carrier and another Mission Accomplished.

    I’m done…You can’t fix stupid and no matter what, the Right will always complain.

  19. Yikes Jordan!! If Bush had killed Bin Laden (gave the order) we would have had another landing on an aircraft carrier and another Mission Accomplished.

    And just like the USS Abraham Lincoln returning to San Diego on May 1, 2003, the mission would be accomplished.

    Iā€™m doneā€¦You canā€™t fix stupid and no matter what, the Right will always complain.

    You lost. šŸ˜›

  20. Obama has flopped on many topics once in office. (labeling of GMO foods, size of the national debt, closing gitmo – though congress interfered with that, not increasing taxes on those under 250K) All politicians do some of that, but Obama doesn’t seem to ever comment on why he changes heart. So yeah we just kinda assume “I guess its because he is president now”

  24. Karrie; Was you question answered? Not to your liking I’ll bet.

    POO: Politicians should consider polls and do the will of the people. We have had enough of the “Decider”

    Jordan: Surprise! McCain and Boehner have agreed with Obama on bombing Syria. Hell has frozen over. Jordon, why can’t you give credit to the Commander In Chief for ordering the hit that killed this country’s number one terrorist? Tell me if Bush had ordered the hit, you would say the same thing. You are a hypocrite. You lost.

  25. Randall:

    Yes, my question was answered. Thanks Andy for the link.

    Jon … would have to disagree with your opinion. Do you really believe the report from the Federal Reserve from your WSJ link? The Federal Reserve’s objective, from the first day it was organized, has been bailout … how the bank cartel was going to get the people aka taxpayer’s to pay for their ‘unwise’ loans … it has worked wonderfully for this cartel for about 100 years.

    And while there was more than one factor leading to the economic downturn …
    Jon … I would believe my brother who has been a real estate broker for about forty years in San Diego County, CA. He has seen a lot of changes in the real estate industry and is on the ‘frontline’. The stories he has shared over the years would make for an interesting play or movie. You cannot extend credit to people who do not have the resources to pay for the goods, in this case, house which was purchased. It might work if it were an isolated case … then bad loans bundled and sold and so on down the line … only a matter of time before the system collapses.

    So, we will just have to agree to disagree and hopefully without name calling.

  27. Jordan: NO. I am disappointed in Obama for wanting to bomb anyone or anything. I do not support any intervention in Syria other than to cut off all aid. Since the US doesn’t give much aid to Syria other than humanitarian aid, I would want that stopped until the US can be sure the people who suffer get it and not guns for rebels.

    We had an idiot President lead us into Iraq under lies and the “either you are with me or you aren’t” flag waving line and we got hammered. You can not create a democracy in a country where religion governs the people.

  28. Randall,

    Iraq’s warmongering, chemical weapon-using dictator was overthrown by the United States, not Islamic radicals (though this was attempted during our occupation). There is nothing idiotic about it.

    Unfortunately, Iraq allows Iranian re-supply flights to use its airspace enroute to Syria. If we’d maintained a token military presence there past December 2011, I doubt this would be happening.

    Perhaps there are ways to avoid military action against Syria, and still create an opportunity for end to the fighting. One might be this:

    http://news.yahoo.com/iraq-seeks-help-us-amid-growing-violence-221052797.html

    If we assist Iraq (weapons, training, non-combat advisors, etc.), we can demand Iranian overflights cease. That would cut off one of Assad’s supply lines.

    And then there is this:

    http://in.reuters.com/article/2013/09/04/syria-crisis-russia-idINDEE98304320130904

    If the Obama administration can convince Russia that Assad’s forces, not the rebels, used chemical weapons, then Assad would lose a major ally.

    I wonder if Obama is pursuing this. If he can put pressure on Assad by cutting off Iranian arms, and turning Russia against him, the Syrian leader would be severely weakened. He’d be forced to negotiate or lose to rebels who will still receive material support from Jordan, Saudi Arabia and Turkey.

  29. Today he is backing away from his “red line” comment and saying that the international community set the “red line”. He is desperately trying to convince the American people that he didn’t say what he said. Kind of like Bill Clinton’s famous line “it depends on what the meaning of is is”.

  32. “You can not create a democracy in a country where religion governs the people”

    The Jews did and so did we for the most part.

  33. Karrie, your rebuttal is that the Fed is a “cartel”, whose objective is “bailout”? And your real estate agent brother has some “stories”?

