Anyone notice the lack of scandals under Obama?

[xj0hnx]

No, he didn't. First, it wasn't a 'scandal' in the sense of any bad motives - the worst accusation is it being a well-intended policy that was misguided.

There is nothing "well intended" about it. Allowing the sale of guns to foreign drug cartels, and then using the violence they caused to whip up anti-gun rhetoric. You are so naively blind, or such a partisan hack that you'd never admit such.

As I posted when it happened, I'm actually pretty sympathetic to the effort, if not to how well it was implemented - it's not easy to infiltrate these cartels.

No one was "trying to infiltrate the cartels". They were allowing American guns to walk across the border, and into the hands of drug cartels.

It's an easy politicial criticism to say 'this program helped the bad guys!', but when you look at the potential benefits versus how much it changed anything badly, that changes.

There was no "potential benefit", there was only the time it took until it blew up in their faces, and it blew up with the lives of American Border Patrol agents, but to you, that's probably a victory.

 

[randomrogue]

Some of you must be really young to be grasping at some of these obama scandal straws. I'll agree with Craig on this one.

 

[UberNeuman]

and then there's that matter at Roswell.....

 

[Sonikku]

Didn't he make a big deal about the government giving a clean energy business a fortune that went bankrupt with all the money gone last year? I forget it's name, but that seemed fairly big.

 

[Hayabusa Rider]

It's nice that allowing a law to pass that may violate Constitutional protections is no longer scandalous. We've progressed so far.

 

[Anarchist420]

No, he didn't. First, it wasn't a 'scandal' in the sense of any bad motives - the worst accusation is it being a well-intended policy that was misguided.

It's not clear what if anything Obama knew about it; the head of the agency has resigned IIRC; it's hyped in that it's hardly as if the cartels wouldn't have guns without these.

As I posted when it happened, I'm actually pretty sympathetic to the effort, if not to how well it was implemented - it's not easy to infiltrate these cartels.

It's an easy politicial criticism to say 'this program helped the bad guys!', but when you look at the potential benefits versus how much it changed anything badly, that changes.

This being the apparently worst scandal that can be alleged shows what a short list of scandals there is.

The real scandal about the drug cartels is the massive strength they have and the violence they do - we need to be aggressive in how we deal with that. Whether that aggression is in the form of legalization, or anti-consumer efforts, or directly against the cartels, something is needed.

Obama supports the drug cartels since he has made every effort to keep the Federal government involved.

Don't forget the biggest scam of all time on the entire world, Bush's false war in Iraq for imaginary Weapons of Mass Destruction.

How about Obama trying to start a war against Iran? Obama could've just sent troops to train in Israel as bait for all we know (invading the whole middle east now). Obama is more hawkish than GWB.

Obama's starting a war against Iran to save his sorry ass in this coming election but it only taints his evil soul more.

 

[bfdd]

All I see are scandals being brushed under the rug, you know like you bitched about when someone you didn't like was President.

 

[davmat787]

Let us not forget the border patrol agent that was killed by a firearm involved in Fast & Furious. I doubt his surviving loved ones give a shit if F&F falls under Craig's definition of a scandal or not.

Also, IIRC, the gun dealers who sold the firearms were told by ATF not to report the sales as required by law. Anyone know for sure?

One year after Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry was killed in southern Arizona, his family said it believes that if a flawed gun-tracking operation run by federal ATF agents violated any laws, then “those responsible for Fast and Furious should be held criminally liable.”

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/nationnow/2011/12/fast-and-furious-atf-agents-death.html

 

[UberNeuman]

Obama's starting a war against Iran to save his sorry ass in this coming election but it only taints his evil soul more.

Well, we may need a draft if this comes to be.... Are you ready to fight, Solider?

 

[randomrogue]

Have any scandals during the Obama administration resulted in a firing or resignation? Has anyone been prosecuted?

There's a huge difference between previous scandals and the stuff you guys are mentioning, some of which I haven't even heard of.

 

[Hayabusa Rider]

Well, we may need a draft if this comes to be.... Are you ready to fight, Solider?

I think he's fit to fight in wars which will never come about, so yep he's ready.

 

[Craig234]

Didn't he make a big deal about the government giving a clean energy business a fortune that went bankrupt with all the money gone last year? I forget it's name, but that seemed fairly big.

