Obama Says the “The Problem Is…I’m Not Emperor of the United States”

15 Responses to Obama Says the “The Problem Is…I’m Not Emperor of the United States”

1. Pingback: Obama H8rs complain, “Obama’s not emperor!” « Millard Fillmore's Bathtub

2. Ed Darrell | February 18, 2013 at 3:37 am |

   What you report is a gross distortion of what Obama said — and you ignore all of his actual remarks about immigration policy.

   Was Obama wrong in what he said? Then you AGREE that he should be emperor, and you AGREE that he should override Congress in immigration policy?

   Maybe you should check your sources before blindly following in the future; truth here:

   http://timpanogos.wordpress.com/2013/02/18/obama-h8rs-complain-obamas-not-emperor/

   • Eric at the Gunmart Blog | February 18, 2013 at 10:17 am |

     I watched the video. It is indeed what he said. Sorry, but its my humble opinion that he was complaining about it not using it as an excuse.

     • Ed Darrell | February 18, 2013 at 12:17 pm |

       Eric, Obama did NOT say that he wants to be emperor. Your reporting it that way is a distortion, a falsehood.

       Worse, it’s bad faith reporting. You say almost nothing at all about what Obama said about immigration.

       Cheap shots all you got? No case against Obama, so bad that you gotta make stuff up?

       • Eric at the Gunmart Blog | February 18, 2013 at 12:42 pm |

         Sorry, but you are incorrect. The transcript of what he said is right there and so is the video. Yes, I also weighed in with my biased opinion because its a blog and this is by definition a place where I share my opinions. I also do nothing to hide that fact. I’m not trying in anyway to maintain an air of unbiased journalism. Its biased, opinion based commentary. Plain and simple.

         And I am sorry, but your article on the matter at your blog and comments here are also solely based on your own biased opinion on the matter – which is fine. More power to ya… however, on this particular issue of what Dear Leader said (See that, more biased opinion) you cant have it both ways. Either he said what he said because he does truly wish he was emperor or he is justifying his inaction on the issue (immigration) for all these years by throwing out a pretty half-assed excuse. Every American must make a judgement call (more biased opinions) on that one… either he really couldnt get it done because he just doesnt have absolute dictatorial authority or he simply doesnt care about illegal immigrants.

3. Ed Darrell | February 18, 2013 at 2:21 pm |

   Here’s a relatively hard-news organization’s report on the Google+ Fireside; note nary a note about the immigration discussion, and no misreporting that Obama wants to be emperor:

   Here are a few points Obama touched on:

   - On raising the minimum wage, Obama said, “Nobody is going to be getting rich on $9 an hour. They’re still going to be struggling. But it could make the difference between whether they are going to buy groceries or whether they’re going to a food bank.”
   - On why the country hasn’t gotten rid of the penny yet, he said “I gotta tell you, John, I don’t know.” He expressed support for no longer producing pennies, and continued, “the penny ends up being a big metaphor for some of the larger problems that we’ve got.”
   - In a longer response to a question about transparency, he said, “Congress is getting rid of things to ask” about Benghazi.
   - Asked about drone strikes, he said, “There has never been a drone used on an American on American soil.” Obama said he wanted to work with Congress on oversight of these strikes, and said, “It is not sufficient for citizens to just take my word for it that we’re doing the right thing.”
   - In a discussion about the role of women in science, he said Malia’s and Sasha’s math and science grades have been good, but neither of his daughters have settled on a career path yet.
   - Responding to news that a vote on Chuck Hagel’s secretary of defense confirmation was blocked in the Senate, he said it’s “unfortunate that these kind of politics” persist and there’s a holdup while America continues to fight in Afghanistan. “There’s nothing in the Constitution that says somebody should get 60 votes,” he said.

   Specifically on immigration, Obama said:

   Immigration Question by Jackie Guerrero

   Q: Hi, Mr. President. Your administration has deported a record high number 1.5 million — of undocumented immigrants, more than your predecessors. And I know your adminisration took some steps last year to protect unintended undocumented immigrants from being deported. However many people say those efforts were not enough. What I’d like to know is what you’re going to do now, and until the time that immigration reform is passed, to insure that more people aren’t being deported and families are not being broken apart.

   A: Well, look Jackie, this is something I’ve struggled with throughout my presidency. The problem is that I’m the president of the United States, I’m not the emperor of the United States. My job is to execute laws that are passed, and Congress right now has not changed what I consider to be a broken immigration system. And what that means is that we have certain obligations to enforce the laws that are placed, even if we think that in many cases the results may be tragic. And what we have been able to do is to make sure that we’re focusing our enforcement resources on criminals — as opposed to somebody who’s here, just trying to work and look after their families.

   What we have tried to do is administratively reduce the burdens and hardships on families being separated. And what we’ve done, obviously, is pass the deferred action which made sure that the dream, uh, dreamers, young people who were brought here and think of themselves as Americans, or American except for their papers, that they’re not deported.