    There’s no question that there were many bad players in the housing bust and that many people were given mortgages that shouldn’t have received them. But that wasn’t because of the CRA – it was the private market driving this problem. Here’s a link to a Washington Post story with additional links to studies by the non-partisan GAO, Harvard, UNC, etc.

    http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2013/02/13/no-marco-rubio-government-did-not-cause-the-housing-crisis/

    Or, you could just ask your brother…

  34. And, Karrie, that Fed report puts the blame on the banks themselves (as opposed to the government’s CRA provisions) for the subprime mortgage problems

  35. Geez. First, Iraq had no WMDs when Dubbya lied to the American people to go in there. Iraq did use chemical weapons against Iran with Reagan’s heart-warmed approval. Who is the better liar? As for the Jewish state of Israel, the country is funded, supplied, and ran by the USA. Exactly what does Israel produce and export?

    Von: after reading some of the racist bullshit Fox News fed crap you post on your blog, I am glad to be called a troll. House Ni**er? Really? You and Jordan are in the same boat. You just can’t fix stupid.

  37. “The enemy of my enemy is our friend” We have (the US) have been burned way too many times by this policy.

  39. One of the most obvious examples is the widely accepted statement that President George W. Bush lied about Saddam Hussein’s weapons of mass destruction (WMD) stockpiles. But here’s the thing: If Bush knew that Saddam did not have such weapons, he would have been the only one — even Saddam wasn’t 100 percent certain about what resided in his stockpiles. In reaction to insistent U.S. and British statements about Iraq’s WMD, at an October 2002 Revolutionary Command Council meeting, Saddam asked his own staff whether they might know something he did not about residual WMD stocks.

    The intelligence wasn’t cooked or slanted to make policymakers happy. It was just wrong. That made Bush mistaken — but it doesn’t make him a liar.

    Intelligence agencies around the world erred in their assessments about Iraqi WMD. Some were more wrong than others.
    Charles Duelfer mar 18, 2013

    Defense link above shows chemical munitions were there in quanties less than a stockpile the size of Peoria County. None the less WMDs are present it is just not up to some peoples standard of physical presence

  41. Regarding WMD’s, we gave Iraq sufficient time to destroy or transport them to another country (Syria?).

    We may never know the truth, but WMD’s weren’t the only reason for regime change in Iraq. Saddam Hussein was a sponsor of international terrorism, corrupted the United Nations Oil-for-Food program and violated sanctions and resolutions against his country since the Persian Gulf War in 1991. That, and the Allies’ containment strategy, including air bases in Saudi Arabia, was used by Osama bin laden as justification for his declaration of war against us (bin Laden was deported from his native Saudi Arabia in 1991 for his vocal opposition to the monarchy and presence of western military personnel).

    The Bush Administration correctly concluded post 9/11 that ending the containment of Iraq required regime change, and that is exactly what they did.

    As for Syria, the United States certainly has interests in the region, but the problems are (1) Obama has waited too long to act, and (2), military action isn’t meant to change the outcome of the current civil war.

  42. Jordan, you are simply amazing. There were no WMDs when Bush invaded Iraq. Iraq said so. Other countries said so. The UN weapons inspectors said so. It was a scam brought on by Cheney and clan. Your assessment is unbelievable. And your “Obama waited too long” remark? For what? You mean we should have gone to war with Syria much much sooner? I love how you paint Obama’s reactions as being incorrect and the idiot President who couldn’t complete a whole sentence as a genius in Iraq. There is no fixing stupid. I just hope, no I pray, that your party with your type of thinking never gets into power as that will mean more suffering abroad and here in this country.

  43. Randall,

    Your response is telling. I minimized the WMD issue because it was only one of many reasons for regime change in Iraq. But you continue to harp the WMD issue.

    I just hope, no I pray, that your party with your type of thinking never gets into power as that will mean more suffering abroad and here in this country.

    Wrong party. Obama has had nearly five years to “fix” whatever ailed the country in 2008. His party had control of Congress the first two years, even a filibuster-proof majority for a time. He got his way on ObamaCare, the Stimulus, and financial and environmental business regulations.

    He cannot blame his predecessor anymore.

    Under this president, the world increasingly resembles the 1930s, with economic malaise brought about by bad policies, confused foreign policy, and the increasing threat of terrorism and intercross-border war. It will be a miracle if we don’t have a major regional conflict in the Middle East before Obama leaves office.

