Time to consider "Worst Administration Ever"?

[onan]

We know some of Obama's failures and scandals, we know of his incompetence - what are his accomplishments again?

Well, he certainly has gotten a lot of people to hate him.

[Sardondi]

Anyone who considers this the "worst administration ever" has an incredibly short-sighted view of history. (Van Buren, Tyler, Grant, Harding, Hoover, Nixon anyone?)

Hardly. All your examples but Nixon were for the most part merely crooks and/or incompetents (and in the incompetent category you left out James Earl Carter, second only to Warren Gamaliel Harding; but Carter can take comfort in his Administration's reputation for absence of corruption - Harding might have been the champion there.).

But Obama's entire administration has been an exercise in the dismantling of the American polity as we have known it since the adoption and ratification of the Constitution. From his insistence on manning his cabinet with individuals almost all of whom are tax cheats and/or thieves (and several of whom have blatantly abused their office since); to staffing his Administration with a shameful degree of nepotism and conflicted interest; to his own abuse of executive power as he tried to usurp the legislative function of Congress; to his gross, ceaseless partisanship, made all the more shocking by his breathtaking cynicism as he just as endlessly accused Republicans of being the ones who exercised hyper-partisanship to his reign; the only thing he has not yet been conclusively shown to have done to equal Nixon in infamy is to have significantly moved the levers of government to cover his scandals and thwart legitimate inquiry into the gross misdeeds of his rule. And the evidence is piling up that "the White House" has indeed done that.

I was there for Watergate. The initial sin in that matter paled in both nature and extent to the, at a minimum, three major scandals about how Obama has executed his office. We're far beyond the point in 1973 when Congress, acting for the most part more out of statesmanship than party loyalty, took it on itself to begin serious, far-reaching hearings aimed at seeing just how far the rot had reached.

Well, he certainly has gotten a lot of people to hate him.

Not a candle on Nixon (hey, I got to use it the usual way!), the very mention of whom can set many of my generation and older to bleeding from the eyes.

[FightTheFuture]

The Obama administration is a train wreck. Worst ever? Probably not. Most incompetent in modern history? Without question!


Here`s his main man, Eric "IDK" Holder before congress. YOU be the judge on whether or not this slimy asshole is lying (For the record, Holder makes me absolutely nauseous, and has ever since he played such a pivotal role in Clinton pardoning Marc Rich *gag):


http://www.buzzfeed.com/dorsey/eric-holder-just-doesnt-know

[Sardondi]

The Obama administration is a train wreck. Worst ever? Probably not. Most incompetent in modern history? Without question!


Here`s his main man, Eric "IDK" Holder before congress. YOU be the judge on whether or not this slimy asshole is lying (For the record, Holder makes me absolutely nauseous, and has ever since he played such a pivotal role in Clinton pardoning Marc Rich *gag):


http://www.buzzfeed.com/dorsey/eric-holder-just-doesnt-know

I can't imagine Obama's sins have been from a lack of ability (although that could certainly be said about him personally). My problems with Obama have to do with the implementation of his true principles, which have nothing to do with whatever eyewash and pap he put out about "Hope and Change". I believe his purpose was to fundamentally alter American government, even our entire society, and he has done much to bring it about, and all for the much, much worse.

I've been swinging for the fences on ol' Barry. I truly detest the man and find redeeming qualities utterly absent in him. He's a fraud, and the whole Obama persona that's been given to us has been packaged and presented like no other candidate in our history. It smacks far more of a "legend" for an intelligence agent than bio of a political candidate.

Much of what I'm suggesting about thoroughgoing congressional hearings empowered to get to the bottom of everything, is actually premature. But these ideas must percolate. And we have to start somewhere.

And yes, Holder is a pure factotum, a creature devoted to the will of him who controls him. He's shameless. When your arrogance and dismissiveness make John Mitchell look good by comparison, you are indeed a piece of work.

And now this on Holder: when The Atlantic says you gotta go, you gotta go - http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2013/05/is-this-the-end-of-eric-holders-tenure-at-the-justice-department/275830/

[PhantasticSanShiSan]

One more thing. I hope these scandals make it 100% transparent to the American people that the Executive branch wields an irresponsible amount of power. An amount of power that is all too easily corrupted. It began in earnest with FDR, picked up the pace with Nixon, eased a bit with Carter, and went pedal to the metal with Bush II. Obama is a continuation of the dangerous amount of power America has invested in her top executive. We are very close to a system of "King for four years".

