Conservapedia - User contributions [en]

Lindsey Graham

2014-12-07T03:24:57Z

Nhodgson: Not sourced adequately

{{Officeholder
|name=Lindsey Graham
|image=GrahamSC.jpg
|party=[[Republican]]
|spouse=none
|religion=[[Baptist]]
|offices=
{{Officeholder/senator
|state=South Carolina
|terms=January 7, 2003 – Present
|preceded=[[Strom Thurmond]]
|former=n
|succeeded=
}}
{{Officeholder/representative
|state=South Carolina
|district=3rd
|terms=January 4, 1995 – January 3, 2003
|preceded=Butler Derrick
|former=n
|succeeded=J. Gresham Barrett
}}
}}

'''Lindsey Olin Graham''', born July 9, 1955 (age {{age|1955|7|9}}), is the senior [[United States]] [[Senator]] from the state of [[South Carolina]]. He is a member of the [[Republican Party]]. Before becoming a Senator, he had lived for years in China and was renowned

==Biography==
A native South Carolinian, Graham grew up in Central, graduated from D.W. Daniel High School, and earned his undergraduate and law degrees from the University of South Carolina in Columbia. Graham logged six-and-a-half years of service on active duty as an [[United States Air Force|Air Force]] lawyer. From 1984-1988, he was assigned overseas and served at Rhein Mein Air Force Base in Germany. Upon leaving the active duty Air Force in 1989, Graham joined the South Carolina Air National Guard where he served until his election to the [[U.S. House of Representatives]] in 1994. During the first [[Gulf War]], Graham was called to active duty and served state-side at McEntire Air National Guard Base as Staff Judge Advocate where he prepared members for deployment to the Gulf region. His duties included briefing pilots on the law of armed conflict, preparing legal documents for deploying troops, and providing legal services for family members of the South Carolina Air National Guard. He received a commendation medal for his service at McEntire. From 1989 to 1995, Graham lived in Shanghai, China, and as such, is fluent in Mandarin.

Since 1995, Graham has continued to serve his country in the U.S. Air Force Reserves and is the only U.S. Senator currently serving in the Guard or Reserves. He is a colonel and is assigned as a Senior Instructor at the Air Force JAG School.

Graham served in Iraq as a reservist on active duty for short periods during April and two weeks in August 2007, where he worked on detainee and rule-of-law issues. That makes him the only Iraq war veteran serving in the United States Senate.

==Political career==
In 1988, Graham went into private law practice and in 1992 was elected to the South Carolina House of Representatives. In 1994, he became the first Republican to represent South Carolina's Third Congressional District in Washington since 1877. He quickly became powerful as a member of the Judiciary Committee during the impeachment of then-President [[Bill Clinton]] in 1998. Graham opposed some articles, but vigorously supported others. In January and February of 1999, after two impeachment articles had been passed by the full House, he was one of the managers who brought the House's case to Clinton’s trial in the Senate. Though the Senate did not convict Clinton, Graham became nationally known. Lindsey Graham was elected to the Senate in 2002, winning 54% of the vote.

During the Judiciary Committee confirmation hearings for Judge [[Samuel Alito]] for a seat on the [[United States Supreme Court]], Graham sparked controversy. He asked Alito, "Are you really a closet bigot?" Alito answered "I'm not any kind of a bigot, I'm not." and Graham continued his statement by expressing his opinion that Alito definitely was not a bigot. Alito's wife cried and left the hearing briefly.

===Political Views===
During the [[Syrian Civil War]], Graham wanted a intervention to overthrow [[Bashar al-Assad]].<ref>http://www.policymic.com/articles/38993/john-mccain-lindsey-graham-senators-demand-syria-intervention-encouraging-another-stupid-war</ref>

====You can't criticize the Koran====
"On [[Face The Nation]] today, [[South Carolina]] [[Senator]] Lindsey Graham said that the reaction to the [[Koran]] burning in [[Florida]] suggests that [[Congress]] should look into limiting some forms of speech":

Graham said, “I wish we could find a way to hold people accountable. [[Free speech]] is a great idea, but we’re in a war. During [[World War II]], we had limits on what you could say if it would inspire the enemy. So, burning a [[Koran]] is a terrible thing but it doesn't justify killing someone. Burning a [[Bible]] would be a terrible thing but it doesn't justify murder. Having said that, anytime we can push back here in [[America]] against actions like this that put our troops at risk we should do it, and I look forward to working with Senators [[John Kerry|Kerry]], and [[Harry Reid|Reid]], and others to condemn this, condemn violence all over the world based on the name of religion. But [[General Petreaus]] understand better than anybody else in America what happens when something like this is done in our country and he was right to condemn it and I think Congress would be right to reinforce what General Petreasus said.”<ref>Doug Mataconis of [[Outside the Beltway]], Lindsey Graham On Koran Burning: “Freedom Of Speech Is A Great Idea But We’re In A War.”, April 3, 2011 Post: http://www.outsidethebeltway.com/lindsay-graham-on-koran-burning-freedom-of-speech-is-a-great-idea-but-were-in-a-war Accessed December 4, 2014</ref>

Doug Mataconis of [[Outside the Beltway]] (April 3, 2011 Post - Lindsey Graham On Koran Burning: “Freedom Of Speech Is A Great Idea But We’re In A War.”) states: "Here’s your answer Senator. No, you don’t need to hold hearings and you don’t need to be looking into ways to [[First Amendment|limit the free speech]] rights of American [[citizen]]s because of the [[terrorist|insane reaction of people thousands of miles away]] who were obviously ginned up by [[demagogue]]s. War or not, [[Terry Jones]] had every right to do what he did."<ref>http://www.outsidethebeltway.com/lindsay-graham-on-koran-burning-freedom-of-speech-is-a-great-idea-but-were-in-a-war/</ref>

====Immigration====
Graham has been an adamant supporter of "comprehensive [[immigration]] reform" and of S. 2611, the [[McCain]]-[[Kennedy]] Bill of 2006 as well as the equally hotly debated S. 1348 of 2007, the Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2007. Despite Graham's support the bill failed on a key Senate vote on June 28, 2007 and is unlikely to be revived. Graham's views on immigration has lead criticisms for [[conservative]]s. Popular [[radio]] talk show host [[Rush Limbaugh]] has referred to him as Senator "Grahamnesty."

==External Links==
* [http://lgraham.senate.gov/ Official Website]
* [http://www.lindseygraham.com/ Campaign Website]
* [http://www.ontheissues.org/Senate/Lindsey_Graham.htm Graham on the issues]
* http://www.theamericanconservative.com/lindsey-grahams-war-on-freedom/
* http://www.outsidethebeltway.com/lindsay-graham-on-koran-burning-freedom-of-speech-is-a-great-idea-but-were-in-a-war
* http://www.barenakedislam.com/2013/08/06/omg-senators-john-mccain-and-lindsay-graham-are-traitors/]

==References==
<references/>

{{DEFAULTSORT:Graham, Lindsey}}

[[Category:United States Senators]]
[[Category:Republicans]]
[[Category:110th United States Congress]]
[[Category:111th United States Congress]]
[[Category:112th United States Congress]]
[[Category:113th United States Congress]]
[[Category:South Carolina]]
[[Category:RINOs]]

Conservapedia:Community Portal

2014-12-07T01:18:01Z

Nhodgson: /* Conservatives "Message Area" */ new section

<center>''This is the place to discuss issues of interest to the Conservapedia community.''</center>

''This page contains some material that has been moved from [[Talk:Main_Page]]. We are attempting to get general discussion of issues relating to Conservapedia's content and policies on this page, leaving the main talk page for its original purpose of discussing the content of the Main Page.''

__NEWSECTIONLINK__

== Singapore stands up to the homosexual agenda ==
See [http://www.straitstimes.com/news/singapore/more-singapore-stories/story/no-rainbow-meis-gig-due-pro-lgbt-message-20140710 here] and [http://www.slate.com/blogs/outward/2014/07/10/censorship_leads_to_banning_gay_books.html?wpisrc=hpsponsoredd2 here]. A-mei is a well-known singer in Taiwan, China, and other Chinese-speaking countries. [[User:PeterKa|PeterKa]] 10:21, 12 July 2014 (EDT)

== Pornographic information and profanity on Wikipedia ==

On Wikipedia's article about the World Cup match between Brazil and Germany in which Brazil lost 1 to 7, Wikipedia contained the following quote under their Society section: "Meanwhile, pornographic website Pornhub had to ask its users to stop uploading video footage of the game to the website, after several videos with titles such as "Young Brazilians get f*cked by entire German Soccer Team" were uploaded.[66]" The link to the page is here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brazil_vs_Germany_(2014_FIFA_World_Cup)#Society I protested that Wikipedia is in theory an encyclopedia and thus this sort of profanity and content ought to be removed, especially when you consider the fact that children might see this kind of content. After trying to edit it out, I was banned for an "edit war." It would be appreciated if we could publicize this content and get it removed.

==Restoring User Pages==

I wonder if you [I was referring to User:Conservative in the original context] would be be so kind as to restore the following user and user-talk pages. Most of these people were long-time respected sysops and administrators, as I'm sure you, being a long-time respected sysop and administrator yourself, well know. Many of our important articles were written by these people. Current users may want to know something about the people that went before them and built Conservapedia. We should show some respect for our history and our founding fathers/mothers.
*[[User:Jallen]]
*[[User:Tash]]
*[[User:Foxtrot]]
*[[User:Ymmotrojam]]
*[[User:DeanS]]
*[[User:TimS]]
*[[User:DanH]]
*[[User:Deborah]]
*[[User:BethanyS]]
*[[User:WilliamBeason]]

[[User:SamHB|SamHB]] 23:33, 10 October 2014 (EDT)

:Your suggestion is a reasonable one. I was not in favor of deleting user pages. But once deleted, I don't think it would be time well spent to restore the pages. Time moves on, and time could be better spent by improving substantive entries.--[[User:Aschlafly|Andy Schlafly]] 00:37, 11 October 2014 (EDT)

::I can see that all the active users are pretty busy, and are probably disinclined to do this. So how about letting me do it? I'm willing to restore those pages myself. You would have to give me the appropriate temporary rights, which might be "undelete" rights, or maybe full administrator rights, I don't know how this works.