    One thing for sure, the country would’ve been better off if Mitt Romney was president. He understood economics but also the international scene far more than Obama. During last year’s presidential campaign, the former Massachussetts governor stated that Russia is “our number one geopolitical foe.” Obama scoffed at this idea during one of the debates: ā€œThe 1980s are now calling to ask for their foreign policy back because the Cold Warā€™s been over for 20 years.” Now Russia is backing the Assad regime, and will veto any UN resolution that punishes Syria economically or authorizes the use of force against them.

  45. I harp the WMD issue?? Are you nuts? Over 3000 of our service men and women died for that phony issue. You bet I will harp it. You sound like a parrot for Faux News every time you post.
    As for Obama fixing things, look around. I see car manufactures selling new cars at the highest rate since Dubbya left. I see traffic on the interstates and highways as people have no problem going places. I see stores and malls packed and construction on new places and new businesses. I see the stock markets their highest ever which means the rich are getting richer. What I see that you don’t, is Corporations sitting on stockpiles of cash not hiring Americans and when they do, they break their unions and hire them part time and cheaper. Otherwise they send the jobs to China. The GOP has not created one jobs bill, not one yet tried to repeal the AHCA 40 times.
    You talk of Mitt as being a good President? Another Faux Talking point. Like Reagan? The great 80s? Who sold Iraq WMDs and watch them use weapons of mass destruction against Iran? Like Reagan, who sold weapons to Iran, our enemy for the Contras? Like Reagan raised taxes and tripled the deficit? Next you’re going to tell me Reagan knocked down the Berlin Wall with his nut sack. And Mitt? Well you must be in that 40% that isn’t the takers. Yet it is the rich farmers who take huge subsides (yet the GOP wants to stop food stamps and feeding poor children, so much for pro life huh?) from the government, oil companies, huge subsides, do the same, corporations cheat by using loop holes in the tax system to avoid any taxes, those are the takers that Mitt represents. He lost the election and he lost it big. That is the democratic way. The people spoke. My Lord man, pull your head out of your butt and look around. The economy is not suffering and would be even better, a lot better if only the GOP would stop trying to destroy this country for their own political careers and stop sabotaging this President at every turn and think about the American people first. Republicans are the Amerikan Taliban. What they have done to the middle class of this country boarders on treason.
    Obamacare has helped millions, has come in far less expensive than the GOP said it would, has saved millions for millions of people. It works and yet the GOP tries to repeal it. Over 40 times! How about that much effort into helping the American worker get a job? Stopping companies from hiring on part time basis to avoid paying benefits? Hell, Papa John lives in a huge mansion with lake and private golf course and yet it was his minimum wage workers he is screwing that paid for it.To provide healthcare, he would have to raise his pizzas just under a dollar. What an ass but that reflects the Mitt Romney type of government. Of course Mitt passed almost the exact same healthcare in Massachusetts while Governor and the Repubs drooled all over it. Now a black guy does the same and it’s bad.
    As for Russia, well you and Faux have a strange fascination with Putin. Almost gay. You know, the head of the Evil Empire? (Reagan’s words) It took Dubbya what? Over 12 weeks to run up a story and invade Iraq? Yet this President goes to Congress about Syria, which he was required to do, and you idiots (read GOP) can’t even agree with him on bombing. Read some real news Jordan. Russia is backing the US request for Syria to turn over their WMDs. As for the “cold war”? It has never been really over unless you watch Faux News.
    It’s people like you Mr Jordan, that seem to have theirs and are comfortable but can’t seem to see that many others in this country need help. Welfare has never broke a country ever, but war has. People like you who can’t see past the nose on their face. It’s people like you that scare the hell out of me. I don’t fear terrorists, I fear people with your mindset.

  46. I harp the WMD issue?? Are you nuts? Over 3000 of our service men and women died for that phony issue. You bet I will harp it.

    Not a “phony” issue, just an embarrassment for a generally anti-war Democrat Party. http://www.nationalreview.com/article/358013/syria-and-specter-iraq-michael-barone

    As for Obama fixing things, look around. I see car manufactures selling new cars at the highest rate since Dubbya left.

    Pent up demand after several years of slow sales, and reorganization through bankruptcy by two of the Big Three. And a lot of those cars are made by more efficient, non-union assembly plants in right-to-work (Republican-run) states.

    I see traffic on the interstates and highways as people have no problem going places.

    I vaguely remember being in heavy traffic in Chicago back in May 2006. I think Bush was president then. šŸ˜›

    I see stores and malls packed and construction on new places and new businesses.