Yes, Solyndra, addressed in the link.

 

[woolfe9999]

Fast and Furious is a legit scandal, I agree. You can't say it isn't scandal because likely Obama had no knowledge of it. Likely Bush had no knowledge of the Plame affair as well, but Cheney did, and it was a big scandal. How big a scandal F&F is depends on the actual degree of Holder's involvement and whether he's been truthful in relating his recollections. I'm open to the possibility that he's lied about it. Even if he's been truthful, however, this was a bad idea, incompetently implemented, with disastrous results.

Solyndra was an investment by the government that went south. It has been made political hey of to "prove" that the stimulus was a bad idea and that anything and everything associated with environmentalism is bad. Not coincidentally the fossil fuel industries have shit eating grins on their faces about it. However, over 10 billion was invested in various green energy companies. That one bellied up given the state of the market (competition with Chinese companies heavily subsidized by their government) shouldn't be a surprise to anyone. I've read all the e-mails and everything else that came out of the investigation. This isn't a legit scandal. Nothing has been proven with respect to cronyism. Some government investments will go south. The difference between this and F&F is, with F&F they should have known it was a bad idea before it even started. But investments always have uncertain outcomes. Nothing there IMO.

- wolf

 

[Anarchist420]

Well, we may need a draft if this comes to be.... Are you ready to fight, Solider?

No. It's totally unethical to murder people. They can put me in jail.

 

[Lemon law]

Yes yes, the Prez of the United States knows everything. He knows when you are sleeping, he knows when you are awake, he controls all stupidity by others in the nation and in the world, so you better be good or get Obama coal in your Xmas socking.

But on the other hand, the GOP is the friend of the American people, as they, out of the kindness of their hearts, extended payroll tax cuts and extended unemployment benefits to most Americans for a whole two months in this holiday season of giving.

 

[SKORPI0]

Probably most of those "scandals" are not even reported since they could pose as a national embarrassment. Obama might have a team prepared to cover this up before it even reaches the public/press. :sneaky:

 

[davmat787]

Yes yes, the Prez of the United States knows everything. He knows when you are sleeping, he knows when you are awake, he controls all stupidity by others in the nation and in the world, so you better be good or get Obama coal in your Xmas socking.

But on the other hand, the GOP is the friend of the American people, as they, out of the kindness of their hearts, extended payroll tax cuts and extended unemployment benefits to most Americans for a whole two months in this holiday season of giving.

Your attempt at deflection is very telling Mr. Lemon Law.

 

[Vic Vega]