::I'm sure you know, from our many communications, both public and private, that I can be trusted not to harm Conservapedia in any way. During any period in which I have extra rights, I will refrain from annoying, harassing, irritating, teasing, insulting, or otherwise getting under the skin of any other user. I will not react to any taunts. I will not abuse the rights in any way. (Though if my rights include blocking, and I see any vandals come to town, I will of course take action.)

::You didn't want the pages deleted? We can fix that. What say you? [[User:SamHB|SamHB]] 12:48, 12 October 2014 (EDT)

:There's an extremely troubling aspect to all this. You say you weren't in favor of deleting the pages, and yet, [http://www.conservapedia.com/index.php?title=User_talk:JoeyJ&diff=1100430&oldid=1100429 here], Cons says that the owner of the web site was in favor of the deletion. Was Cons lying? Also, [http://www.conservapedia.com/index.php?title=User_talk:JoeyJ&diff=1101617&oldid=1100630 here], Cons seems to indicate that he was in communication with you on the subject of giving JoeyJ deletion powers. These powers are not taken lightly. In fact, JoeyJ is the only non-admin who has them. So it looks as though you gave JoeyJ the deletion powers '''knowing full well''' that he would use those powers to delete user pages. What is going on? [[User:SamHB|SamHB]] 00:05, 14 October 2014 (EDT)

==Gayer than thou: Kenya and Pakistan==
These two countries have the most Google searches for gay porn.[http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/google/11201009/Strict-Mistress-The-worlds-secret-sexual-preferences-revealed-by-Google.html]
==Islam==
The main page right item "Losses in Midterms for Candidates Who Supported Islamists" is very troubling and can be viewed as religious prejudice. First, the only Muslim member of Congress was re-elected. Second, the Tea Party website cited by the item makes questionable claims as to whether the candidates discuss there really supported "Islamists". Finally, there is a big difference between the set of people who claim Islam as their religion and the set of people who would be described as anti-American Islamic extremists. Failing to follow such a distinction makes the item misleading and unworthy of Conservapedia. Thanks, [[User:Wschact|Wschact]] 16:07, 13 November 2014 (EST)
:You wrote: "makes questionable claims as to whether the candidates discuss there really supported "Islamists"". Why are the claims questionable? [[User:Conservative|Conservative]] 18:56, 13 November 2014 (EST)
::The one thing (if not others) that Illinois Governor Pat Quinn, Maryland Lt. Gov. Anthony Brown, former Senator Scott Brown and former Florida Governor Charlie Crist have in common is that they all love the United States and oppose anti-American Islamic extremists. There is ample evidence to show this and the cited item does not do a convincing job of demonstrating the contrary. There are reasons why people did not vote for them (e.g., raised my taxes, carpetbagger from MA, or flipped flopped between the Republican and Democratic party), but being pro-Islamic extremist/pro-terrorist was not a factor. Thanks, [[User:Wschact|Wschact]] 20:50, 13 November 2014 (EST)
:::Your response wasn't helpful in terms of indicating why the material in the article was questionable. For example, why isn't the material on Crist in the article accurate?[[User:Conservative|Conservative]] 21:36, 13 November 2014 (EST)
::::In addition, in terms of analyzing voting decisions it can be done at a corporate/segment/individual level. And in some geographic areas, the Islam issue is more of a hot potato due to larger than average Muslim/Jewish populations within the larger population in question (In Dearborn, Michigan where there is a large Muslim population for example, some Muslims stoned some Christians), the mix of liberal/conservative/nationalistic/religious composition of the populace, etc. Another example: Florida has a lot of pro-Israel/Jewish voters so the Islam issue could be more of a hot potato issue within a segment of the Florida population. Furthermore, the rise of ISIS makes the Islam issue be more of a political hot potato issue. [[User:Conservative|Conservative]] 00:34, 14 November 2014 (EST)

The main page right item, "America's National Cathedral to Host First Muslim Prayer." is another objectionable note on the same theme. The Tea Party webpage referenced by the item seems to approve of the move noting that it is an important step in Protestant-Muslim relations. My concerns are that the National Cathedral in Washington DC, should not be called "America's National Cathedral" because it is really a house of worship for just one denomination. (For example, there is a beautiful cathedral for the Roman Catholics, and very nice large churches in DC for the Methodists, Christian Scientists, Mormons, and Greek Orthodox faiths.) I think that it is nice that different religions get together and encourage each other to learn more about their religions. This whole thing is part of a trend in Main Page Right to make it sound as though there is something alarming going on with Islam in America. Perhaps our time would be better spent uploading photos of these churches and adding to the substantive articles of CP instead of the drum beat of Islam-related MPR items. Thanks, [[User:Wschact|Wschact]] 21:07, 15 November 2014 (EST)

:Franklin Graham didn't think it was nice. He said it was “sad to see a church open its doors to worship of anything other than the One True God of the Bible.”

:And Ann Coulter noted that in this last election, "Republicans swept everything from U.S. senator to substitute-part-time-dog catcher." So maybe it would be best if you started dancing to the beat of the conservative drum, because conservativism is obviously what American people have demanded of their leaders. [[User:VargasMilan|VargasMilan]] 11:03, 16 November 2014 (EST)
::Evidently Franklin Graham doesn't realize that Christians and Muslims worship the same god, so that seems like more of an argument for improving his and others' reading comprehension. [[User:RedG|RedG]] 13:55, 16 November 2014 (EST)
:::Maybe he's read about some contradictions you haven't. You aren't even aware that Christians don't worship a "god", but rather the supreme God, maker of all things.[[User:VargasMilan|VargasMilan]] 14:09, 16 November 2014 (EST)
::::Yes, and Muslims worship the same deity. The meaning of "god" is "something that is worshiped", and the word a corruption of the pagan word "gaut", which was some deity or another (it's not entirely clear what) of the Germanic tribes. It is therefore entirely correct to refer to the Abrahamic god is just that, a god. [[User:RedG|RedG]] 19:04, 16 November 2014 (EST)
:::Perhaps in your fantasies you are being responsive and recounting correct and well-reasoned information. The reality is very different. [[User:VargasMilan|VargasMilan]] 09:46, 17 November 2014 (EST)
::::Are you disputing the etymology of the word "god", or its use in the English language? [[User:RedG|RedG]] 16:26, 17 November 2014 (EST)

:::::@RedG: I'm really sorry that you have been abused so badly at Conservapedia. I'm particularly bothered at the "internet psychiatry" of characterizing your writing as "your fantasies", and that "reality" is different. I want you to know that there are quite a number of decent and well-intentioned people here. You should ignore the abusers, and feel welcome to make contributions. We particularly need people who are knowledgeable in matters of science. If you can contribute in this area, dig in! [[User:SamHB|SamHB]] 22:22, 20 November 2014 (EST)

Dear VargasMilan, if you can accept the notion that Methodists and Baptists worship the same "supreme God" then you can accept the notion that Muslims and Catholics can also worship that same "supreme God." (You know, the one described in the Old Testament.) Similarly, the big house of worship built by the Catholics in Washington DC deserves just as much respect as the one built by the Methodists or the one built by the Mormons or any other denomination. There is no establishment of religion in the United States, and the government treats all religions equally. So just because one denomination's church (which is a very impressive building in an impressive location) is called the "National Cathedral" does not make it any more "official" than any of the other large houses of worship in Washington DC. (By the way, its official name is "Cathedral Church of Saint Peter and Saint Paul in the City and Diocese of Washington", and not "National Cathedral".) [[User:Wschact|Wschact]] 15:46, 20 November 2014 (EST)

:Your user name looks like Andy's, but you behave far differently. You talk like somebody who's not aware of his surroundings. Some religions lead to disaster. Some to persistent agitation incompatable with the peace that is the prerequisite for prosperous living. [[User:VargasMilan|VargasMilan]] 20:10, 20 November 2014 (EST)

::@VargasMilan: Is this a joke? Are you trying to imply that Wschact is a sockpuppet of Andy? Are you implying that Andy practices sockpuppetry on his own wiki? The similarities between the names are an "a" and an "sch". Their editing content is worlds apart. And I can assure you that I have had email discussions with both of them, and they are most definitely not the same person. I don't know what to make of the "not aware of his surreoundings" business. [[User:SamHB|SamHB]] 22:22, 20 November 2014 (EST)
::Yes, some actions in the name of religion lead to disaster. Do read what Catholics did to any number of people (Jews, Muslims, people perceived to be witches or otherwise worshiping other deities) during the Black Death, you won't find any such occurrences in Georgian or Armenian Christendom, the Muslim world, India, China... people have done monstrously atrocious things in the name of pretty much every religion that's ever existed, looking at the most extreme examples generally isn't the best way to determine what the ''typical'' adherent believes and does. [[User:RedG|RedG]] 22:40, 21 November 2014 (EST)

== God delusion ==

I finished reading the Prof. Dawkin's book. I have to admit that it has shaken my religious foundations... I sometimes wonder whether that has made me an Agnostic now. It has made me question a lot of my upbringing. I was a good catholic girl. I wonder what my mom will say
--[[User:OconnorM|Maria O'Connor]] 12:44, 15 November 2014 (EST)
:Richard Dawkins did not research or fact check his book very well and it has a number of errors in it as can be seen in this PDF version of [http://www.voxday.net/mart/TIA_free.pdf The Irrational Atheist].

:Second, how strong were your foundations before you read the book? How did you build your foundation?

:In the physical life, if you are flabby, don't get enough sleep, etc., it provides an opportunity for disease to enter. The same is true in a person's spiritual life. How familiar are you with the classic [[Arguments for the existence of God|defenses of the existence of God]]? How familiar are you with the various evidences for Christianity? See: [[Christian apologetics websites|Evidence for Christianity]] Did you ever repent of your sins and dedicate your life to following Jesus Christ? How often were you reading your Bible? How often were you praying? What are the most serious arguments against agnosticism? What are the most serious arguments against atheism. See: [[Rebuttals to atheist arguments]].