    CityLink’s downtown transfer station, Shoppes at Grande Prairie, East Peoria’s Embassy Suites, Homeway Homes’ Deer Creek factory, Excel Crusher Technologies Pekin plant, and the Interstate 74 Reconstruction all happened during the Bush years.

    I see the stock markets their highest ever which means the rich are getting richer.

    Only because Bush’s fed chairman, Ben Bernanke has been pumping the prime, putting $85 billion into the stock market each month to prop it up. Don’t forget, however, that the market peaked at 14,164 in October 2007 (when Bush was president), and took until March 2013 (after four years of Obama) to exceed that figure.

    What I see that you donā€™t, is Corporations sitting on stockpiles of cash not hiring Americans and when they do, they break their unions and hire them part time and cheaper.

    Why hire employees you don’t need?

    Otherwise they send the jobs to China.

    To serve the Chinese market or take advantage of low-cost labor, which is hard to find in America thanks to abominations like Dodd-Frank, new EPA emissions regulations and ObamaCare.

    The GOP has not created one jobs bill, not one yet tried to repeal the AHCA 40 times.

    http://hultgren.house.gov/track-the-gops-jobs-bills/

    They start in the House and stall in the Senate (controlled by Dems). If you want the GOP to get its jobs bills passed, then vote for the GOP’s next presidential candidate and help them win control of the Senate.

    You talk of Mitt as being a good President? Another Faux Talking point.

    Since he lost, we’ll never know…but with Obama, we have no where to go but up. šŸ˜›

    Like Reagan? The great 80s? Who sold Iraq WMDs and watch them use weapons of mass destruction against Iran?

    Blame America first nonsense. Iraq’s chemical weapons program was supported by facilities constructed primarily by German companies. American involvement included sending samples of anthrax, West Nile virus and botulism for Iraqi medical research (which was, unfortunately, a cover for a biological weapons program. Cooperation on this front ended in 1989). We also sold Iraq dual-use technology, but it was a different world in the 1980s, and hindsight is 20/20.

    Like Reagan, who sold weapons to Iran, our enemy for the Contras?

    It got hostages released. Sounds like a plan, though no one could ever prove Reagan ordered it done.

    Like Reagan raised taxes and tripled the deficit?

    He cut them far more than he raised them (in a deal with Dems in exchange for spending cuts, which never came). Also, the problem was spending, and Congress (the Senate was controlled by the GOP for six of Reagan’s eight years, and the House was controlled by the Dems the entire time) implemented “Baseline Budgeting” in the mid-1970s, that significantly increased spending on programs well above inflation. That was the reason for rising deficits during the 1970s and 1980s. But thanks to robust economic expansion during the Reagan years, the deficits declined rapidly in the late 1980s.

    Next youā€™re going to tell me Reagan knocked down the Berlin Wall with his nut sack.

    Reagan’s economic and political pressure on the Soviet Union further weakened the country’s already stagnating economy, forcing “reforms” that led to its collapse. Reagan found out that Gorbachev had a conscience, and duly exploited it.

    And Mitt? Well you must be in that 40% that isnā€™t the takers. Yet it is the rich farmers who take huge subsides (yet the GOP wants to stop food stamps and feeding poor children, so much for pro life huh?) from the government, oil companies, huge subsides, do the same, corporations cheat by using loop holes in the tax system to avoid any taxes, those are the takers that Mitt represents. He lost the election and he lost it big. That is the democratic way. The people spoke. My Lord man, pull your head out of your butt and look around. The economy is not suffering and would be even better, a lot better if only the GOP would stop trying to destroy this country for their own political careers and stop sabotaging this President at every turn and think about the American people first. Republicans are the Amerikan Taliban. What they have done to the middle class of this country boarders on treason.

    A perfect MSNBC rant. Have they contacted you to replace one of their failing hosts?

    Obamacare has helped millions, has come in far less expensive than the GOP said it would, has saved millions for millions of people.

    By reducing their work hours, raising their health insurance premiums or eliminating their jobs? Wow, you have some serious Baghdad Bob syndrome!

    It works and yet the GOP tries to repeal it. Over 40 times!

    The Obama Administration bribed Senators for their votes and changed the rules to get it passed. Now the GOP-controlled senate is demonstrating that it can repeal the abomination that a majority of Americans do not want. The GOP only needs control of the Senate and White House to fulfill its 2010 mandate. It only takes one time when all the pieces are in place.

    How about that much effort into helping the American worker get a job? Stopping companies from hiring on part time basis to avoid paying benefits?