THIS, this is the issue at hand.

[Yorkshire pud]

THIS, this is the issue at hand.

Does this mean that if you have a royal family, they'll be no need for Americans who think London is the centre of the Uk (It really isn't-trust me, but I digress) can instead go and visit the newly built royal residences? They may not have the exquisite masonry work and grandeur of those on this side of the pond, but still lots to photograph and buy postcards of. 

[Juan]

No, Yorkie - we know the Regency Park Mosque is the centre of the UK now, what with more Anglicans in Nigeria than in the UK.

As for royal family, we kind of like our present situation - we get to watch the shenanigans of yours without having to pay for them - at least directly.

[Sardondi]

Could this possibly be true? Is this Administration truly this callous about the Constitution? This Congressman says the Administration didn't just seize the phone records, they fucking tapped the phone in the House cloak room. That's the House of fucking Representatives of the United States of America.  http://www.weeklystandard.com/blogs/congressman-justice-dept-wiretapped-house-representatives-cloak-room_724606.html

Oh, and Obama just blamed Benghazi on Congress not funding the military. I'm serious, this is not a joke. The man said the words. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2325606/During-Rose-Garden-press-conference-Obama-refuses-apologize-secretly-seizing-AP-phone-records-shifts-blame-Congress-Benghazi-security-lapses-dodges-question-White-House-IRS-knowledge.html

If he'll say something so patently ridiculous, so blatantly in-your-face false, can he believed about anything more serious than whether it's raining outside? What a shameless fucking liar.

We have a rogue government, completely out of control, which refuses to restrain itself or abide within the bounds of civil political behavior. The open, longstanding and ongoing contempt for the rule of law by this President and his Administration is unprecedented in American history.

[Juan]

Hope and change and transform America.

[PB the Deplorable]

Anyone heard from Nancy Pelosi or Harry Reid lately?  Perhaps they've gone mute.

[Yorkshire pud]

No, Yorkie - we know the Regency Park Mosque is the centre of the UK now,

You do; It is? Shit...Who knew?...Erm, where is Regency park?

what with more Anglicans in Nigeria than in the UK.

Yes, but when that statistic is put in context (as you haven't--surprise surprise) it's more Anglicans in Nigeria because I'm guessing the findings are based on church attendance..not necessarily those who believe in their particular flavour of indoctrination...I mean religion. The number of people attending church has been declining for years, but surprisingly the number who class themselves as Christian is a lot less volatile.
Without counting, I'd guess that there are more Roman Catholics in Brazil, or Chile, or Ecuador, or Mexico, or the state of New York than in the whole of Italy including Sicily , let alone the Vatican; but let's not be picky.   


It's a similar context to asking who can drive and who has a car..one doesn't necessarily correlate with the other...but I know you're joshing with me, you knew that.

As for royal family, we kind of like our present situation - we get to watch the shenanigans of yours without having to pay for them - at least directly.

Oh I dunno...you took Harry off our hands this last week.  He's probably one of the most likable and normal of the brood.. And he's at least put his ass on the line (and yes, he has put his ass on the line) in the call of duty.

[Sardondi]

In early May of 2009 in a speech at Arizona State U, Obama commented on ASU's refusal to grant him an honorary degree due to his lack of experience, which stirred some controversy. He "joked" about being denied the honor: "President [Michael] Crowe and the Board of Regents will soon learn all about being audited by the IRS."
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124260113149028331.html

Yep, a real kneeslapper.

“In jest, there is truth.”
King Lear

[Jackpine Savage]

When asked if he knew about the irs activity before hand, Obama stated he hadn't heard about the IG report until it came out. That wasn't the question.

If anyone seriously thinks they haven't been winking and nodding at this for years now, I've some oceanfront property for sale in Albuquerque.

[ItsOver]

Anyone heard from Nancy Pelosi or Harry Reid lately?  Perhaps they've gone mute.

Unfortunately, I heard the Mad Queen Pelosi rambling on the radio.


http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/ticket/pelosi-gop-using-irs-benghazi-doj-issues-evasion-173845377.html


Nancy, it's time to put your straight-jacket on and take your medication.