:Also, Jesus promises that those who repented of their sins and accept Jesus as their Savior and Lord will have communion with Him and will receive the Holy Spirit who will guide them. Did you ever know God or were you just engaging in religious rituals? [[User:Conservative|Conservative]] 20:07, 16 November 2014 (EST)

::[http://www.christiantoday.com/article/richard.dawkins.has.had.his.day.says.ravi.zacharias/43042.htm Richard Dawkins has had his day, says Ravi Zacharias] -'' Christianity Today'', November 15, 2014 [[User:Conservative|Conservative]] 04:04, 17 November 2014 (EST)

:::@Maria O'Connor: I'm really sorry that you have been abused so badly at Conservapedia. I want you to know that there are quite a number of decent and well-intentioned people here. You should ignore the abusers, and feel welcome to make contributions. We particularly need people who are knowledgeable in matters of science. If you can contribute in this area, dig in! [[User:SamHB|SamHB]] 22:22, 20 November 2014 (EST)

::Sam, you can contribute constructively to Conservapedia, or you can pick fights on the Main Page talk page. You cannot do both. [[User:VargasMilan|VargasMilan]] 17:16, 21 November 2014 (EST)

:::'''Of course''' Sam can contribute constructively to Conservapedia whilst disagreeing with certain other editors. He's been doing it for years..... and more strength to his arm. There are not enough Sams these days. [[User:AlanE|AlanE]] 19:36, 21 November 2014 (EST)

==Popular articles at Conservapedia==
The current view count is led by:
{|
!Article!!Page views
|-
|Homosexual Agenda||6,700,715
|-
|Atheism||5,582,034
|-
|Barack Hussein Obama||2,734,448
|-
|Adolf Hitler||2,255,249
|-
|Wikipedia||2,150,728
|-
|Muslim agenda of the Obama administration||2,054,564
|-
|Counterexamples to Relativity||1,998,699
|-
|Examples of Bias in Wikipedia||1,550,956
|-
|Conservative Bible Project||1,524,396
|}
I suggest that we pare back the list on the left column to just these or at most to the top 25 articles. A present the list seems to be the favorite articles of a few administrators rather than a list representing the page views of our readers. This creates a mis-impression of our reader's interests. Thanks, [[User:Wschact|Wschact]] 12:37, 27 November 2014 (EST)

Rounding out the top 25 would be:
{|
!Article!!Page views
|-
|Sarah Palin||1,078,400
|-
|Liberal||1,078,002
|-
|Homosexuality and Anal Cancer||781,045
|-
|Homosexuality and Parasites||780,921
|-
|Atheism and obesity||779,023
|-
|Homosexuality||658,817
|-
|Evolution||656,228
|-
|ObamaCare||610,019
|-
|United States Presidential Election, 2008||579,521
|-
|Joseph Biden||575,876
|-
|World famous paintings||509,483
|-
|George W. Bush||471,628
|-
|List of dictators||442,356
|-
|Abortion||426,857
|-
|Global warming||426,511
|-
|Democratic Party||420,749
|}
It is very strange that some of our top 25 articles are missing from the list, and there are a number of articles on the list that are not in our top 25. Could someone with editing rights on main page left please fix this? Thanks, [[User:Wschact|Wschact]] 12:49, 27 November 2014 (EST)

:Interesting suggestion, but insight is obviously not a popularity contest. The list of most-visited pages is already automatically compiled and readily available. The most noteworthy popular pages should be a different list.--[[User:Aschlafly|Andy Schlafly]] 13:58, 27 November 2014 (EST)
::Some of the articles view counts such as [[Homosexuality and Parasites]] are the result of clickbots. There are no good reasons to have the enemies of Conservapedia dictate which articles are featured on the main page due to their view counts listed at the bottom of their pages. Furthermore, some of the articles have underestimates of their view counts due to the articles being temporarily deleted. For example, the [[evolution]] and [[Richard Dawkins]] articles are underestimated by about 500,000 page views if memory serves. [[User:Conservative|Conservative]] 15:59, 28 November 2014 (EST)

You're right. Insight is not a popularity contest. But the header above the list says "Popular articles at Conservapedia". So that title succumbs to the "popularity contest" mentality. I would suggest that the title be changed to something like "Our Most Insightful Articles", or "Conservapedia's Best Articles" or "Flagship Articles" or something like that. There also ought to be a way for people to see, for better or worse, which articles are popular in terms of page views. As Andy says above, this is accessible under [[Special:PopularPages]]. Perhaps there ought to be a note telling people where to find it. Perhaps, after the "Most Insightful Articles" list, there should be a note along the lines of "You can see our most popular articles [[Special:PopularPages|here]]. Then we can get the best of both worlds.

I would also suggest that any listing of our "most insightful articles" be pruned more carefully than the present list. One interloper that comes to mind is the [[Essay:Comedy_and_satires_concerning_atheism_and_evolution|Humor about atheism and evolution]] page. It is absurd, and gives all of us a bad name. It has pictures of a pony, a bear, and a "flying kitty". That may have been funny once, but it has long outlived its humor value. Furthermore, '''it is locked'''. A page that is locked '''can't possibly be considered "the best of the public"!''' Now some pages are admittedly vandalism magnets, but I think people are overreacting. [[User:SamHB|SamHB]] 23:45, 28 November 2014 (EST)
:SamHB, what are your thoughts related to the social science data contained in this article: [[Liberal Christianity and marital infidelity]]. [[User:Conservative|Conservative]] 01:05, 29 November 2014 (EST)

==Subject Matter Experts==
I recently had to deal with a case of someone making an edit to a chemistry article (with a note that he has a chemistry degree, which of course we can't verify, but it very well may be true) that was reverted. It's true that his use of "subjective" and "objective" could give the wrong impression to non-experts, and I have cleaned it up. But it just needed to be cleaned up. (The cleanup that someone did afterwards was ridiculous.) '''This person was blocked''', apparently just because of that edit. This should not have happened. Quite a number of good contributors, and potential good contributors—we'll never know—have been reverted and blocked because the people with blocking powers did not know how to evaluate the edits.
Now Conservapedia often has people come here and make stupid/parody/vandalism edits. But it is monitored constantly by the sysops. It is not necessary for people to be trigger-happy. Except of course for clear vandalism.
I would suggest a page, probably in the Conservapedia namespace rather than "mainspace", listing subject matter experts who can make expert analyses of these things. The list should be publicized to all sysops. Contributors can volunteer as experts in various subjects. And sysops could hold off on reverting questionable edits until an expert opinion is rendered. [[User:SamHB|SamHB]] 23:45, 28 November 2014 (EST)

=====Best Troll Detection of the Public=====

:You have no proof that '''the person who was blocked''' was merely a Subject Matter Expert and not a '''troll''' as well. This ought to be dealt with by the Best Troll Detection of the Public. Trolling techniques include emphasizing words (when the logic of argument doesn't require it) to trample over anticipated reasonable opposition to one's argument with raw emotion as well as arguing about things on the Main Page talk page that don't appear on the Main Page. [[User:VargasMilan|VargasMilan]] 10:55, 29 November 2014 (EST)
I can assure you that, in my 7 years here, I have developed a good sense for the kinds of vandals, trolls, parodists, sycophants, "mall cops", and other unsavory personalities that we have. I also notice other fascinating types of people, like those who complain about posting to this page not on the topic of improving the main page content while making quite a few such postings themselves (though, in fairness, they also make on-topic postings, which I rarely do), people who [[User_talk:SamHB#Spammer|did not realize that they had been given blocking powers until I told them]], and people who use [http://www.conservapedia.com/Talk:Main_Page&diff=1110822&oldid=1110821 spectacularly recondite sentences] while attacking other contributors. You see, I've been around for a while.

On the matter of making posts to this page that are not directly on the topic of improving the content of the main page, I'm sure you know that, for several years, this page has been used for a discussion of CP in general, and that everyone, including Andy and the other admins, is OK with that. A more natural place for such discussion might have been a general discussion page such as [[Conservapedia:Desk]], but, as you can see, it has rarely been used of late. There is actually a (an?) historical reason, from a few years back, for this. I won't bore everyone with the details, but you can email me if you are interested.

Regarding my "subject matter experts" comment above, I wasn't asking for people who are good at detecting trolls. We already have plenty of people (including myself) who are good at this, and plenty of people (including you) who are good at dealing with them. We probably already have the "Best Troll Detection of the Public". I was requesting "subject matter experts", which we don't really have very many of, or don't know who they are on various topics, and requesting that subject matter expertise be used in deciding whether to revert an edit.

In the case of the [http://www.conservapedia.com/Chemical_compound&diff=1118592&oldid=1118584 molar mass] edit, I was well aware that this person might be a troll—his use of the recondite (there's that word again) terms "subjective" and "objective" in a description of quantitative chemical analysis was a bit suspicious—these are quasi-philosophical terms that might be considered provocative on a wiki like this. But he also knew what molar mass means. His change was a vast improvement over the "fuel quantity" phrase. The article just needed to have the "subjective" and "objective" words taken out, which I have done. The person did know his subject matter. There was no urgency in reverting his edit.

A suggestion, Vargas: Let's both try to be nice. You do good work when you're not talking about "withering patrician disdain". We can both do better than fight with each other.

Maybe I should have spent the day shopping instead of this :-) [[User:SamHB|SamHB]] 00:02, 1 December 2014 (EST)

:I will not disregard Andy's express instructions at the top of the page! [[User:VargasMilan|VargasMilan]] 16:12, 2 December 2014 (EST)

::Fair enough. I will try to abide by that policy also. [[User:SamHB|SamHB]] 17:11, 6 December 2014 (EST)

==Thousands of Europeans Take to the Streets to Drive Out Islam==
Tell me, is it now Conservapedia policy to support soccer hooligans just because they are anti Islam? Because there is no doubt these people are criminal scum who have made many more people than Muslims victims, including many 100s of deaths. After spending a week condemning rioting in the USA you support it in Europe. Can someone with some understanding please remove this article.--[[User:Tomqua|Tomqua]] 15:52, 1 December 2014 (EST)
:Why is their "no doubt"? Please provide evidence of these 100s people killed by these individuals.

:Second, reporting on an event is not necessarily in support of an event. For example, if the front page reports on ISIS attacking the Iraqi Kurds, that doesn't mean that Conservapedia is in favor of ISIS attacking the Kurds.

:Third, my guess is that these soccer hooligans are not conservative, devout Christian Europeans, but non-religious, liberal Europeans. It is the secular left that is known for their unruly mobs. So if these mobs are made up of violent individuals as you claim, they are probably non-religious leftists. [[User:Conservative|Conservative]] 16:41, 1 December 2014 (EST)
::[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/768380.stm][http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-26073142]. That is over 100 I can come up with without even thinking. Being involved in soccer hooliganism is a crime, in every nation on the planet so there is "no doubt".--[[User:Tomqua|Tomqua]] 16:46, 1 December 2014 (EST)
You said these specific hooligans caused hundreds of deaths. We both know that this was a claim that you did not support. You should not have made it.