1. Reneged on pledge to filibuster FISA Amendments Act (July 2008)
2. Lobbied for $700 billion Paulson TARP bank bailout
3. Pushed for no sanctions against Lieberman despite his support for John McCain
4. Nominated healthcare company lobbyist Tom Daschle as Secretary of HHS
5. Had neoliberal Robert Rubin as his chief economics adviser
6. Then had the equally neoliberal Larry Summers assume this role
7. Chose the failing upwards Timothy Geithner to head Treasury
8. AIG bonuses and money to Goldman under Obama
9. Doubling down in Afghanistan
10. Delay and reduction of withdrawal from Iraq
11. Moving Guantanamo activities to Bagram
12. Military commissions for some detainees
13. Support for indefinite detention
14. Refusal to release torture photos under FOIA
15. Refusal to investigate and prosecute Bush era criminality
16. Geithner’s DOA economic rescue programs: the PPIP and TALF
17. Minimal help for homeowners and no cramdowns
18. Treatment of Chrysler and GM with bankrupcy compared to bank no fail “stress tests”
19. Kabuki of TARP repayment by banks while still dependent on government credit lines
20. Extra-Constitutional use of the Fed by the Executive for fiscal policy
21. Credit Card bill without usury caps and with 9 month delay for other reforms
22. Business friendly Mary Schapiro named to head SEC
23. Gary Gensler who helped deregulate derivatives named to head CFTC
24. $787 billion stimulus: too little, too late, poorly structured
25. Use of financial crisis to attack Social Security and Medicare
26. The great healthcare non-debate
27. Continued use of state secrets argument in ongoing Bush era cases
28. Use of signing statements, including one to punish whistleblowers
29. Vetting process problems, especially tax related ones
30. Leaving Dawn Johnsen's nomination to head OLC twisting in the wind
31. Eric Holder, failure to reform DOJ, not removing worst of Bush USAs
32. Failure to move against new oil bubble
33. Retention of Bush Defense team: Gates, Patraeus, and Odierno
34. Continued missile strikes inside Pakistan
35. Keeping Bush’s domestic spying programs and adding a new one, cybersecurity
36. Choice of Elena Kagan who favors expansive Presidential powers as Sollicitor General, her subsequent nomination to the Supreme Court
37. Leaving EFCA (to help counter anti-union companies) to wither in Congress
38. Welcoming Arlen Specter who brings nothing to the Democrats into the party
39. Weak ineffective proposals for financial reform
40. Obama wanted John Brennan at CIA but settled for making him his counter- terrorism adviser
41. Chas Freeman with broader Mideast perspective done in by AIPAC
42. Dennis Blair made DNI; failed to act to stop atrocities in East Timor
43. Choice of McChrystal involved in torture in Iraq to head Afghanistan command
44. Obama threat to suspend intelligence cooperation with UK over Binyam Mohamed case
45. Efforts to keep Bush and Obama White House logs secret
46. Playing games with “Don’t ask, don’t tell”
47. Filing a brief to overturn Jackson (access to lawyer) in the Montejo case
48. Not withdrawing Bush brief in Osborne DNA case
49. Egregious brief in challenge to Defense of Marriage Act
50. The Supplemental which made Iraq and Afghanistan Democratic wars
51. Choice of Rahm Emanuel as the President’s Chief of Staff
52. Choice of Dennis Ross as Iran envoy and then his move to the White House
53. Politically embarrassing processes to fill Obama and Clinton’s Senate seats
54. Choice of Bill Richardson, then Judd Gregg to head Commerce Department
55. Reneging on pledge to re-negotiate NAFTA
56. Obama's throwing his pastor Jeremiah Wright to the curb, then reaching out to religious conservative Rick Warren
57. Continued challenges to habeas corpus petitions over indefinite detention, the Janko case
58. The Obama White House website
59. Continuing an ineffective program that Iran can exploit politically
60. Going slow on climate change when there is no time to
61. Not withdrawing a Bush-era amicus brief in the Ricci v. DeStefano reverse discrimination case and supporting a rollback of Title VII
62. Appointment of a CIA General Counsel who doesn’t know if waterboarding is torture
63. Appointment of a DNI General Counsel who doesn’t know if waterboarding is torture
64. CIA delay in a FOIA request concerning torture
65. The influence of Goldman Sachs in the Obama Administration
66. Attempt to keep secret the Cheney interview on the Plame affair
67. Mountaintop removal under Obama
68. Attempt to restrict Congressional notification on intelligence matters
69. Opposition to a second stimulus
70. Another egregious attempt to fight a habeas corpus petition in the Jawad case
71. Continuing charter schools and standardized tests
72. Holder's decision to support a weak, narrow review of torture
73. Re-appointment of Ben Bernanke as Fed Chairman
74. Continuing renditions
75. Politically dubious company was used to vet reporters in Afghanistan
76. Judge vetoes a too weak SEC plea bargain with Bank of America
77. Justice’s argument for making Bagram a new Guantanamo, the al Maqaleh case
78. Defense to turn over databases to poorly controlled fusion centers
79. Obama changes but keeps Bush's Star Wars program
80. Failure to win an Israeli freeze on settlements
81. White House refuses to back its own staffer environmentalist Van Jones
82. Politicized US Attorney in the Siegelman case cleared by Office of Special Counsel
83. Criticism of Iranian nuclear program; support of Israeli nuclear weapons
84. Support for a weakened reporter's shield law
85. Use of the Zazi case to retain broad Patriot Act surveillance provisions
86. Wilner v. NSA, continuing the coverup of warrantless surveillance of communications between attorneys and detainees
87. Attempt to spike the Goldstone report on Israeli-Hamas war crimes in Gaza
88. Slowness in filling federal judgeships
89. Inadequate aid to overwhelmed state budgets
90. Attempting to dodge the Supreme Court deciding whether innocent Guantanamo detainees can be resettled in the US
91. Allowing drilling in the waters off the north coast of Alaska
92. Keeping detainee accounts of CIA torture secret
93. Current FBI manual allows for widespread domestic spying
94. Securitization invalidates most foreclosures
95. Geithner wanting unlimited powers to save large banks
96. Another state secrets defense to conceal domestic spying
97. Circuit Court dismissal of Maher Arar suit
98. Weakening Sarbanes-Oxley and calling it financial reform
99. Unemployment
100. Inspector General for Fannie and Freddie ousted for investigating fraud
101. Gaming courts to convict Guantanamo detainees
102. White House counsel removed for his principled stands on torture and Guantanamo
103. US seizes mosques claiming Iranian connection
104. Howard Dean removed as head of the DNC
