a refreshing look at Obama

[Ben]

Their premise is a great example of triangulating.

An interesting book by Christopher Hitchens...

[Ben]

"Astoundingly Disturbing": Obama Administration Claims Power to Wage Endless War Across the Globe:

[fivekatz]

Well the power was created post 9-11 and there isn't a President who will give it back without a fight. Whether you are Cheney or Obama you believe that you are a just custodian of such power and you won't release it.

What we may see is the Obama Administration basically roll back the unlimited blank check to engage in war actions under the umbrella of the war on terror at the end of their administration.

Rumors were out there that they had a whole series of papers ready to release if they lost this election.

[hippifried]

Nothing new. The Korean war's still going with a tentative ceasefire. Where was the declaration? The entire cold war was done piecemeal like this one. Can't even use that as an excuse for all the military interventionism throughout our history. The argument goes back to Jefferson & the fight with the Barbary pirates. Maybe before that. This is a problem, but it won't be fixed by Congress whining a little bit then rubber-stamping authorizations in perpetuity.

[Ben]

Well the power was created post 9-11 and there isn't a President who will give it back without a fight. Whether you are Cheney or Obama you believe that you are a just custodian of such power and you won't release it.

What we may see is the Obama Administration basically roll back the unlimited blank check to engage in war actions under the umbrella of the war on terror at the end of their administration.

Rumors were out there that they had a whole series of papers ready to release if they lost this election.

Governments, like corporations, have one responsibility: to maximize their own power. (It's slightly different with corporations... as they must, under legal obligation, maximize power/profits/market share. But, by all accounts, corporations are private governments. Again, they deviate on certain things. I mean, governments aren't, of course, legally obligated to make as much money as they can.)
Glenn Greenwald, and one can agree or disagree, said that political actors crave war because it maximizes their power. It's not to say President Obama is a bad person. Again, much like corporate structures, we're talking about institutions. Not people. I mean, I'm sure Rex Tillerson, CEO of ExxonMobil, is deeply concerned about global warming. In his private life. But in his institutional role, as the CEO of the biggest energy/oil company, he MUST set his personal feelings aside. If he cannot do that, well, he is out.
So, it's happening to Obama... and it's bound to happen... without serious constraints on power. And since President Cheney (yes!, he was the de facto President) power in the executive branch has become more extreme and: "... absolute power corrupts absolutely."
Lord Acton: ""Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Great men are almost always bad men."

[fivekatz]

Governments, like corporations, have one responsibility: to maximize their own power. (It's slightly different with corporations... as they must, under legal obligation, maximize power/profits/market share. But, by all accounts, corporations are private governments. Again, they deviate on certain things. I mean, governments aren't, of course, legally obligated to make as much money as they can.)
Glenn Greenwald, and one can agree or disagree, said that political actors crave war because it maximizes their power. It's not to say President Obama is a bad person. Again, much like corporate structures, we're talking about institutions. Not people. I mean, I'm sure Rex Tillerson, CEO of ExxonMobil, is deeply concerned about global warming. In his private life. But in his institutional role, as the CEO of the biggest energy/oil company, he MUST set his personal feelings aside. If he cannot do that, well, he is out.
So, it's happening to Obama... and it's bound to happen... without serious constraints on power. And since President Cheney (yes!, he was the de facto President) power in the executive branch has become more extreme and: "... absolute power corrupts absolutely."
Lord Acton: ""Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Great men are almost always bad men."

Not all Presidents crave war. Lyndon Johnson found war and foreign policy to be distracting from his goal which was to create The Great Society and in the process maximize his legacy with the New Deal being his benchmark.

But every President wishes all their actions were unfettered by Congress or the Supreme Court. Human nature as you point out. The Congress has not learned from history by allowing not 1 but now 3 Presidents to start wars without the need for Congress to declare them.

The last authorization was so well written by David Addington (Cheney's attorney) and so poor edited by Congress that it grants almost blanket war powers to the President. The incumbent always thinks he/she will do no harm with unfettered power, so for folks to expect Obama to give back any of the power granted Cheney and 43, IMHO it is unrealistic and expects more of Obama than should expected.

[hippifried]

Governments, like corporations, have one responsibility: to maximize their own power. (It's slightly different with corporations... as they must, under legal obligation, maximize power/profits/market share. But, by all accounts, corporations are private governments. Again, they deviate on certain things. I mean, governments aren't, of course, legally obligated to make as much money as they can.)
Glenn Greenwald, and one can agree or disagree, said that political actors crave war because it maximizes their power. It's not to say President Obama is a bad person. Again, much like corporate structures, we're talking about institutions. Not people. I mean, I'm sure Rex Tillerson, CEO of ExxonMobil, is deeply concerned about global warming. In his private life. But in his institutional role, as the CEO of the biggest energy/oil company, he MUST set his personal feelings aside. If he cannot do that, well, he is out.
So, it's happening to Obama... and it's bound to happen... without serious constraints on power. And since President Cheney (yes!, he was the de facto President) power in the executive branch has become more extreme and: "... absolute power corrupts absolutely."
Lord Acton: ""Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Great men are almost always bad men."

I won't speak for the rest of the world, but the US government isn't a corporation. It isn't structured like a corporation, although modern corporate structure is loosely based on our model. It isn't single-mindedly focused on one agenda. It can't be. There's no "absolute power" here

Greenwald is just a doom monger. He sounds like one of those paranoid John Birchers of the '50s & '60s, or an Alex Joneser. Everything's a plot, & there's no solution to the doom scenario. I keep picturing some bozo in sack cloth, carrying a sign that says: "The end is nigh!". Why doesn't he just drink the "kook-aid" instead of trying to pass it out to everybody else?

[trish]

Governments, like corporations, have one responsibility: to...

Corporations have a responsibility to make profits for their shareholders. The are organization that consist OF workers, are run BY ceo's and exist FOR shareholders.

Our government's responsibilities are described in the Constitution and in summary they are to secure and protect our rights and liberties are stated therein. The responsibility of the government, like the government itself is of, by and for the people.

Because the security of our governance rests on the structure of checks and balances, no branch of government is going abdicate power to another bran...no wait...it was Congress, to avoid a political awkwardness, that in essence abdicated its prerogative to declare war and since then those powers have been eroding to the advantage of the executive.

[buttslinger]

There are people on this forum who know much more about Government than others, who knows....? There may be a Mega-Minded Mutant somewhere who knows ALL the answers. DOESN"T MATTER. If he tried to influence things, he'd be attacked from all sides. Hitler laughed about FDR's power in a Democracy, like trying to fight with one hand tied behind your back. A few years later he sighed "the war is over" when he got a report that the New London shipyards were turning out a ship a day. America's strength is MONEY, not freedom, not God's Will. And as we all know, when money is involved, the game gets much more interesting.........Dis-information suddenly becomes as important as information.

[hippifried]

The Preamble to the US Constitution is its statement of purpose. It's simple & straight forward. The whole document itself lays out the structure for achieving that purpose. The only reason for people to gather in societies is to pool their resources. Everything else is details & bullshit.