Next, [[Vox Day]] predicts that the Muslims will be driven out of Europe. This may happens due to worsening economic conditions and culture clash, but I tend to agree with [[Eric Kaufmann]] who said:

"Ethnicity and race may succumb to liberal modernity, but committed religious populations cannot be assimilated to liberal secularism fast enough to compensate for their demographic advantage in a world of plunging fertility and growing migration. In the end, it is a battle between religious fertility on the one hand, and, on the other, religious decline through the 'assimilation' of religious offspring into secularism. This paper argues that the weakness of secularism and a widening secular-religious fertility gap points toward a religious victory...

The principle of tolerating and 'celebrating' diversity is a corollary of postmodern relativism which opens up space for antimodern religious 'diversities' to take root. If they are demographically-powerful religious movements like Islamism or evangelical Chrisianity, they will exploit this weakness to progressively erode the hegemony of western secular humanism....

In the Europe of tomorrow, immigration and religious fertility will increase the proportion of committed Muslims and Christians, many from the developing world. It may seem fanciful to imagine a moral conservatism uniting white and nonwhite Christians as well as Muslims against 'secular humanists'. However, a version of this process has occurred in the United States, and it can be argued that the cocktail of cultural relativism, secular exhaustion and demographic change is even more potent in Europe than America. The division between native ethnic groups and immigrant groups is currently more important in Europe, but as the Muslim and religious Christian minorities grow, they will become as important for conservative politicians as the religious Hispanics of America whom the Republicans have so assiduously courted. At some point, it will make more electoral sense for European conservatives to appeal to a trans-ethnic coalition of moral conservatives than it will to stress anti-immigrant themes and ethno-nationalism. The liberal-left will find it extremely difficult to craft a defense of secularism given its investment in cultural relativism, the exhaustion of its secular religions, and its laissez-faire attitude to demographic change.

Standing back from the fray, we can think of demography as the achilles heel of
liberalism."[http://www.sneps.net/RD/uploads/1-Shall%20the%20Religious%20Inherit%20the%20Earth.pdf]

Kaufmann also said:

"I argue that 97% of the world's population growth is taking place in the developing world, where 95% of people are religious.

On the other hand, the secular West and East Asia has very low fertility and a rapidly aging population... In the coming decades, the developed world's demand for workers to pay its pensions and work in its service sector will soar alongside the booming supply of young people in the third world. Ergo, we can expect significant immigration to the secular West which will import religious revival on the back of ethnic change. In addition, those with religious beliefs tend to have higher birth rates than the secular population, with fundamentalists having far larger families. The epicentre of these trends will be in immigration gateway cities like New York (a third white), Amsterdam (half Dutch), Los Angeles (28% white), and London, 45% white British."[http://www.sneps.net/RD/uploads/1-Shall%20the%20Religious%20Inherit%20the%20Earth.pdf] [[User:Conservative|Conservative]] 17:01, 1 December 2014 (EST)
:Agreed, as for Mr Day however, is he the same Vox Day that makes A rhetorical case for segregation?"[http://voxday.blogspot.co.uk/2014/09/a-rhetorical-case-for-segregation.html]--[[User:Tomqua|Tomqua]] 17:06, 1 December 2014 (EST)
::I am not a segregationalist. Second, Europe has a history of intolerance and disharmony and economic instability is just fuel for the fire. Here are some examples: The Spaniards drove out Muslims in their country in the 1400s and also drove out the Jews. Many people fled Europe due to religious discrimination in the past. There is currently white, non-religious population flight out of London in an increasingly ethnic religious population in London. Atheism/agnosticism are secular religions and the economic future of Europe does not look bright. History may repeat itself. [[User:Conservative|Conservative]] 17:23, 1 December 2014 (EST)
:::You're right, and the security situation is not bright also. The EU and Russia seem to be on a collision course. The seeds of a European cold war have already been sown.--[[User:Tomqua|Tomqua]] 17:28, 1 December 2014 (EST)
The economic future of Europe looks gloomy and Russia will probably stay about the same as a global power for the foreseeable future.[http://www.businessinsider.com/megatrends-the-6-gamechangers-that-will-change-the-world-in-the-next-decades-2012-12?op=1] The USA has a lot of problems and 17 trillion and debt, but it has a history of dynamism and bouncing back. The fast growth of Hispanic evangelicals in the USA is a positive thing given the history behind the Protestant work ethic and economic dynamism.[http://www.conservapedia.com/Protestant_Ethic_and_the_Spirit_of_Capitalism] [http://www.christianpost.com/news/interview-23-year-old-hispanic-pastor-on-how-latino-evangelicals-are-shaping-america-97711/] In short, I am pessimistic about the economic future of Europe for the foreseeable future and the jury is still out on the future of the USA, but I am hopeful. If Europe is rechristianized due to religious immigration, it could bounce back in the long term. Secular Europe is not sustainable in terms of its demography and economics. [[User:Conservative|Conservative]] 18:02, 1 December 2014 (EST)
::I think I am going to bow out of future main page talk discussions due to demands on my time and my current priorities. [[User:Conservative|Conservative]] 18:25, 1 December 2014 (EST)

== Growing Conservapedia's conservative readership and editor base ==

Now that Conservapedia's Twitter link on the main page, two things:

1. We could organize our wiki editors to create/expand conservative articles in order to feature them on the Twitter feed.

2. Twitter is popular among conservatives. This book shows people how to attract 200 Twitter fans every single day: http://www.amazon.com/Twitter-Followers-Step---Step-guaranteed-ebook/dp/B00KEX694O/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1417623658&sr=8-3&keywords=twitter+marketing The book is only $1.00 and it should be easy to implement. If it was implemented, the Twitter account would go from 10,000 Twitter fans/followers to 83,000 fans/followers in one year.[[User:Conservative|Conservative]] 11:30, 3 December 2014 (EST)

== Make the username policy more clear ==

:Copied on over from [[Help talk:How To Create a Conservapedia Account]]

I think it should be made clear that the username '''must''' include your real name, as opposed to ''recommending'' your real name; perhaps there could be a help page on Conservapedia's username policy. A few users have been blocked for violating an otherwise nonexistent policy (and also advised to create an account with a real name even though their account creation is disabled for two years). A clear username policy would probably be beneficial for Conservapedia. -- [[User:DanielJackson|DanielJackson]] 10:46, 6 December 2014 (EST)

== Conservatives "Message Area" ==

I seem to be unable to edit it, despite wanting to discuss something with him. As such I put out a general request for a way to contact him or for him to unlock his message area. Hopefully I'm not missing something really obvious! [[User:Nhodgson|Nhodgson]] 20:18, 6 December 2014 (EST)

History of the Democrat party under Barack Obama

2014-12-07T01:14:15Z

Nhodgson: /* Forced abortion */

'''Obamunism''' is a portmanteau that was created by mixing together the words [[President Obama|Obama]] and [[Communism|Communism]],
coined by critics of the [[Obama administration]] to describe [[Barack Obama]]'s [[socialism|socialistic]] and "[[fascism]] light" economic policies ([[Benito Mussolini]] defined fascism as the wedding of state and corporate powers. Accordingly, trend forecaster [[Gerald Celente]] labels [[Obama administration corporate bailouts|Obama's corporate bailouts]] as being "fascism light" in nature).<ref>http://www.thebigmoney.com/articles/daily-intel/2009/07/20/obamunism-inc</ref><ref>http://www.smallbusinessadvocate.com/small-business-interviews/gerald-celente-6944</ref> Obamunism can also refer to Obama's [[Obama administration fiscal policy|ruinous fiscal policies]] and [[Obama administration monetary policy|reckless monetary policies]] which have contributed to [[Barack Obama and United States Unemployment|high unemployment rates in the United States]].

[[Wall Street]] firms and banks that were bailed out were among Obama's biggest campaign supporters.<ref>http://www.opensecrets.org/pres08/contrib.php?cycle=2008&cid=N00009638</ref> Therefore, the Obama administration bailouts of corrupt, unproductive, and reckless Wall Street firms was hardly surprising, although it certainly was not helpful in making the United States economy more productive and prosperous. A 2005 study found that government corporate bailouts are often done for mere political considerations and the economic resources allocated exhibit significantly worse economic performance than resources that are invested using purely business considerations.<ref>http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=676905</ref>

==Economic policy==
=== Massive deficits ===
[[File:Unemployment.jpg|right|300px|thumb| [http://hotair.com/greenroom/archives/2009/07/19/the-anti-stimulus-in-pictures-any-questions/?print=1 ''Chart courtesy Doug Ross @ Journal''] ]]
The Obama administration has also been criticized for its [[Obama administration deficit spending|massive deficit spending]] and [[Obama administration monetary policy|reckless monetary policy]] via vast increases in the [[Money supply|money supply]].<ref>http://seekingalpha.com/article/120883-monetary-policynot-obama-s-stimulusis-what-needs-watching</ref><ref>http://www.nypost.com/seven/05172009/postopinion/editorials/bams_wise_words_169731.htm</ref><ref>http://blog.heritage.org/2009/03/24/bush-deficit-vs-obama-deficit-in-pictures/</ref>

Advocates of [[free market]] [[capitalism]] were also opposed to President [[George W. Bush]], who signed legislation passed by the Democratic House and Senate totaling over a trillion dollars in corporate bailouts in 2008. For example, the Treasury and Federal Reserve bailed out the leading banks and insurance companies in 2008 with hundreds of billions of dollars of guarantees of bad loans (called "toxic assets").
[[File:6a00d8341c60bf53ef011571a57670970b-500wi1.jpg|left|300px|thumb| [http://hotair.com/greenroom/archives/2009/07/19/the-anti-stimulus-in-pictures-any-questions/?print=1 ''Chart courtesy to Duane Lester''] ]]
Trend forecaster [[Gerald Celente]] predicts that the corrupt economic policies of the Obama administration will lead to a second [[Great Depression|great depression]] that is global in scope (Celente predicted the 1987 US stock market crash, the dot.com crash, the US 2008/2009 recession, and the collapse of the USSR in the early 1990s) and "second [[American Revolution]]" (Gerald Celente predicted the [[Tea Party Movement|tax protests]] that are now occurring in America).<ref>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8MMX3SKzrfU&feature=channel_page</ref><ref>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sy9bfw1ebgw&feature=response_watch</ref> Celente also asserts that the costly and inefficient temporary short term methods that the Obama administration is using to alleviate economic problems in the short term (which are causing massive increases in deficit spending) is only making matters worse and will not prevent the worse economic depression in United States history from occurring.<ref>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_C8K7rWkGGw</ref><ref>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1LBffdIW0XA&feature=response_watch</ref> In addition, Celente predicts that if a "second American Revolution" occurs in a peaceful and productive manner, it may include a [[Third Party System|third party movement]] of governance that will advocate a more [[free market]] [[capitalism]] approach to the American economy and a more strict interpretation of the [[United States Constitution|United States constitution]] as far as the authors' [[original intent]].<ref>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8MMX3SKzrfU&feature=channel_page</ref><ref>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sy9bfw1ebgw&feature=response_watch</ref>