105. Scientist with close ties to Monsanto put in charge of all governmental agricultural research
106. Pesticide lobbyist nominated as Chief Agricultural Negotiator for trade
107. Effort to let some government contractors avoid paying taxes
108. A bad US Attorney nomination for Northern Iowa
109. Hunger in America
110. The breast cancer recommendations fiasco
111. Ongoing confusion and disorganization in the military commissions process
112. Phillip Carter another official in closing Guantanamo resigns
113. Refusal to sign anti-land mine treaty
114. The Ghizzawi case and the legal limbo of "cleared for release"
115. Black prisons at Balad and Bagram
116. Delay in declassifying historic documents
117. Max Baucus' conflicts of interest in healthcare and with his girlfriend
118. Major security breach at a White House party and a ridiculous assertion of "executive privilege"
119. Dana "Pig Missile" Perino nominated to the Broadcasting Board of Governors
120. Cass Sunstein, an anti-regulator in a regulatory position
121. Warrantless for profit electronic surveillance by telecoms and search engines
122. The government sides with torture lawyer John Yoo and attacks Bevins actions again
123. The TSA publishes its security manual online
124. Toxic legal arguments in al Zahrani v. Rumsfeld, yet another Bevins action
125. The Nobel Peace Prize and a neocon acceptance speech
126. Blackwater's involvement in military and CIA assassination and drone programs
127. Congressional Research Service censorship in the firing of Morris Davis
128. AIG writes off $25 billion in debt and sticks taxpayers with the bill
129. The Administration plays hardball to kill an amendment that would lower drug costs
130. A poorly considered blank check to Fannie and Freddie
131. Continuing a Bush botch in the Nisoor Square massacre case
132. Jonathan Gruber, a major defender of Obamacare was also a paid consultant for it
133. A Geithner related cover up of the AIG at par payments on swaps
134. Adoption of stealth signing statements
135. al Bihani, more bad legal reasoning in another Guantanamo habeas case
136. Cutting Medicare and Social Security by deficit commission proposed
137. A 3 year non-freeze budget freeze proposed
138. NASA flights privatized
139. OPR report on Yoo and Bybee watered down and its relation to the Padilla case
140. Government targeting of US citizens for assassination
141. Abuse of informants by ICE agents
142. Obama leaves Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board empty
143. Obama backs firing of teachers in Rhode Island
144. Irish human rights advocate Edward Horgan has US visa pulled
145. Threatened veto of 2010 Intelligence Authorization Act over Congressional notifications
146. Obama Administration intimidation of whistleblowing site: wikileaks
147. Fish and Wildlife Service continues to ignore science on endangered species
148. Senate vacation more important than jobless benefits
149. Government seeks to compel turnover of emails without a warrant
150. Obama goes after an NSA whistleblower: the Thomas Drake case
151. Obama goes after a CIA whistleblower: the James Risen case
152. Weakening Miranda rights in national security cases
153. Advocating the privatizing of public housing
154. Another step in making Bagram the new Guantanamo, the al Maqaleh case, the appeals court edition
155. Massey mining disaster, 29 die because of corporate greed and poor regulation
156. Obama proposal for a line item veto
157. A military commander allowed to use military forces for intelligence operations without Presidential approval
158. Political pandering in sending 1200 National Guardsmen to the Southwest border
159. A sad record on resisting Guantanamo habeas petitions
160. Israel attacks an aid convoy for Gaza; Obama punts
161. A further erosion of Miranda: Berghius v. Thompkins
162. Naming James Clapper, a Bush appointee, to be the next DNI
163. DOJ seeks to protect Vatican in sex abuse scandal
164. Yahya Wehelie, an American exiled without charge
165. Failure to replace National Labor Relations Board members means hundreds of decisions must be reviewed
166. SCOTUS opts for overly broad definition of material support to terrorist groups
167. Speaker Pelosi backstabs Social Security
168. Complaints by government scientists of political interference at Bush era levels
169. Flip flop on free trade agreement with Colombia
170. SEC declares major victory but lets Goldman off easy
171. Private contracting of intelligence continues under Obama
172. Two Guantanamo prisoners to be deported back to Algeria against their will
173. The Shirley Sherrod affair: trumped up charges of racism and a bungled response
174. Whitewash report on Bush era US Attorney firings
175. Despite its record, Blackwater still gets big US government contracts
176. Wikileaks releases government files showing Pakistan involvement with Taliban and admission that things are going poorly in Afghanistan
177. Obama seeks to get access to everyone's web histories without a court order
178. Teacher funding sacrificed to keep Education Secretary Arne Duncan happy
179. State's top Iran hand resigns over Obama's Iran policy
180. Citizens United: validation of unlimited corporate political funding
181. Push to expand US arms sales around the world
182. Project Vigilant, Infragard and "volunteer" corporate spying for the government
183. Obama's approval hits Bush levels in Arab world
184. Effort to pre-empt state environmental lawsuits involving green house gases
185. Justice's Anti-trust division asleep at the wheel
186. Kagan's recusals render her even more ineffective on the Supreme Court
187. Poverty level highest since 1994
188. Courts run interference for corporate violators of international law
189. Warren named to set up but not to run Consumer Financial Protection Board
190. Chief economic adviser Larry Summers leaves; Obama looks for someone even more pro-business to replace him
191. DOJ IG report goes soft on Bush era surveillance against peace groups and other activists; meanwhile the Obama Administration conducts raids against similar groups
192. Move to put backdoors in the internet to facilitate spying and more requirements on banks on international money transfers of any size
193. HHS Secretary Sebelius delays for at least two years required insurance coverage for contraception
194. Americans on Medicaid increased to 48.5 million in 2009
195. Big home lenders suspend foreclosures as their documentation gets challenged in court
196. HR 3808, a bill passed by Congress, to facilitate the acceptance of false documentation by banks in foreclosure proceedings
197. ICE raids and deportations increase under Obama
198. Social Security COLA frozen for second straight year; no action taken
199. Waivers for military aid to countries with child soldiers
200. Big and deserved losses in the 2010 elections

