In class today, Commissar Silton commented on the expansion of executive power from the Bush presidency, and how Obama has kept many of the new toys Bush left for him.
Bush imposed signing statements, allowing him to interpret and decide how much he will or will not obey a congressional bill, therefore giving the executive powers of interpretation formerly held by the judicial branch.
The Obama administration has chosen to keep many of the Bush imposed novelties to the presidential sphere of influence, including the right to confine whoever they choose under the "unlawful enemy combatant" card, as seen when Obama did not detain Al Marri, a citizen of Qatar who was held captive for five years without charges but left the possibility that he could detain people in this manner in the future.
To clarify my position on this topic, i must explain my views about the role of the president. I believe that first and foremost, it is Obama's job to look out for the safety of the general population and to solve the nations greatest problem, which is the failing economy.
While Bush imposed powers stretch the executive influence beyond the comfort zones of many informed citizens, such as my family and myself, Obama has begun to revolutionize the scope of presidential power.
Firstly let me point out that the Obama presidency, more than most before it has become iconic to Americans in many ways. When Mishelle planted an organic garden, so did countless american families. The media has gone far with its support of Obama and has taken it to the point that millions of people practically worship the man. Whenever Obama says something interesting to the public, it is sure to make headline news and have more influence than could possibly be safe.
On monday of this week, President Obama was asked about his thoughts on rapper Kanye West's outburst during the VMA awards, after telling the reporter that Kanye's actions were "very inappropriate", Obama called West a "jackass"
While some may view this to be an honest mistake on the president/overlords part, i think that considering how influencial the comment was, it was highly inappropriate for him to even answer to the reporter. Obama is taking a sharp turn into meddling with peoples lives, and does so with power no one else has. His comment will permanently affect Kanye West's career more than any amount of celebrities siding with Swift ever could. In addition, the idea of the predident publicly taking sides in the multitudes of overinflated dramas in Hollywood startles, frightens, and even stops me in my tracks.
With Obama chiming in in Swifts defence, millions more people will have found out about this 'outburst' of Kanye West and will have inevitably sided with Swift having formed an image of West in their heads that was hand made and solidified by Obama. At this point i believe that if the president made a speech on why wearing pink crocks makes sense for everyone, nearly everyone would be wearing them sooner or later...
The real issue with this is that Obama is using his influence as president and his popularity to inflict his views upon the masses, while the Swift incident did not pose a particularly controvercial view, it did pose a fundamental question that all of us should be asking. WHATS NEXT?
Will our God Obama dictate his opinions on peoples lifestyles, life choices, or even their beliefs through his influence over them? I believe he is on his way... and it is just the another step for him to begin his control over the world of entertainment, a step that with his comment, he has effectively taken.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
6 comments:
"Bush imposed signing statements, allowing him to interpret and decide how much he will or will not obey a congressional bill, therefore giving the executive powers of interpretation formerly held by the judicial branch."
Hold your horses. The power to veto bills is well within executive authority. Deciding how much to agree with the bill or disagree is well within that power to veto.
There's not always the fine line between "I love this bill, so I will absolutely sign it into law" and "No, this bill is an abomination. I will veto it." There's got to be something that the president likes about the bill and other parts where he doesn't like about it. There's a gray zone between signing the bill into law and vetoing it.
Besides, the executive office is charged with enforcing the law, so combined with the powers to veto or sign the bill he gets to disobey or obey the parts of the law that he wants.
The Supreme Court's job is to review the constitutionality of the law; not how much they personally agree or disagree with it. That part is left to the president. Nothing is reviewed by the Courts until it is brought to their attention by a case; this includes the laws that are passed by Congress. Those laws aren't reviewed by the Supreme Court until somebody complains about it.
Obama is starting to become unpopular. It might be hearsay for me to say that (because I personally haven't seen any of the polls), but check out a couple current polls.
It's not inappropriate for Obama to leave a comment on the Taylor Swift thing, but it is pointless. It is irrelevant to government. Other than that, I agree with what you said about Obama's response to the Swift thing. I don't think Obama has a gigantic personality cult following him right now.
"...including the right to confine whoever they choose under the "unlawful enemy combatant" card, as seen when Obama did not detain Al Marri..."
Are you sure? If Obama did NOT detain Al Marri, he would not be using the power "to confine whoever they choose under the 'unlawful enemy combatant'".