===Gerald Celente commentary on Obama's economic policy===

In an April 20, 2009 interview with ''Russia Today'', Gerald Celente stated concerning Barack Obama's economic policy:

{{cquote|America is going from what used to be the major capitalistic country in the world of free market – a crusader – into what [[Mussolini]] would have called fascism: the merger of state and corporate powers. So it is not socialism as people believe, it is socialism’s egalitarianism. It’s not communism where the state controls monopolies – it’s fascism, plain and simple. The merger of corporate and government powers. State-controlled capitalism is called fascism, and fascism has come to America in broad daylight. But they’re feeding them it in little bits and pieces. First [[AIG]] was too big to fail. Mortgage companies [[Fannie Mae]] and [[Freddie Mac]] were too big to fail. Banks too big to fail and auto companies. And now we give money to the people that make the auto parts. And now there’s talk about the technology companies, wanting their piece of the action. The merger of state and government is called fascism. Take it from Mussolini; he knew a thing or two about it.<ref>[http://www.lewrockwell.com/orig10/celente2.html interview]</ref>}}
== Return of Stagflation Concerns ==
In February of 2010 the ''[[Washington Times]]'' reported:
{{cquote|Prices rose 2.7 percent during 2009, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics' recent update of the Consumer Price Index (CPI). This is a worrisome fact because last year's unemployment rate averaged more than 9 percent. This trend may signal a return of "stagflation," a merger of stagnation and [[inflation]].

In the 1970s, stagflation shocked traditional [[Keynesian economics|Keynesian]] economists, whose models said the economy could not suffer from both high unemployment and rapid inflation at the same time. Unfortunately, the Keynesians were wrong, because an economy obviously can experience both evils simultaneously...

It seems every week the Obama administration announces some new tax or mandate that will further handicap businesses. Regardless of the official definitions of recession, the economy will remain sluggish for years to come. But if the [[Federal Reserve]] continues with its reckless policies, Americans will experience high inflation on top of high unemployment. As in the late 1970s, Americans will see that the pundits are wrong, because stagflation is very real.<ref>http://washingtontimes.com/news/2010/feb/19/setting-the-stage-for-stagflation/</ref>}}

==Command and Control==
===Census Bureau===

President Obama made a decision to have the director of the U.S. Census Bureau work directly with the White House, a move in advance of the 2010 census that will determine redistricting of congressional seats.

The Census is used to redraw district lines for elected seats in Congress and state legislatures. Efforts were made by the [[Bill Clinton|Clinton administration]] after the 2000 Census to adjust the totals for states and cities using statistical sampling and computer models. In 1999, the [[U.S. Supreme Court]] ruled 5-4 in ''Department of Commerce v. U.S. House'' that sampling could not be used to reapportion congressional seats. But it left open the possibility that sampling could be used to redraw political boundaries within the states.

Not only is it the basis for congressional redistricting, it provides the raw data by which government spending is allocated on everything from roads to schools. The Bureau of Labor Statistics also uses the Census to prepare the economic data that so much of business relies upon.

Rep. Darrell Issa of [[California]] and Rep. Patrick McHenry of [[North Carolina]] on the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, addressed President Obama:
"Requiring the Census director to report directly to White House Chief of Staff [[Rahm Emanuel]] is a shamefully transparent attempt by your administration to politicize the Census Bureau and manipulate the 2010 Census. The constitutionally-mandated decennial Census needs to be fair, accurate and trusted. By circumventing the secretary of commerce's oversight of the Census Bureau and handing it directly to a political operative such as Mr. Emanuel, you are severely jeopardizing the fairness and accuracy of the 2010 Census." <ref>[http://voices.washingtonpost.com/44/2009/02/05/census_director_to_report_to_w.html Census Director to Work Directly with White House], By Philip Rucker ''[[Washington Post]]'', February 5 2009.</ref> Issa also stated, "Any attempt by the [[Obama administration]] to circumvent the census process for their political benefit will be met with fierce opposition. This ill-conceived proposal undermines a constitutionally obligated process that speaks to the very heart of our [[democracy]]."

Michael Barone of ''[[US News and World Report]]'' noted the White House power grab may violate the [[Constitution]].<ref>[http://www.usnews.com/blogs/barone/2009/02/09/white-house-census-power-grab-may-violate-the-constitution.html ''White House Census Power Grab May Violate the Constitution''], Michael Barone, US News and World Report, February 09, 2009.</ref> Article I, Section 2 of the Constitution provides for an "actual enumeration" and a statute passed by Congress provides that the duties under this clause are to be performed by the secretary of commerce. Article is about the legislative, not the executive branch. Hence, the president can't substitute a sampling for the enumeration required to be done by the secretary.

Bruce Chapman, director of the U.S. Census Bureau under [[President Ronald Reagan]], explains
:"[I]f the nation's premier statistical agency were placed under White House direction, the danger to public trust would be enormous. The Decennial count is one of the few federal functions specifically described in the Constitution itself and must be operated above suspicion of politics. Power flows from an accurate census count. Everyone involved for years has seen the count therefore as a sacred trust. It must not be polluted with even a semblance of presidential meddling." <ref>[http://www.wnd.com/index.php?pageId=88302 White House grabs 2010 census power], By Drew Zahn, ''WorldNetDaily'', February 07, 2009.</ref>

===National Security Council staff===
The Tower Commission Report on the [[Iran/Contra]] fiasco during the [[Reagan Administration]] reviewed what was wrong <ref>Tower Commission Report (Report of the President's Special Review Board). February 26, 1987. U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington DC 20402. [http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/PS157/assignment%20files%20public/TOWER%20EXCERPTS.htm#PartIV]</ref> in the National Security process and made specific recommendations to avoid future potential abuses of power. The report stated the NSC staff had "developed an important role within the Executive Branch of coordinating policy review, preparing issues for presidential decision, and monitoring implementation. For this reason it has generally operated out of public view and has not been subject to direct oversight by Congress."<ref>Tower Commission Report (Report of the President's Special Review Board). February 26, 1987. U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington DC 20402, p. 13.</ref> In Iran-Contra, the "NSC staff assumed direct operational control,"<ref>Tower Commission Report, p. 62.</ref> and "Congress was never notified."<ref>Tower Commission Report, p. 63.</ref>

As specific recommendations, the Commission declared "Departments and agencies should not be excluded from participation in the process. The staff should not be implementors or operators;"<ref>Tower Commission Report, p. 93.</ref> when the NSC staff "take on implementation responsibilities, they risk compromising their objectivity. They can no longer act as impartial overseers of the implementation, ensuring that Presidential guidance is followed, that policies are kept under review, and that the results are serving the President's policy and the national interest."<ref>Tower Commission Report, p. 92.</ref> The Commission also noted, "Circumventing the departments...robs the President of the experience and capacity resident in the departments...Process will not always produce brilliant ideas, but history suggests it at least can prevent bad ideas from becoming presidential policy."<ref>''[http://books.google.com/books?id=cvxelgaMzIoC&pg=PA64&lpg=PA64&dq=tower+commission+report%2Brobs+the+president&source=bl&ots=9I1sgHbSP6&sig=ChdzjK-dH1FBSh13jprsx98qFoc&hl=en&ei=ag_lSoSEGoH8tQPUwZm5Aw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CA4Q6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=tower%20commission%20report%2Brobs%20the%20president&f=false Beyond a Government of Strangers: How Career Executives and Political Appointees Can Turn Conflict to Cooperation],''
Robert Maranto, Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc. (May 2005), p. 89. ISBN-13: 9780739110904</ref>

In August 2009 it was revealed the [[Obama administration]] ignored the Tower Commission Report. In a profanity-laced screaming match at the [[White House]]<ref>[http://abcnews.go.com/print?id=8398902 Obama White House v. CIA; Panetta Threatened to Quit Tensions Lead to CIA Director's "Screaming Match" at the White House], Matthew Cole, Richard Espisito, and Brian Ross, ''[[ABC News]]'', August 24, 2009.</ref> [[CIA]] Director [[Leon Panetta]] protested Obama's decision to create a team of interrogators overseen by the White House.<ref>[http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=112169988 ''White House To Oversee New Interrogation Team''], Dina Temple-Raston, npr.org August 24 2009.</ref> Responsibility for interrogations of suspects was shifted away from the CIA and the National Security Council staff given direct operational control.<ref>[http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/08/23/AR2009082302598.html ''New Unit to Question Key Terror Suspects - Move Shifts Interrogation Oversight From the CIA to the White House]'', Anne E. Kornblut, ''[[Washington Post]]'', August 24, 2009.</ref> Independent Counsel for Iran/Contra Lawrence Walsh wrote in the Final Report, "The National Security Act of 1947, the statute that created the NSC,48 charges it to 'assess and appraise the objectives, commitments, and risks of the United States in relation to our actual and potential military power, in the interest of national security," whereas the CIA, created by the same statute as an "agency involved in intelligence activities -- 'under the National Security Council,' and assigns the CIA the responsibility of 'coordinating the intelligence activities of the several Government departments and agencies in the interest of national security . . . under the direction of the National Security Council.50" <ref>Final Report of the Independent Counsel for Iran/Contra Matters. Lawrence E. Walsh. Washington, D.C. August 4, 1993. [http://www.fas.org/irp/offdocs/walsh/part_iii.htm Part III The Operational Conspiracy: A Legal Analysis]. Page 55. Walsh cites 50 U.S.C. 402(c) and 50 U.S.C. 403(a),(d). Footnote 50 includes "emphasis added".</ref> The [[Obama administration]] has said the new arrangements will be involved in "intelligence gathering."<ref>[http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/08/27/critics-question-shift-interrogations-away-cia/ Full Circle: Move to Shift Interrogations Away From CIA Draws Pre-Sept. 11 Comparisons], [[FOXNews]], August 27, 2009.</ref>