    Hence, voting to repeal ObamaCare 40 times. Then companies won’t have to stop hiring full time.

    Hell, Papa John lives in a huge mansion with lake and private golf course and yet it was his minimum wage workers he is screwing that paid for it. To provide healthcare, he would have to raise his pizzas just under a dollar. What an ass but that reflects the Mitt Romney type of government.

    Not true. He agreed in November 2012 to honor ObamaCare’s health care obligations and will pass the cost on to the consumer.

    Of course Mitt passed almost the exact same healthcare in Massachusetts while Governor and the Repubs drooled all over it. Now a black guy does the same and itā€™s bad.

    You won’t find many Republicans supporting RomneyCare. At most, they tolerated it based on their belief in federalism.

    As for Russia, well you and Faux have a strange fascination with Putin. Almost gay. You know, the head of the Evil Empire? (Reaganā€™s words)

    Officially, Russia is a democracy and has a market economy, but its current president does have authoritarian tendencies. Yet, when conservatives say they’d rather have Putin as U. S. president, they’re JOKING, of course.

    It took Dubbya what? Over 12 weeks to run up a story and invade Iraq?

    More like 14 months. “Axis of Evil” speech in January 2002. The congressional vote to authorize regime change in Iraq took place in October 2002 and Operation Iraqi Freedom began in late March 2003.

    Yet this President goes to Congress about Syria, which he was required to do, and you idiots (read GOP) canā€™t even agree with him on bombing. Read some real news Jordan. Russia is backing the US request for Syria to turn over their WMDs.

    Randall, you’re against bombing Syria, so why complain about the GOP not agreeing with Obama? Many in his own party are opposed.

    As for the ā€œcold warā€? It has never been really over unless you watch Faux News.

    Nonsense. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, Democrats were quick to declare the Cold War over while Republicans were cautious, unable to trust the Soviet Union. History shows, however, that the Cold War “officially” ended in 1991 when the Soviet Union collapsed, but Eastern Europe’s turn to democracy and the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, and the Soviet Union’s abandonment of Saddam Hussein in 1990 signalled its thaw. Relations with Russia were friendly during the 1990s when Boris Yeltsin served as president. Then NATO’s involvement in the Kosovo War in 1999 (Russia back the Serbs) led to tensions. So was Yeltsin’s resignation on New Year’s Eve, 1999. That’s when his vice president, Vladimir Putin became Russian leader. But Russia supported our War on Terror (like the U. S., Russia was also a victim of Islamic terrorism). Tensions increased again when we decided on regime change in Iraq. Russia, like France and Germany, had broken the UN’s Iraq sanctions. A US-led invasion would reveal the corruption. Tensions were ratcheted up again in 2008 when Russia invaded Georgia to support separatists. Naturally, Obama blamed Bush and Hillary gave her Russian counterpart a symbolic “reset” button. The rest is history. Of course, Putin’s suggestion that Syria’s chemical weapons be transferred to international control may end up saving Obama from huge embarrassment, but also increase Russia’s world influence.

    Itā€™s people like you Mr Jordan, that seem to have theirs and are comfortable but canā€™t seem to see that many others in this country need help.

    I thought Obama had fixed things? Auto manufacturers were selling more cars since Dubya left. There’s lots of traffic on the highways, and new construction is everywhere.

    Welfare has never broke a country ever, but war has. People like you who canā€™t see past the nose on their face. Itā€™s people like you that scare the hell out of me. I donā€™t fear terrorists, I fear people with your mindset.

    Nonsense. Portugal, Italy, Greece and Spain have not fought wars on a large scale for decades, and yet suffer huge debt thanks to unsustainable Statism. Unemployment in Spain is at 25 percent! The United States has fought in several wars since the end of the Cold War – Persian Gulf War, Bosnia-Hercegovina, Kosovo, Afghanistan, Iraq War, Libya, etc. but yet economic growth, if slow, sustains the American economy. It is massive social spending, not war spending, that will eventually break the country.

  48. Laughable Jordon

    So much that you have no words to respond…or spell my last name correctly. šŸ˜›

  50. PJSTAR: The gulf between the richest 1 percent and the rest of America is the widest it’s been since the Roaring ’20s.

    Randall Emert is thinking: “It’s the Koch Brothers Fault! Tax The Rich more!”

    When are people going to understand that when you try screwing the The Rich, it’s the working man that suffers?

    But then this nothing to do with Syria, right?

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