[BartSimpson]

Obama did a speech today to a Mexican-American group called "La Raza" (which means 'The Race' in Spanish, but, of course, it's not racist) in which he said it's tempting to bypass Congress and, essentially, assume a dictatorial power.

It's causing a bit of a stink down here right now.

http://blogs.suntimes.com/sweet/2011/07 ... gs_dr.html

Quote:

Now, I swore an oath to uphold the laws on the books, but that doesn't mean I don't know very well the real pain and heartbreak that deportations cause. I share your concerns and I understand them. And I promise you, we are responding to your concerns and working every day to make sure we are enforcing flawed laws in the most humane and best possible way.

Now, I know some people want me to bypass Congress and change the laws on my own. (Applause.) And believe me, right now dealing with Congress --

AUDIENCE: Yes, you can! Yes, you can! Yes, you can! Yes, you can! Yes, you can!

THE PRESIDENT: Believe me -- believe me, the idea of doing things on my own is very tempting. (Laughter.) I promise you. Not just on immigration reform. (Laughter.) But that's not how -- that's not how our system works.

AUDIENCE MEMBER: Change it!

THE PRESIDENT: That's not how our democracy functions. That's not how our Constitution is written.

Presidents don't joke about making themselves into dictators and they certainly don't joke about 'bypassing Congress' in the middle of a budget crisis in which this same President is trying to gain the cooperation of Congress.

I'm thinking Obama stepped in it badly here.

[Unsound]

I think he just said aloud the same thing that probably every president from George Washington on has thought at one time or another.

[sandorski]

lol, Bush made the same joke.

Much ado about nothing.

[fifeboy]

One thing being a teacher for thirty years taught me: NEVER say what you are thinking.

[GreenTiger]

fifeboy wrote:

One thing being a teacher for thirty years taught me: NEVER say what you are thinking.

Not only being a teacher, the old saying of "put your brain in gear before you put your mouth in motion" is sound advise.

[BeaverFever]

1) In common usage, la raza easily means "the people". Its an expression used all the time in perfectly harmless ways.

2) Presidents of all stripes make similar jokes about congress all the time. More scary would be when Bush/Cheney literally hit the airways to tell people that the founding fathers intended the Executive Branch to rule unilaterally and that Congress was just there for debate, caution, and to hold to account like the parliamentary opposition in a majority government.

That said, congressmen (republican and democrat) are a joke. I think only Canadian city councils could consistently produce a similar collection of corrupt imbeciles

[Psudo]

Bush did say something like that, and even to this day it's hard to find the complete quote. Everyone limits it to the couple sentences played on CNN's coverage. What he said three sentences earlier, or the next sentence after, is ignored.

Obama's quote is very similar, except that Bart gave better context than CNN. In neither case is the President advocating for dictatorship. If anything, it's a chance see which side's reaction relies more on bias confirmation.

Incidentally, I support immigration reform, too.

[xerxes]

It's just a dumb joke, get over it.

[PublicAnimalNo9]

Ohhhh you just KNOW someone's sooo not gonna get over it. Can't wait to see how much traction they try and get on this.
I mean 'cmon, he's already an "immigrant", a Muslim, a fascist, a communist and for all I know, someone might have complained he has bad breath.

There's a growing segment of the American right-wing that reminds me of a pitbull with rabies. I gotta feeling they're gonna chew on this for all it's worth.

[xerxes]

Only on FOX news. A propaganda organisation so odious George Orwell himself would be appalled.

[Psudo]

Um... George Orwell's life's work was being appalled at propaganda. It doesn't have to be particularly odious to appall him. It barely has to be propaganda.

[andyt]

Yep, Xerxes. You should have said "Goebbels himself would be appalled."

[PublicAnimalNo9]

andyt wrote:

Yep, Xerxes. You should have said "Goebbels himself would be appalled."

SHouldn't that say, "Goebbels himslef would have applauded"?

[andyt]

PublicAnimalNo9 wrote:

andyt wrote:

Yep, Xerxes. You should have said "Goebbels himself would be appalled."

SHouldn't that say, "Goebbels himslef would have applauded"?

NO, that would just say it rises to the level of Geobbels. If you say even he would be appalled, it meas Fox News is so odious, it's beyond even what Goebbels would stoop to. If you're going to exaggerate, might as well go all the way.

[bootlegga]

The fact is the checks and balances built into the system make it next to impossible for Obama to turn the USA into a dictatorship - even if he really wanted to - and I don't believe that he does.