 

[Vic Vega]

The full list with descriptions:

http://obamascandalslist.blogspot.com/2009/11/obama-scandals-list-101.html

 

[Sephire]

Because the mainstream media don't care about them. If he is a Republican the Solyndra scandal will still be front page.

 

[xBiffx]

I noticed it and it's refreshing.

Koolaid usually is.

 

[Craig234]

Because the mainstream media don't care about them. If he is a Republican the Solyndra scandal will still be front page.

LOL.

Ya, that liberal media!

 

[senseamp]

Koolaid usually is.

I'll take your word for it.

 

[Screech]

to be honest, solyndra actually made a very well-designed product (from an engineering point of view) but sadly they didnt provide the parabolic reflectors really necessary to make their installation worthwhile. However, I imagine that many years down the line people will look back and say 'yeah, that was actually pretty smart'.

 

[davmat787]

I was just cruising some news and just saw this developing story. Premature to call this a scandal, but apparently the issue is being investigated.

Bigelow, of "The Hurt Locker" fame, is scheduled to release an infomercial, err documentary movie, about the Bin Laden raid in October 2012, about a month before the elections, lol.

Osama bin Laden film leak claims investigated

Peter King, chairman of the House Committee on Homeland Security, said he requested an investigation after reports that President Barack Obama's administration gave high-level access to Bigelow and Sony Pictures about the raid that killed the al-Qaeda leader in Pakistan last year.
"I am pleased that the Inspectors General at DOD (the US Defence Department) and the CIA (Central Intelligence Agency) agree with me that potential leaks to filmmakers are something worth investigating and taking action to address," King said in a statement.
"The leaks that followed the successful bin Laden mission led to the arrests of Pakistanis and put in danger the mission's heroes and their families," he added.