Critics such as former National Security Adviser Richard Allen said, "The National Security Council staff doesn't have, in my view, the expertise to be in the interrogation business" and puts the White House "in a position of micro-managing the process." Tony Shaffer, a former Army intelligence observed, "Once you have direct knowledge of day-to-day activities coming into a central location near or at the [[White House]], there's a tendency, almost a temptation, to meddle in actual field activities, such as [[LBJ]] calling in to commanders in rice paddies in [[Vietnam]] what he wants to have done that day."<ref>Ibid</ref>

Unlike executive departments and agencies such as the [[Department of Justice]], [[FBI]], and CIA, the National Security Council staff is not subject to Congressional authority and oversight, and operate outside the spotlight of public view.<ref>[http://www.commentarymagazine.com/blogs/index.php/j-e-dyer/78202 National Security Council Reloaded], J. E. Dyer, ''Commentary blog'', 08.25.2009.</ref><ref>Tower Commission Report, p. 13.</ref> The [[American Civil Liberties Union]] made this point during the [[United States Presidential Election, 2008|elections of 2008]] when the George W. Bush NSC staff was involved only in decisions and authorizations and before the Obama NSC staff took on an operational role.<ref>[http://www.aclu.org/safefree/torture/35595prs20080610.html?s_src=RSS ACLU Urges Congress to Examine White House National Security Council as Central Decision-Maker on Torture], ACLU Press Release, (6/10/2008).</ref>

[[John Brennan]], who was Obama's first choice as CIA Director, had his nomination withdrawn over allegations he was involved in enhanced interrogations of terror suspects during the administration of President [[George W. Bush]].<ref>[http://www.harpers.org/archive/2008/11/hbc-90003909 John Brennan for CIA? Think Again], Scott Horton, ''[[Harper's Magazine]]'', November 24, 2008.</ref>
<ref>[http://www.nationaljournal.com/njmagazine/ad_20081206_1783.php What's Behind Brennan's Withdrawal? Some former spies say left-leaning bloggers and columnists drove John Brennan out of consideration for CIA director], Shane Harris, ''National Journal Magazine'', Dec. 6, 2008.</ref> As Obama's advisor on counterterrorism, Brennan was placed in charge of the operation.

==Civilian National Security Force==
[[File:Def01.jpg|left|300px|thumb| A poster of the [[Maoist]] Red Guard during the Cultural Revolution. [http://www.okcu.edu/honors/colloquiums.pdf] ]]
Obama has called for a domestic "Civilian National Security Force" to be "just as powerful, just as strong, just as well-funded" as the United States military. ([http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tt2yGzHfy7s Video])<ref>http://www.americanthinker.com/2008/07/obamas_civilian_national_secur.html</ref> By contrast, the [[U.S. Army]] alone has nearly 500,000 troops, not counting reserves or [[National Guard]]. In 2007, the [[Pentagon|U.S. Defense]] budget was $439 billion.<ref>''[http://www.wnd.com/index.php?pageId=69601 Obama's 'civilian national security force']'', James Farah, [[WorldNetDaily.com]], July 15, 2008.</ref>

Rep. Bob Filner, a [[Democrat]] from [[California]] introduced H.R. 675, a [[backdoor spending]] bill that would amend title 10 of the United States Code and extend to civilian employees of the Department of Defense the authority to execute warrants, make arrests, and carry firearms. The bill would amend the U.S. code with the following: “Sec. 1585b. Law enforcement officers of the Department of Defense: authority to execute warrants, make arrests, and carry firearms… for any offense against the United States.” The bill would define a “law enforcement officer of the Department of Defense” as “a civilian employee of the Department of Defense,” including federal police officers, detectives, criminal investigators, special agents, and game law enforcement officers classified by the Office of Personnel Management Occupational Series 0083. The United States Office of Personnel Management is described as an “independent agency” of the U.S. government that manages the civil service of the federal government.

The [[Department of Defense]] has issued Defense Directive 1404.10 ([http://www.dtic.mil/whs/directives/corres/pdf/140410p.pdf read PDF]) that establishes a “DoD Civilian Expeditionary Workforce.” The Obama administration describes the Civilian Expeditionary Workforce as follows:

{{QuoteBox|Members of the DoD Civilian Expeditionary Workforce shall be organized, trained, cleared, equipped, and ready to deploy in support of combat operations by the military; contingencies; emergency operations; humanitarian missions; disaster relief; restoration of order; drug interdiction; and stability operations of the Department of Defense in accordance with DoDD 3000.05.}}

Both H.R. 675 and the DoD Civilian Expeditionary Workforce directive will establish civilian “soft power” under the direction of the Pentagon. Alex Jones' Infowars.com site states, "Obama is now actively working to create a paramilitary 'civilian national security force that’s just as powerful, just as strong, just as well-funded' as the military. In order to skirt Posse Comitatus, Obama’s paramilitary [[brownshirts]] will be organized and run out of the Office of Personnel Management with orders coming from the Pentagon."<ref>[http://www.infowars.com/hr-675-building-obamas-civilian-national-security-force/ H.R. 675: Building Obama’s Civilian National Security Force], Kurt Nimmo, Infowars, June 23, 2009.</ref>

Some critics have expressed concern over President Obama's intentions. <ref>[http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D94CDDM80&show_article=1 Georgia congressman warns of Obama dictatorship], Bob Evans, Briebart, Nov 10 2008.</ref>

===Indoctrination===
[[File:MyObama screen shot.jpg|thumb|450px|left|]]
By act of Congress and the signature of President Obama, the eighth anniversary of the [[September 11, 2001 terror attacks]] marked the first officially designated Patriot Day, a National Day of Service. The concept was championed by MyGoodDeed, an organization founded by family and friends of people killed in the attacks. The group's mission statement calls for honoring "the victims of 9/11 and those who rose to service in response to the attacks by encouraging" good deeds and various volunteer activities. A ''[[New York Post]]'' editorial alerted to the danger how
{{Cquote|Acts of kindness are easily distorted into [[propaganda]], issues advocacy and attempts to redefine 9/11 for political purposes. This cheapening has already happened, and in the most inappropriate place - the [[White House]]. <ref>[http://www.nydailynews.com/opinions/2009/08/30/2009-08-30_keep_faith_with_911_official_observances_must_not_obscure_days_true_meaning.html Keep faith with 9/11: Official observances must not obscure day's true meaning], Editorial, ''New York Post'', Sunday, August 30th 2009.</ref>}}
The [[Obama administration]] supports creating clean energy jobs in cities through a campaign called '''Green the Block''', started by the groups Green For All and the Hip Hop Caucus. A video and statement are posted on the White House blog. Environmental Czar [[Van Jones]], founder of Green for All, said 9/11 commemoration would be an opportunity to "connect, to find other people in your peer group who are also passionate about repowering America but also greening up America and cleaning up America." In 2004 Jones on behalf of his organization, the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights, signed on to the [[conspiratorial]] 911 Truth organization [http://www.911truth.org/article.php?story=20041026093059633] alleging a U.S. role in planning and executing the attacks.<ref>[http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/09/04/radicalization-obamas-green-czar/ The Radicalization of Obama's 'Green Czar'], FOXNews.com, September 04, 2009.</ref>

barackobama.com, which now is "Organizing for America, the successor organization to Obama for America,"<ref>[http://www.barackobama.com/learn/about_ofa.php Organizing for America] About OFA</ref> carries an event described as follows:

<blockquote>'''PHONE CALLS ON 9/11 - Illinois! (Health Care Organizing Event)''' 
What day? Our US Senators return to DC the Tues after Labor Day. That next FRIDAY, Sep 11, is Patriot Day, designated in memory of the nearly three thousand who died in the 9/11 attacks. 
All 50 States are coordinating in this – as we fight back against our own Right-Wing Domestic Terrorists who are subverting the American Democratic Process, whipped to a frenzy by their Fox Propaganda Network ceaselessly re-seizing power for their treacherous leaders.... 
...according to a White House Advisor to the President with whom I spoke ten days ago at a DNC Panel, he said, "ON ONE DAY you 'burn-up' the Senate Switchboards - THE NEXT DAY you've got the Senator's attention". We will achieve that effect, on Friday, Patriot Day 9/11. [http://74.125.155.132/search?q=cache:3kI-WRLXCWwJ:my.barackobama.com/page/event/detail/healthcareorganizingevent/gpk4cj%20mybarackobama%20gpk4cj&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us]</blockquote>

One week prior to the first Patriot Day and Green the Block action, President Obama's aides acknowledge the White House helped the [[U.S. Education Department]] craft a proposal for prekindergarten to sixth-grade students to write letters about "what they can do to help the president," and for students immediately after listening to a speech by the president to engage in a discussion about what "the president wants us to do." A curriculum was distributed nationwide by the Department of Education prior to Obama's presentation to students.<ref>[http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/sep/02/wh-withdraws-call-students-help-obama/print/ White House withdraws call for students to 'help' Obama], Matthew Mosk, ''The Washington Times'', September 3 2009.</ref> Part of the exercise was to include teachers putting up “quotations” from Obama on the walls, and having the children making a “pledge” to do what they can to “serve” President Obama. <ref>http://www.newmediajournal.us/staff/porter/2009/09102009.htm</ref>

===Retribution against percieved 'enemies'===
President Obama rose to prominence as the Keynote speeker at the 2004 Democratic National Convention declaring in the speech,
{{Cquote|there's not a liberal America and a conservative America... there's not a black America and white America and Latino America and Asian America; there's the United States of America. ... Do we participate in a politics of cynicism, or do we participate in a politics of hope? <ref>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A19751-2004Jul27.html</ref>}}

