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kpete

(71,898 posts)
Tue Jun 18, 2013, 09:33 AM Jun 2013

The Leadership Trait That Barack Obama and Dick Cheney Share

The Leadership Trait That Barack Obama and Dick Cheney Share
Though vastly different, both think more highly of their own judgment than any law.

..................

"Do you see the similarity now? When it comes to doing whatever the hell one wants, or not doing it, due to legitimate constraints, Cheney's avowed preference and Obama's revealed preference are the same. In their own ways, they both subvert whatever it is that gets in their way. Obama thinks of himself as balancing lots of complicated factors -- and somehow it always comes out that he has to assume more power than he thought prudent when others were exercising it.

What a coincidence!

Cheney and Obama both had apologists encouraging this arrogance in them, though in different ways. Cheney's cheerleaders argued for a powerful presidency, testicle-crushing and all. Obama's arrogance has been bolstered more by the pundits insisting that his decisionmaking prowess is akin to Reinhold Niebuhr playing 12-dimensional chess against Wile E. Coyote."


He is so wise, thinking dimensions beyond the comprehension of his doubters! We're so lucky to have him!
..................................

http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2013/06/the-leadership-trait-that-barack-obama-and-dick-cheney-share/276916/

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The Leadership Trait That Barack Obama and Dick Cheney Share (Original Post) kpete Jun 2013 OP
Scary realization.... dkf Jun 2013 #1
Silly rationalization. ProSense Jun 2013 #2
You really believe he welcomes transparency on NSA surveillance? By what definition of "welcomes"? dkf Jun 2013 #3
from the WSJ 2009: discopants Jun 2013 #6
Ouch. truebluegreen Jun 2013 #4
the mark will be on the idiot that made that comparison. Whisp Jun 2013 #5
Obama has made some wrong choices... marions ghost Jun 2013 #7
 

dkf

(37,305 posts)
1. Scary realization....
Tue Jun 18, 2013, 09:38 AM
Jun 2013
And surveillance on Americans? Well, Obama "welcomes debate" on the tradeoffs between liberty and security -- except when Obama decides that significant legal interpretations and sweeping new policies should be kept secret, having already carefully balanced things himself. Debate is less important in the singular case in which the judgment of someone as wise as Obama can be substituted.

ProSense

(116,464 posts)
2. Silly rationalization.
Tue Jun 18, 2013, 09:47 AM
Jun 2013
And surveillance on Americans? Well, Obama "welcomes debate" on the tradeoffs between liberty and security -- except when Obama decides that significant legal interpretations and sweeping new policies should be kept secret, having already carefully balanced things himself. Debate is less important in the singular case in which the judgment of someone as wise as Obama can be substituted.

The notion that the press is always hyping the President's "decisionmaking prowess" as the OP commentary claims is beyond silly. To claim that the President doesn't welcome debate is nonsensical spin, especially when the bizarre stretch is to find a common trait between Obama and Cheney. Ludicrous.

President Obama:

"What I've asked the intelligence community to do is see how much of this we can declassify without further compromising the program," the president continued. "And they are in that process of doing so now so that everything that I'm describing to you today - people, the public, newspapers, etc., can look at. Because frankly, if people are making judgments just based on these slides that have been leaked, they're not getting the complete story."

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-250_162-57589732/obama-on-nsa-programs-americans-not-getting-the-complete-story/


Excerpt: Obama talks NSA in Charlie Rose interview.
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10023039098
 

dkf

(37,305 posts)
3. You really believe he welcomes transparency on NSA surveillance? By what definition of "welcomes"?
Tue Jun 18, 2013, 09:49 AM
Jun 2013

And why didn't he do it himself earlier?

Coulda woulda shoulda.

 

Whisp

(24,096 posts)
5. the mark will be on the idiot that made that comparison.
Tue Jun 18, 2013, 11:13 AM
Jun 2013

phhft. rubbish.

we all know that Cheney is satin and Obama is muslin.

marions ghost

(19,841 posts)
7. Obama has made some wrong choices...
Tue Jun 18, 2013, 11:30 AM
Jun 2013

--not sure I'd compare him to The Dick tho. A president must be a Decider, as the chimperor put it. True, so the following equation doesn't exactly work for me:

"they trust their own judgment so thoroughly, and value it so highly, that they recklessly undermine all institutional and prudential restraints on their ability to exercise it whenever they see fit."

Trying to make Obama out to be the same as Darth is a stretch IMO.

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