Dirty Harry was hallucinating over something about Karl Rove.  I have to admit when either Pelosi or Reid start spinning some piece of insane propaganda, I just immediately tune-out.


I do get a good laugh, at times.  The latest was when White House spinmeister Carney referred everybody to the Department of Justice for any questions concerning the AP wire-tapping story since, of course, the White House knows nothing.  So what happens?  Holder tells a Congressional hearing that he knows nothing since he had conveniently recused himself.  Geesh.... :   So.... where is his Deputy?  Or is he Sergeant Schultz, too?

[Tinfoil Hat]

I'll take it on faith that those of you so upset about Obama were full of equal ire for a previous administration starting war based on outright lies. Good thing we're the world's big super-power, otherwise some folks would be facing war crimes trials.

Oh, and callousness towards the Constitution and erosion of our freedoms (in the name of security that doesn't exist) began back then too. Were you all against that too or do you only squawk when it's a guy not on your team breaking the law?

As far as I'm concerned, both this President and the one before him should be facing charges. Bush for Iraq and Obama more so for failing to prosecute the bankers for the crash than anything else.

Pro tip: NONE of these guys cares about regular folks like you and me. They all sell us out with distressing regularity. Heads they win, tails we lose.

[ItsOver]

Excusing unacceptable behavior with the defense that it's OK because somebody else did it shouldn't work for 5 year old kids or politicians.  I don't care if they're Republicans, Democrats, or Whigs.

[Jackpine Savage]

I'll take it on faith that those of you so upset about Obama were full of equal ire for a previous administration starting war based on outright lies. Good thing we're the world's big super-power, otherwise some folks would be facing war crimes trials.

Oh, and callousness towards the Constitution and erosion of our freedoms (in the name of security that doesn't exist) began back then too. Were you all against that too or do you only squawk when it's a guy not on your team breaking the law?

As far as I'm concerned, both this President and the one before him should be facing charges. Bush for Iraq and Obama more so for failing to prosecute the bankers for the crash than anything else.

Pro tip: NONE of these guys cares about regular folks like you and me. They all sell us out with distressing regularity. Heads they win, tails we lose.

Have you actually read anything that was posted? I distinctly pointed out that the latest enormous increases in executive power came under Bush II, not Obama, with the willing assistance of a short-sighted Republican congress. Because if they didn't, you know, "der terrrists er all gonna get usssss!!11!!11".

The executive branch needs to be taken down a notch. All that power, and if we are to believe Obama, the left hand is oblivious of what the right is up to. All the power with no responsibility. Like a bizzaro spiderman.

[RealCool Daddio]

Serious question - do you think the USA might be too big to govern effectively? If the expectation is that the president must be held to account for everything that happens on his watch - that might be more than can reasonably be expected of one man.  I am hard pressed to think of a president, in my lifetime, who didn't preside over a litany of screw ups, clusterfucks, ill advised military engagements, domestic crises, or hints and allegations of impeachable behavior.

[Jackpine Savage]

Well, a lot of the executive tasks could probably be delegated to the state level. The federal executive branch performs many tasks that could be more efficiently handled at the state level where they are generally held more accountable. Also, the problem is a lazy congress who delegates law-making authority to executive branch departments. They get around this thorny Constitutional issue by calling it "regulatory authority". I guess the primary purpose of Congress, making those laws, was cutting into their tee times and multiple recesses.

[Sardondi]

Oh, this fills me with confidence - the IRS official who ran the section responsible for the abuses against conservative tax-exempt organizations such as the Tea Party groups is now...wait for it...in charge of Obama Care: http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2013/05/irs-official-in-charge-during-tea-party-targeting-now-runs-health-care-office/

One of the greatest differences brought about by Obama's attack on American society is that so many of his programs and initiatives, Obamacare chief among them, depend on the decency and integrity of an untouchable handful of people who may grant or withhold favorable treatment or even lifesaving medical care based solely upon their whim...including partisan bias.

[The General]

Well, a lot of the executive tasks could probably be delegated to the state level.

That was the original idea.  Unfortunately it ended up getting reversed.

[MV/Liberace!]

