Originally Posted By EighthDwarf I was watching CNN tonight (Erin Burnett) and she had a guest on (couldn't tell you who) but he made a very interesting point. The IRS is investigating NEW 501c4 organizations across the board, which I think everyone agrees they should do. However, most of them are, at least in the least 4 years, right-wing, tea-party type organizations. Makes a lot of sense to me. So perhaps they were not singling them as much for who they are as much as WHEN they were created. Still worth investigating thoroughly, but may not be as blatantly partisan as originally thought.
Originally Posted By gurgitoy2 "The expensive vacations he goes on, but anytime President Bush went anywhere he was criticized..." And Obama has been equally criticized for any vacations he's taken. Please, you can't say that he's gotten a pass when every little thing he does is picked apart.
Originally Posted By Kar2oonMan I think presidential "vacations" are greatly overrated by people on both sides of the aisle. It's easy to mock any president for "taking it easy while the rest of us have to work for a livin'." But I doubt very much any president is ever really off duty for very much of the time. I think these vacations still involve a lot of phone calls, meetings, and there is staff and security around all the time. Air Force 1 has everything the White House does except a rose garden. Like most Americans, presidents would probably function a lot better if they did indeed get some time off for golf or fishing or whatever. And in the modern world, where everyone is completely connected, it's kind of childish to be miffed that the Commander in Chief takes a day off, such as it is.
Originally Posted By ecdc Here's what really sucks about the AP scandal and the IRS scandal: This is exactly why we need a viable two-party system. The Obama administration (and seriously, has anyone here defended Obama more than me?) should not be investigating these issues. Congressional Republicans should be investigating them. But they are all such a crazy bunch of tin foil hat wearing idiots, who on earth trusts them to do it? These knuckle draggers are so busy calling Solyndra, Fast & Furious, and now Benghazi, "the next Watergate" (or worse!) that they've lost all credibility to be trusted when there's an actual conflict of interest. Perhaps we can form a committee of Jon Huntsman, Chris Christie, and Olympia Snowe to investigate this. Sure, two of them aren't even in elected office anymore, but we've got slim pickins.
Originally Posted By WilliamK99 <a href="http://www.politico.com/story/2013/05/obamas-dangerous-new-narrative-91390.html?hp=t2_3" target="_blank">http://www.politico.com/story/...?hp=t2_3</a> Excellent article about how the scandals could sway those who aren't already on the "We hate the President" bandwagon.. And for the first time, this anti-Obama storyline is being presented in a way that might seem reasonable to people who are not already rabid anti-Obama partisans.
Originally Posted By WilliamK99 The last quote underneath my comments was taken from Politco article, I forgot to encase it in quotes...
Originally Posted By Kar2oonMan I can't wait to see how Jeff Gannon of Talon News covers this scandal.
Originally Posted By Dabob2 "The Obama administration (and seriously, has anyone here defended Obama more than me?) should not be investigating these issues. Congressional Republicans should be investigating them." I prefer a truly independent investigator. A former state attorney general or someone like that. Besides being less likely to be partisan, it also means the Congress won't have to waste all its time on these investigations. They do little enough as it is; Give them a couple of investigations, and seriously absolutely nothing else would get done.
Originally Posted By ecdc >>I prefer a truly independent investigator. A former state attorney general or someone like that.<< Good call. Sign me up.
Originally Posted By ecdc I'll just amend my statement to make the larger point that even administrations we support can screw up, and it'd be nice if we could trust the other party enough to balance that out. Right now, we don't. If tomorrow Obama announced V for Vendetta-esque plans to listen in on all Americans, I'd like to know the other side is sane enough to keep that in check.
Originally Posted By WilliamK99 If tomorrow Obama announced V for Vendetta-esque plans to listen in on all Americans, I'd like to know the other side is sane enough to keep that in check.<< According to the other side, he is already doing this...
