Obama’s got good answers and is willing to discuss policy with American citizens; critics keep making stuff up to complain about. Caption from the White House: President Barack Obama participates in a “Fireside Hangout” on Google+ with Americans from around the country to discuss his State of the Union Address, in the Roosevelt Room of the White House. February 14, 2013. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)
Can’t make this stuff up as fast as the unthinking anti-Obama folks can dish it out.
Their criticisms often vaporize at the slightest investigation, though. Why not talk serious policy? They won’t do it.
Wednesday night, President Obama participated in a Google+ ” Fireside Hangout.” These sessions take their cue in part from FDR’s Fireside Chats. In the modern, Google+ version, it’s not just the president talking. He takes questions from a panel of interrogators, and from people who send in questions by Tweet or e-mail. Obama took questions from citizens.
One woman, Jackie Guerrero (sp?) complained that the Obama administration enforces our immigration laws with much more toughness than any previous administration, ever. She said too many people who shouldn’t be deported, are being deported. She asked President Obama to explain why his administration has done that.
Obama said he’s the executive, and he’s required to carry out the laws. He urged the woman to support changes in the laws, but he pointed out that must come from Congress. His answer took two-and-a-half minutes, and he outlined the need for immigration reform. In a few seconds, he started his answer with this:
“This is something I’ve struggled with throughout my presidency,” said Obama. “The problem is that I’m the president of the United States, I’m not the emperor of the United States. My job is to execute laws that are passed.”
You as a reasonably intelligent and perceptive Dear Reader recognize that Obama is asking for citizen pressure on Congress to pass reform of our immigration laws.
You as a reasonably intelligent and perceptive Dear Reader are also well aware there is a group of people loose in America who say that, whatever Obama says, Obama is wrong.
So, what do those Obama H8rs say? Do they complain about immigration reform, saying we don’t need it?
No, they don’t even give their listeners and viewers the dignity of talking about the issues. Here’s how Michael Savage butchered the video of the Google session:
Savage posted this wan explanation:
Published on Feb 15, 2013
In a Google hangout last evening February 14, 2013, President Barack Obama explained that his problem is that he’s “not the emperor of the United States”: “This is something I’ve struggled with throughout my presidency,” said Obama. “The problem is that I’m the president of the United States, I’m not the emperor of the United States. My job is to execute laws that are passed.”
In a very technical sense, that’s accurate reporting of part of Obama’s statement.
But it’s not the whole truth, as you can see. There is no mention whatsoever of the issue at hand, immigration reform, for example. How can they report it correctly, if they don’t even report what happened?
How have others reacted? Our old friend Joe Leavell leapt at the opening Michael Savage provided, with a Facebook post linking to the video:
“The problem is, I’m the President of the United States. I’m not the emperor of the United States.” – President Obama.
This is a problem? Yikes!
Can you tell Joe’s views on immigration reform? On enforcing laws? On not enforcing laws? Just try to pin him down.
On Facebook, a complaint leaving the impression that Obama said he wants to be emperor, though of course, that’s not at all what Obama said.
One more demonstration we don’t need that people who truly hate Obama with no good reason will make up crap to claim against him, regardless what he says.
Some wag said, “I hope President Obama comes out tomorrow with a warning against eating yellow snow, just so I can see these guys explain the benefits of eating yellow snow.”
I wish they’d just wake up, read the old Boy Scout Citizenship Merit Badge booklet, and be good citizens without all the hoax complaints.
No, Obama did not say he wants to be emperor. No, he did not.
No, he didn’t.
Alas, Joe Leavell on Facebook is not the only one who had what should be embarrassing conniptions over the mined quote.
Wall of shame, commenters who fuzzed up the news and ran with the political smear; count ’em:
- Weekly Standard (apparently all their fact checkers died; I didn’t realize they really have no regard for the accuracy of stuff they report, before).