President Obama told the corrupt, scandel ridden [[ACORN]] organization, an organization involved in human trafficing, the teenage sex trade, and ballot box stuffing initiatives on behalf of Democratic candidates,<ref> http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/187873/sen-al-franken-d-acorn/mark-hemingway</ref>
{{Cquote|We're going to be calling all of you in to help us shape the agenda.<ref>http://books.google.com/books?id=T-lmcZL_bXIC&pg=PA259&lpg=PA259&dq=obama%2BWe+are+going+to+be+calling+all+of+you+in+to+help+shape+the+agenda&source=bl&ots=fkP3HHz1SW&sig=DrMGmbe0IaGWgqQ6ta9E4uPoVmA&hl=en&ei=t_LSTKnCL8SBlAfL6OW9Dg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CBMQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=obama%2BWe%20are%20going%20to%20be%20calling%20all%20of%20you%20in%20to%20help%20shape%20the%20agenda&f=false</ref>}}
Before sufferring a resounding rebuke of his leadership,<ref>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/11/02/AR2010110208183.html?hpid=opinionsbox1</ref> his party, and the progressive liberal [[ideology]] in the [[2010 midterm election]]s, Mr. Obama urged partisan backers to exact revenge on their 'enemies'.<ref>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/10/28/AR2010102806270.html</ref><ref>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/11/02/AR2010110205027.html</ref><ref>http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/250919/did-president-united-states-describe-some-americans-ienemiesi-kathryn-jean-lopez</ref><ref>http://www.weeklystandard.com/blogs/obama-latinos-punish-your-enemies-voting-booth_511932.html</ref> The president suggested,
{{Cquote|We're gonna punish our enemies and we're gonna reward our friends.<ref>http://books.google.com/books?id=T-lmcZL_bXIC&pg=PA259&lpg=PA259&dq=obama%2BWe+are+going+to+be+calling+all+of+you+in+to+help+shape+the+agenda&source=bl&ots=fkP3HHz1SW&sig=DrMGmbe0IaGWgqQ6ta9E4uPoVmA&hl=en&ei=t_LSTKnCL8SBlAfL6OW9Dg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CBMQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=obama%2BWe%20are%20going%20to%20be%20calling%20all%20of%20you%20in%20to%20help%20shape%20the%20agenda&f=false</ref>}}

== Human Rights ==

=== Forced abortion ===
In March 2009 the [[Obama administration]] announced it would send $50 million to the United Nations Population Fund, or UNFPA. UNPFA actively promotes abortion and is working closely with Chinese population control officials to implement China's forced abortion policy. The [[CCP]]'s coercive one-child rule has resulted in forced abortions, involuntary sterilizations and other [[human rights]] abuses.<ref>[http://www.lifenews.com/int981.html Group Confirms Obama Would Fund Forced Abortions if UNFPA Money Restored], by Steven Ertelt, LifeNews.com Editor, November 12, 2008.</ref>

UNFPA officials work side-by-side their authoritarian colleagues and even share the same offices.<ref>[http://www.lifenews.com/int1138.html Obama Administration Announces $50 Million for Pro-Forced Abortion UNFPA], by Steven Ertelt, LifeNews.com Editor, March 26, 2009.</ref>

===Snitch list===
In July 2009 the [[White House]] began soliciting from its immense social media networks and the general public that if they were to "see something on the web about [[Obamacare|health insurance reform]] that seems fishy, send it to flag@whitehouse.gov."<ref>http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/facts-are-stubborn-things/</ref><ref>http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/27655039/</ref>
Under the [[Privacy Act of 1974]], which was passed after the [[Richard Nixon|Nixon administration]] used federal agencies to illegally investigate individuals for [[political]] purposes, prohibits any federal agency from maintaining records on individuals exercising their right to [[free speech]].<ref>[http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/08/07/white-house-collect-fishy-info-health-reform-illegal-critics-say/ White House Move to Collect 'Fishy' Info May Be Illegal], [[FOXNews]].com, August 07, 2009</ref><ref>[http://www.weeklystandard.com/weblogs/TWSFP/2009/08/mark_your_calendar_flagwhiteho_1.asp Snitch List to be Released in 2018 (or 2022)?], Weeklystandard.com</ref>

Sen. [[John Cornyn]] of Texas stated in a letter to the White House, "I am not aware of any precedent for a President asking American citizens to report their fellow citizens to the White House for pure political speech that is deemed ‘fishy' or otherwise inimical to the White House's political interests."<ref>http://cornyn.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=ForPress.NewsReleases&ContentRecord_id=ebc2c77d-802a-23ad-4ae4-6ccf4c7a255c</ref>
Congressman Darrell Issa also expressed grave concern about the administration blurring the lines between political and official business by collecting data on administration critics.<ref>http://abcnews.go.com/print?id=8352544</ref>

===Data collection and privacy rights===

In August 2009 it was reported the White House was soliciting bids to outsource a technology vendor to conduct a massive, secret effort to harvest personal information on millions of Americans from social networking websites of Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, YouTube, Flickr and others – any space where the White House “maintains a presence.” The information to be captured includes comments, tag lines, emails, audio, and video.

Critics have charged the emerging pattern of information management and control as "yet another sign that this Administration is at best indifferent to privacy rights and at worst prepared to violate [[civil liberties]] for [[political]] purposes.<ref>[http://nlpc.org/stories/2009/08/31/obama-white-house-has-secret-plan-harvest-personal-data-social-networking-website Obama White House Has Secret Plan To Harvest Personal Data From Social Networking Websites], Ken Boehm, 08/31/2009.</ref>

===Patriot Act===

The Obama [[Justice Department]] has been accused of being "secretive, tyrannical, and oppressive" and compared with [[President George W. Bush]], "even worse."<ref>[http://donedems.com/2009/04/14/holy-crap-obama-actually-manages-to-make-the-patriot-act-worse-than-under-bush/ Obama Actually Manages to Make the Patriot Act WORSE than Under Bush], DONE, April 14, 2009,</ref> As a candidate, Senator Obama lamented that the Bush Administration "invoked a legal tool known as the 'state secrets' privilege more than any other previous administration to get cases thrown out of civil court," however in a motion to dismiss ''Jewel v. NSA'', the Electronic Frontier Foundation litigation against the National Security Agency for the warrantless wiretapping, the [[Obama Administration]] argued that the state secrets privilege requires the court to dismiss the issue out of hand. The Obama administration argued that simply allowing the case to continue "would cause exceptionally grave harm to national security." As in the past, this is a blatant ploy to dismiss the litigation without allowing the courts to consider the evidence.

The Obama Justice Department then argued that the U.S. Government is completely immune from litigation for illegal spying — that the Government can never be sued for surveillance that violates federal privacy statutes. Birch Bricker writing in the ''Auburn Journal'' then points out, "This is a radical assertion that is utterly unprecedented. No one — not the [[White House]], not the Justice Department, not any member of Congress, and not the [[Bush Administration]] — has ever interpreted the law this way....The Obama Administration goes two steps further than Bush did, and claims that the [[US PATRIOT Act]] also renders the U.S. immune from suit under the two remaining key federal surveillance laws: the Wiretap Act and the Stored Communications Act. Essentially, the Obama Administration has claimed that the government cannot be held accountable for illegal surveillance under any federal statutes." <ref>[http://my.auburnjournal.com/detail/111477.html?content_source=&category_id=&search_filter=Patriot+Act&user_id=&event_mode=&event_ts_from=&event_ts_to=&list_type=&order_by=&order_sort=&content_class=2&sub_type=&town_id= It's Actually Possible... The Patriot Act Gets Worse], ''Auburn Journal'', 4/12/09.</ref>

===Guantanamo===

As the Democratic candidate for president Obama pledged on numerous occasions to countless audiences closing the [[Guantanamo Bay]] Detention facility housing uncharged captured combatants in order to "regain America's moral stature in the world." <ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UQXZoM__vU0 60 Minutes: Obama Reiterates Promise To Close Guantanamo Bay]</ref> After assuming office, Obama made a budget request to transfer the detainees to the [[United States]] without specifying where the detainees would be held. The Democratic-controlled Congress repudiated Obama by denying funding for that transfer, and leaders from both parties spoke against it.<ref>http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/us_and_americas/article6326589.ece</ref> Obama then endorsed indefinite detention without trial.<ref>[http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/05/21/AR2009052104045.html Obama Endorses Indefinite Detention Without Trial for Some], Peter Finn, Washington Post, May 22, 2009. </ref>

===Iran===
Obama has continued covert operations in [[Iran]] begun under President [[George W. Bush]]. Investigative journalist [[Seymour Hersh]] quotes numerous sources as saying that the [[U.S. Congress]] agreed to a Bush request in late 2007 to fund an escalation of covert operation in Iran. Hersh says those operations began as early as 2005. Bush signed a series of executive orders and findings [in late 2004] permitting the Pentagon to run clandestine, covert operations -- operations which Americans go into countries under cover.<ref>[http://www.globalsecurity.org/intell/library/news/2009/intell-090113-rferl01.htm ''Reports Suggest Obama Faces Early Choice On Iran Covert Ops''] By Ron Synovitz, January 13, 2009.</ref> Jeremy R. Hammond writes in the [[progressive]] website ''Foreign Policy Journal'': "[G]iven the record of U.S. interference in the state affairs of Iran and clear policy of regime change, it certainly seems possible, even likely, that the U.S. had a significant role to play in helping to bring about the recent turmoil in an effort to undermine the government of the Islamic Republic.

According to Ken Timmerman, the executive director of the Foundation for Democracy in Iran ~ the Persian Service of [[Voice of America]] (VOA) clearly sided with Mir Hossein Mousavi against those dissident groups who wanted to boycott the election entirely, the position Timmerman favored. Timmerman saw the branding of Mousavi's "green revolution" as evidence that the US government was using its National Endowment for Democracy to support the former prime minister Mousavi. Post election violence claimed the lives of 69 people.<ref>[http://www.denverpost.com/nationworld/ci_13041572 ''Iranian reformists claim 69 dead in post-election violence''], By Nasser Karimi, The ''[[Associated Press]]'', 08/12/2009.</ref> Steve Weissman writes,
"[O]ur opposition to [ [[Ahmadinejad]] ] does not justify meddling in another country's election while proclaiming "universal democratic values."<ref>[http://blogs.salon.com/0002255/2009/06/19.html ''Halt Cheney's And Now Obama's Covert Iran Operations''] by Allen L Roland, Salon.com, June 19, 2009.</ref>

Eric Margolis, a columnist for Quebecor Media Company in Canada and a contributor to ''The Huffington Post'', wrote: "While the majority of protests we see in Tehran are genuine and spontaneous, Western intelligence agencies and media are playing a key role in sustaining the uprising and providing communications, including the newest electronic method, via [[Twitter]]. These are covert techniques developed by the US during recent revolutions in Ukraine and Georgia that brought pro-US governments to power."