   Having said all that, we’ve got to stretch our administrative flexibility as much as we can. And that’s why making sure we get comprehensive immigration reform done is so important. And frankly, my goal is to make sure we get that done in the next four or five months. And the reason is precisely because every day that we wait, every week that we wait, every month that we wait, there are going to be some stories that break our hearts. And more importantly, we’re going to continue to have an economy that is stifled by a really inefficient system where, not only are we deporting folks, but we have a legal immigration system that is so bottle-necked that it forces sometimes people into the illegal system, it prevents us from recruiting and keeping top flight engineers and tech people who are ready to work here or invest here but because the legal immigration system is so broken we’re not able to track them. And so often times we train them here, and then we send them back to their countries of origin to start businesses there. The good news is I think the opportunity for immigration reform has never been higher. We’re seeing some good bipartisan discussions and possible legislation and my hope is that we can actually get this done in the next few months.

   At no point did Obama make the hubristic claim that he wants to be emperor. We obfuscate a serious discussion on immigration policy when we use misreported accounts, and that serves no noble public service.

   • Eric at the Gunmart Blog | February 18, 2013 at 2:45 pm |

     And your point is what? That it was merely a poor choice of words? Yeah, where was the left at with the same argument about Bush’s “Mission Accomplished” moment?

     Never the less… I stand by my OPINION voiced in this blog.

     • Ed Darrell | February 18, 2013 at 3:46 pm |

       Not a poor choice of words. Poor reporting on the part of anyone who ignored what Obama said about immigration (you reported what he said . . . where?), or anyone who claimed, falsely, Obama said he wants to be emperor.

       Obama made a statement of fact: The president is not emperor, and in this case, Congress must act to change the law Obama enforces.

       Do you disagree? Why?

       Were you surprised at that statement of fact? Why? Surely you took civics in high school.

       So, what WAS your purpose in highlighting, out of context, a small part of obiter dicta from Obama’s answer, and ignoring all the substance of what he said?

       Poor choice of action on your part. You could fix it.

4. Ed Darrell | February 18, 2013 at 3:40 pm |

   Eric, the point is that you misreported it. Obama was talking about U.S. immigration policy, not his own powers. Obama said Congress needs to act. He didn’t say he wants more power — that wasn’t even a topic addressed.

   Obama made a statement of fact: The president is not emperor, under our Constitution.

   You take issue with that statement, for no good reason, not to advance the discussion on U.S. policy on immigration, not for any reason other than to falsely accuse Obama of being power hungry.

   You claimed, falsely, that you had a transcript of the entire thing in front of you — it didn’t exist before I created it, for the entire piece, nor for that question that I transcribed. In context what Obama said is clear, to any sane, non-rabid observer.

   I don’t know why you reported it wrong, but were you a reporter with honor, you’d make a correction, IMHO.

   • Eric at the Gunmart Blog | February 18, 2013 at 6:16 pm |

     I didnt misreport anything. Fact is that I didnt want to even get into discussing the immigration issue. Just the statement above… which is not misrepresented in anyway. It makes no difference what issue he is trying to skirt when he says what he said. He still said it. I took issue with the statement. I can do that without discussing his entire political history on immigration.

     • Ed Darrell | February 18, 2013 at 7:00 pm |

       Fact is that I didnt want to even get into discussing the immigration issue.

       Then don’t misquote and miscite the President to mislead others about what he said about immigration.

       That would be too easy, and honorable.

       • Eric at the Gunmart Blog | February 19, 2013 at 8:02 am |

         Its not important that he said this about immigration. Its important that he said it at all.

         He didnt say that he hasnt solved the problem yet because he’s not emperor… he said that its unfortunate that he’s not emperor.

         Anytime ANY politician says something like that it should be scrutinized.

         You are sitting here saying that I am letting the fact that I am “an obama hater” get in the way of things… all the while you are letting your blind devotion to the man do the same thing to you. You are giving him a free pass simply because of your political dogma.

         Sorry, but our job as a free representative republic is to always be skeptical of our elected representatives and to always bring into question what they say and what their motivations are.

         • Ed Darrell | February 27, 2013 at 3:24 am |

           Nowhere did Obama say it’s “unfortunate” that he’s not emperor. You’re putting words into the President’s mouth he did not say.

           Freudian slip indeed — you’d rather he were?

           Transcript here (read down); Obama didn’t say “unfortunate.”

         • Eric at the Gunmart Blog | February 27, 2013 at 7:59 am |

           Now you are venturing into the realm of the ridiculous.

           Excuse me for paraphrasing above what he actually said. In the exact quote he said that the fact that he is not emperor is a “problem”.

           I enjoyed the back and forth, but now this has evolved into a never ending circle. I am done. Have a good day, Sir

         • Ed Darrell | February 27, 2013 at 2:47 pm |

           That’s a lot of gall. Obama gave a serious answer to a tough question about immigration policy. You edit out all of his answer but the lead in sentence, and then claim I’m ridiculous for pointing out that you even quote that incorrectly.

           You’re right, you’ve tried to make ridiculous a serious issue, and your criticism is ridiculous, and beneath a good citizen’s concern. You owe Obama an apology — then, and only then, are you done.