Oh, this fills me with confidence - the IRS official who ran the section responsible for the abuses against conservative tax-exempt organizations such as the Tea Party groups is now...wait for it...in charge of Obama Care: http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2013/05/irs-official-in-charge-during-tea-party-targeting-now-runs-health-care-office/

this is the creature to whom you refer:





sarah hall ingram.  ick.

[Sardondi]

this is the creature to whom you refer:



sarah hall ingram.  ick.

Hmm. Let me see here. There's Hilary and her "close friends", plus there's Big Sis Napolitano who has thoroughly populated DHS with her Lesbotenstaffel. Damn, it wasn't Communists who were taking over government; it's lesbians.

That was the original idea.  Unfortunately it ended up getting reversed.

They had to trample the Ninth and Tenth Amendments to do it...but that posed no problem at all.

[MV/Liberace!]

Hmm. Let me see here. There's Hilary and her "close friends", plus there's Big Sis Napolitano who has thoroughly populated DHS with her Lesbotenstaffel. Damn, it wasn't Communists who were taking over government; it's lesbians.

i haven't heard her speak, but i'm assuming she speaks through her teeth.

[Juan]

I'll answer Tinfoil Hat by saying I don't exactly agree that the war with Iraq was based solely on lies, but I'll agree there was plenty of Constitution trampling by Bush II.  And this stuff began far before the administrations criticized here.  I'd put the beginning of serious Constitution trampling at the time of the rise of the Progressives with Teddy Roosevelt.  Then it increased with Woodrow Wilson - in fact, a legitimate argument can be made that the first 20th Century fascist state was actually the United States during WWI with Wilson's policies.  I remember my grandfather, a WWI vet, ranting that Wilson entered the war to get one million men (remember women didn't vote then) out of the country so that he could make vast changes in domestic policy, including passing Prohibition.  I thought my grandfather was just a crazy old man, but it turns out, on further study, that he might have been right.

[Yorkshire pud]

Damn, it wasn't Communists who were taking over government; it's lesbians.

There the same thing when all said and done, but I can see why you might have split them into two distinct entities.. Either way, burn the bastards.

[Sardondi]

(Qutoing Sardondi: - 'Damn, it wasn't Communists who were taking over government; it's lesbians.'

There the same thing when all said and done, but I can see why you might have split them into two distinct entities.. Either way, burn the bastards.

"Billy Bob, there's hope for this here Yorkshire Pud feller after all..."
_______________________________________________________________________________

Well what's new for this morning? Many outrageous stories to choose from. Let's see, the former head of the IRS says the program of abuse against conservatives was "absolutely not illegal". Hmmm, the woman who ran the attacks on Tea Party groups and conservatives was given over $100,000 in bonuses for a job well done. Oh, here it is. The IRS knew all about the program of intimidation and harassment of conservative taxpayers and organizations over a year ago, but kept quiet so as to not hurt Obama's re-election chances.

This from Lisa Myers, NBC News, on The Morning Joe; a credentialed member of Obama's Ministry of Information appearing on a show generally supportive of Obama. Yeah, the hits just keep on keepin' on.

IRS Deliberately Chose Not to Fess Up to Scandal Before Election
_________________________________________________________________________

Editorial in WSJ by Peggy Noonan. I'm not a fan of Noonan, who used up her conservative cred as a Reagan speechwriter about 10 years ago; at any rate long before she said this Obama guy looks pretty neat after all. But she gets it in this column in which she describes the IRS's partisan abuse as every bit as threatening to the country as Watergate, since it undermines our basic confidence in government. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887323582904578487460479247792.html

[Yorkshire pud]

"Billy Bob, there's hope for this here Yorkshire Pud feller after all..."

A tiny part of me thinks you took what I said seriously; And although it's a really tiny part, it's enough for me to worry you might also believe what you think. Oh shit.

[MV/Liberace!]

...I'll agree there was plenty of Constitution trampling by Bush II.

absolutely correct.

[Sardondi]

A tiny part of me thinks you took what I said seriously; And although it's a really tiny part, it's enough for me to worry you might also believe what you think. Oh shit.

Then you entirely missed the joke, which just goes to prove the old adage that there is no way to speak/write so clearly or transparently that you cannot be misunderstood.