Finally, what is the VMA? And what exactly happened? No one ever tells me about these things.
I agree. I do not believe that Obama has cult following him, but even if he does... When the Beatles were famous, everyone tried to be like the them, when Alvis Presley was famous, everyone wanted to dance and be like him, and the same was true of Michael Jackson for a time. Nobody blamed them for forcing the public simply because of their influence, except maybe conservative parents worried about "rebellious" teenagers. All of these famous people were their own unique selves.
The same is true for the president who maintains his unique identity regardless title or influence. It is not very realistic to expect him to change or hide his feelings or views/ identity simply for the sake of objectivity. Being influential does not mean being a mannequin. Yes, even the president has a favorite brand of ice cream. Impartiality is not a requirement for the executive office. The people who follow him are still responsible for moving their own feet.
"To clarify my position on this topic, i must explain my views about the role of the president. I believe that first and foremost, it is Obama's job to look out for the safety of the general population and to solve the nations greatest problem, which is the failing economy."
Some would beg to differ.
"Firstly let me point out that the Obama presidency, more than most before it has become iconic to Americans in many ways. When Mishelle planted an organic garden, so did countless american families. The media has gone far with its support of Obama and has taken it to the point that millions of people practically worship the man. Whenever Obama says something interesting to the public, it is sure to make headline news and have more influence than could possibly be safe."
Now you're going to offend some people. PEOPLE WANT CHANGE! While I do agree, most people are just amazed by the fact that, he's an African-American, a Democrat, proposing health-care reform, promoting the stimulus package, after Bush, against Bush, and educated. The fact the NY Times reported which books he was currently reading during his stay at Martha's Vineyard was astounding. I couldn't wait to read the rest!
"The real issue with this is that Obama is using his influence as president and his popularity to inflict his views upon the masses, while the Swift incident did not pose a particularly controvercial view, it did pose a fundamental question that all of us should be asking. WHATS NEXT?
Will our God Obama dictate his opinions on peoples lifestyles, life choices, or even their beliefs through his influence over them? I believe he is on his way... and it is just the another step for him to begin his control over the world of entertainment, a step that with his comment, he has effectively taken."
You, I, and everyone else knows, or should know, he has no authority to dictate people's lives, but I see what you're trying to convince. If people want to idolize Obama, they can, if people want to wear what he tells them to wear they can, if people want to accept Obama's strategy on how to workout the best bathroom breaks during school/work, they can, you get the point. If people don't want to think for themselves, that's unfortunate, but ultimately their own problem. If people are too stupid to listen and apply his comments and advice so seriously on a daily basis, then again, I don't see why people claim to be Americans, instead of Obamanites.
Just wait, if the health-care bill doesn't pass (which it should), or if the stimulus package fails, then you can be sure he'll be just as disliked as Bush was. People are ultimately ignorant, fickle, and historically unaware. Just give it time and you'll see.
-Andrew Oxendine 3°
Andrew, be really careful when you say this:
"If people don't want to think for themselves, that's unfortunate, but ultimately their own problem."
It's not just their problem; it's our's. If the majority of people act as party puppets (which most of them undoubtedly would) unable to think on their own, and they vote or run the government, it would no longer be "their own problem."
Mishelle and Alvis Pressley, really guys? Come on. Obama obviously has a huge following (slacking recently) and it's because of this historic time and all this excitement it has been taken one step further into worship. It's like some bad soap opera, you just had to add in all the drama. He's black, he's elected after an unpopular president, he's black, he's elected into an economic recession, he's black, he's approachable, he's black, get the picture? Adding in one or two makes him well liked and respected, adding in everything along with the perfect family and sparkles the dog you get blind devotion something we should try and avoid. The fact is that many black people feel Obama is so historic and so important he can do no wrong, the same on a much worse scale will happen when a woman is elected president.
In terms of him overextending into spheres of the public domain he shouldn't really be in? He's been doing this since the primaries and simply continuing the trend. Obama will go down in history as someone very approachable and very kind and understanding, his policies will probably go down as enormous blunders. The entire idea of a well liked president is a double edged sword, he must be able to command the respect of the people without garnering so much attention people begin to worship him. Obama had this worship from day one and that is a problem, unfortunately he shows no sign of backing down which is a mistake.
thanks guys i love these comments,
ps. commissar Silton, this is not a comment up for grading, just thanking my peers
Post a Comment