- Obama: ‘The Problem is … I’m not the Emperor of the United States’ (radio.foxnews.com)
- Obama Says the “The Problem Is…I’m Not Emperor of the United States” (gunmartblog.com)
- Obama: “The Problem Is I’m President of the United States, I’m Not the Emperor” (Video) (thegatewaypundit.com)
- Obama: ‘The Problem Is … I’m Not the Emperor of the United States’ (givemeliberty01.com)
- Obama Says ‘The Problem Is That I’m Not The Emperor Of The United States’ (vineoflife.net)
- ‘The Problem Is … I’m Not the Emperor of the United States’ (ConservativeActionAlerts.com)
- I’m Not The Emperor of the USA (tarpon.wordpress.com)
- “The Problem is I’m not Emperor:” Obama’s Freudian Slip (rjblack.wordpress.com)
- Barack Obama: ‘The Problem Is … I’m Not the Emperor of the United States’ (ijreview.com)
- Obama: ‘The Problem Is I’m Not The Emperor Of The United States’ (conservativebyte.com)
- Barack Obama: I’m not emperor of the United States (Twitchy)
- Obama made a Freudian slip, The Rio Norte Line
- Of course The Blaze misreported it, too
- Washington Times blog screwed it up
- Victor Medina, a Dallas Republican operative, in the Examiner
- TeaParty.org copied the Weekly Standard, a weakly slandering practice of theirs
- WeaselZippers honestly stated they got the report “scouring the bowels of the internet” and came up with the same old offal; this is the quality of reporting we’re talking about here
- Before It’s News reported it, though it wasn’t news at all
- Nothing but the Truth misses its named target, copying the false report at Gateway Pundit
Some of you may remember Spike Jones’s send-up of that classic show tune, “I’m in the Mood for Love.” One verse of the lyric is, “Funny, but when I’m near you, I’m in the mood for love.” In Spike’s version, an indignant voice interrupts with, “Funny butt! Who’se got a funny butt?”
That’s rather what Savage and others have done with Obama’s answer here.
How many of those sites do you think would like it if Obama had said, “Okay, we’ll stop deportations of all but criminal and dangerous undocumented aliens tomorrow?” How many of those sites will favor action on immigration reform? How many of them will want their children to know they wrote these things, in ten years?
This cheap and misleading criticism ignored the two-and-a-half-minute response Obama gave to the immigration and deportation question, in which he concisely explained the problems and the urgent need for immigration reform to benefit the U.S. economy. See the complete answer in the video of the entire session, at the bottom of this post.
Obama’s critics don’t dare allow him a fair chance to state his position. They have no answers for his clearly thought-out plans.
More:
- White House website page on immigration issues, featuring the four points of Obama’s immigration reform plan; “America’s immigration system is broken. Too many employers game the system by hiring undocumented workers and there are 11 million people living in the shadows. Neither is good for the economy or the country.”
- “Watch: President Obama Answers Your Questions in a Google+ Fireside Hangout,” White House blog
- White House Domestic Affairs aide Cecilia Muñoz answers post-State of the Union speech questions on immigration, 30 minutes with Latism (sp?)
- Complete Google Hangout session from February 14, via Mashable, with Google’s inspiring opening featuring FDR; “Altogether, 16,516 people have submitted 7,519 questions and cast 97,851 votes on others’ questions on a range of subjects from NASA funding to marijuana policy to climate change. Five citizens will also be joining the hangout to ask questions live.”
- Complete Google Hangout session from February 14, via Time Magazine’s website (behind Time’s paywall, subscribers only)
- In a rational report on the Google Hangout, MSNBC didn’t even mention the “emperor” remark — good news reporting: “Six things we learned from Obama’s Google Hangout”
See for yourself how Obama’s views were covered up and his meanings distorted. Here’s the entire Google Fireside Hangout, all 47 minutes of it (in HD and stereo); the question on immigration comes about 19 minutes in, and Obama’s answer took about two and a half minutes, all ignored completely by Obama’s H8rs:
Update, post script: CBS’s guy who keeps all the records, Mark Knoller, accurately reported Obama’s words in a Tweet, with just 140 characters; why can’t conservative wackoes get it right with 1,000 words and video? They probably don’t intend to get it right, like Knoller works to get it right every day, day in, and day out.
Posted by Ed Darrell 
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