===China and Tibet===
[[File:021910 dalailama13 slideshow 604x500.jpg|right|300px|thumb|The Dalai Lama is escorted past White House trash bags after "strong objections" from Chinese officials over a meeting with President Obama. [http://www.cnn.com/2010/POLITICS/02/18/obama.dalailama/index.html]]]
On Secretary of State [[Hillary Clinton]]'s first official visit to [[China]], the Secretary told Chinese leaders the [[Obama administration]] considered [[human rights]] concerns secondary to economic survival<ref>[http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/china/4735087/Hillary-Clinton-Chinese-human-rights-secondary-to-economic-survival.html Hillary Clinton: Chinese human rights secondary to economic survival,] Richard Spencer, ''London Telegraph,'' 20 Feb 2009.</ref> and asked the [[CCP]] leaders for help financing [[President Obama]]'s massive $787 economic stimulus plan by buying US Treasury securities.<ref>[http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=CNG.42a44b0f5d9cf5c9762e80574e79a3d5.831&show_article=1 Clinton wraps Asia trip by asking China to buy US debt,] Briebart, Feb 22 2009.</ref>

The [[Dalai Lama]], often portrayed as a religious leader, was made [[Tibet]]an head of state in 1950, the same year that China invaded and annexed Tibet.<ref>[http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/asiapcf/02/18/analysis.china.dalai.lama/index.html Analysis: Why the Dalai Lama angers China,] Jaime FlorCruz, CNN Beijing Bureau Chief, February 18, 2010.</ref> [[CNN]] reports the Chinese find it "unacceptable when they see the Dalai Lama treated as a VIP, or even akin to a head of state." <ref>Ibid.</ref>

After the Dalai Lama met with President Obama in February, 2010 he was unceremoniously escorted through a side door that trash is regularly carried out to a photo op with awaiting camaras.

===Religious persecution===

====Identity liberty vs belief liberty====

Prof. Chai Feldblum, a Georgetown University law professor nominated by President Barack Hussein Obama to serve on the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, has declared society should “come down on the side” of homosexual equality at the expense of religious liberty. Feldblum reasoned the conflict between the two is “irreconcilable,” religious liberty -- also called "belief liberty" -- must be placed second to the “identity liberty” of homosexuals.

Feldblum published her beliefs in an article entitled “Moral Conflict and Liberty: Gay Rights and Religion” in the Brooklyn Law Review in 2006. Feldblum recognizes that elements of the [[homosexual agenda]] may infringe on Americans’ religious liberties. “Protecting one group’s identity liberty may, at times, require that we burden others’ belief liberty. This is an inherent and irreconcilable reality of our complex society,” Feldblum wrote.<ref>[http://www.cnsnews.com/news/article/59965 Obama’s EEOC Nominee: Society Should ‘Not Tolerate Private Beliefs’ That ‘Adversely Affect’ Homosexuals,] Matt Cover, [[CNSNews]], January 18, 2010.</ref>

====Book burning====
In May 2009 [[bible]]s were burned at Bagram Air Base in [[Afghanistan]].<ref>[http://www.upi.com/Top_News/2009/05/20/Military-burns-Bibles-sent-to-Afghanistan/UPI-70431242828660/ Military burns Bibles sent to Afghanistan], UPI, May 20, 2009.</ref><ref>[http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=32000 Is the Military Supposed to Burn Bibles?], by Robert Maginnism, ''Human Events'', 05/26/2009.</ref>

===Free speech===

The Cybersecurity Act of 2009 would give the administration authority to conduct warrantless spying and dictatorial power over Internet.<ref>[http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2009/04/should-obama-control-internet Should Obama Control the Internet?], ''Mother Jones'', April 2 2009.</ref>

*Section 215 -- drastically broadens the kinds of information the government can demand under Foreign Intelligence Security Act to "any tangible thing" while lowering the burden of proof to obtain such an order. According to the ''[[Washington Post]]'' this measure "allows investigators probing terrorism to seek a suspect's records from third parties such as financial services and travel and telephone companies without notifying the suspect. The American Civil Liberties Union has criticized the provision, saying it violates the First Amendment rights of U.S. citizens."

*Section 206 -- grants the authority to use secret "roving wiretaps." "In the past, authorities had to seek court approval for each electronic device carried by a suspect, from a cellphone and a BlackBerry to a home computer," writes the ''Post'', "But under the provision, one warrant can cover all of those machines." "Unlike roving wiretaps authorized for criminal investigations," the ACLU explains, "section 206 does not require the order to identify either the communications device to be tapped nor the individual against whom the surveillance is directed, which is what gives section 206 the Kafkaesque moniker, the "John Doe roving wiretap provision."

*Section 6001 -- or the "lone wolf" provision, which allows for secret FISA surveillance orders against people who have no connections to a terror group or foreign nation. "The government justified this provision by imagining a hypothetical "lone wolf," an international terrorist operating independently of any terrorist organization," explains the ACLU, "but there is little evidence to suggest this imaginary construct had any basis in reality."

Rod Beckstrom, formerly in charge of coordinating the US government’s cyber-security operations, in a resignation letter to Secretary of Homeland Security [[Janet Napolitano]],<ref>[http://online.wsj.com/public/resources/documents/BeckstromResignation.pdf Letter from Rod Beckstrom to Janet Napolitano], March 9, 2009.</ref> cited the expanded control over the nation’s computer security efforts poses “threats to our democratic processes.” <ref>''[http://www.upi.com/Top_News/Special/2009/03/11/US-cybersecurity-head-quits-citing-growing-role-of-spy-agencies/UPI-64411236692969/ U.S. cybersecurity head quits, citing growing role of spy agencies]'', Shaun Waterman, UPI, March. 11, 2009.</ref>

==Further reading==

*[http://blogsforvictory.com/2009/06/22/understanding-obamunism/ ''Understanding Obamunism''] by Mark Noonan on June 22nd, 2009.
*[http://www.weeklystandard.com/blogs/human-rights-according-obamunism ''Human Rights According To Obamunism'',] ''[[Weekly Standard]]'', Rachel Abrams, January 15, 2010.
*[http://www.usasurvival.org/docs/hawaii-obama.pdf ''Communism in Hawaii and the Obama Connection''], Cliff Kincaid and Herbert Romerstein.
*[http://www.usasurvival.org/docs/chicago-obama.pdf ''Communism in Chicago and the Obama Connection''], Cliff Kincaid and Herbert Romerstein.

==See also==

*[[Obama administration fiscal policy]]
*[[Obama administration monetary policy]]
*[[Obama administration corporate bailouts]]
*[[Barack Obama and uncharitableness]]
*[[Similarities between Communism, Nazism and liberalism]]
*[[Crony capitalism]]
*[[Obamacare]]

==References==
{{reflist|2}}

==External Links ==

'''General Resources:'''

*[http://www.europac.net/whitepapers/BewareOfObamanomics.pdf Beware Of Obamanomics]
*[http://obamunism.us/ Obamunism]

'''Articles on Obama administration monetary policy''':

*[http://www.swifteconomics.com/2009/07/18/feds-treasury-purchases/ Fed’s Treasury Purchases March 2009 to July 2009]
*[http://military.rightpundits.com/2009/08/13/federal-reserve-is-printing-money-prepare-for-hyper-inflation/ Federal Reserve is Printing Money: Prepare for Hyper-Inflation] August 13, 2009
*[http://seekingalpha.com/article/120883-monetary-policynot-obama-s-stimulusis-what-needs-watching Monetary Policy — Not Obama's Stimulus—Is What Needs Watching]
*[http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/Investing/ContrarianChronicles/printing-money-isnt-the-cure.aspx Printing money is not the cure]

'''2009 Obama Administration Monetary Policy Videos''':

*[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qw1hkEor6sM&feature=channel_page Glenn Beck on Printing Money]
*[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jdEuXuslrLA Ron Paul, Glenn Beck & Company: Monetizing the Debt - The Truth]
*[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M4v5x932cNE Peter Schiff - Impending hyperinflation]
*[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DpQqLCbD1EY&feature=related Inflation Is Going To Increase Very Substantially As A Result Of Money Printing] May 30, 2009
*[http://www.youtube.com/user/hyperstagflation Hyperstagflation]
*[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oVOuC0qSrR8 $78.8 Trillion; United States Debt Obligations exceed world GDP; Monetary Collapse Looming?] February 16, 2009

'''2008 Obama Administration Monetary Policy Videos'''

*[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Ahaczm7Ahw Peter Schiff - Obama = print print print print print] - November 06, 2008

'''2009 Articles on Obama administration fiscal policy:'''

*[http://www.nypost.com/seven/05172009/postopinion/editorials/bams_wise_words_169731.htm Bam's Wise Words] - [[New York Post]], May 17, 2009
*[http://blog.heritage.org/2009/03/24/bush-deficit-vs-obama-deficit-in-pictures/ Bush Deficit vs. Obama Deficit in Pictures] - [[Heritage Foundation]], March 24th, 2009

'''2009 Videos on Obama administration fiscal policy:'''

*[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ac9TG15xbGg Over 200 top economist against the Obama plan]
*[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Gjzr0JQuic&feature=related Obamanomics 101 - Obama's Real Fiscal Policy]
*[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=72GLNrYwjlQ America, we must find a new fiscal policy]
*[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yREOUxo6Qdc Stop Spending Our Future]
*[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5MsdCuuW0j8 Obama Deficit Dishonesty?]
*[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oVOuC0qSrR8 $78.8 Trillion; United States Debt Obligations exceed world GDP; Monetary Collapse Looming?] February 16, 2009

[[Category: Politics]]
[[Category:Barack Hussein Obama]]

Barack Hussein Obama

2014-12-07T01:11:54Z

Nhodgson: A few tweaks to make it more assertive

{{Officeholder
|name=Barack Hussein Obama
|image=President Barack Obama.jpg
|party=[[Democratic Party]]
|spouse=[[Michelle LaVaughn Robinson Obama]]; may have had a prior marriage.<ref>http://www.wnd.com/2012/07/was-barack-obama-married-in-college/</ref>
|religion=unknown (see [[Obama's religion]])
|offices={{Officeholder/president
|country=the United States
|number=44th
|terms=January 20, 2009-Present
|vp=[[Joe Biden]]
|preceded=[[George W. Bush]]
|former=n
|succeeded=
}}
{{Officeholder/senator
|state=Illinois
|terms=January 3, 2005 – November 16, 2008
|preceded=Peter Fitzgerald
|former=y
|succeeded=[[Roland Burris]]
}}
}}

'''Barack Hussein Obama II''' (reportedly born in [[Honolulu, Hawaii]] on August 4, 1961) is the 44th President of the [[United States]]. Through heavy use of [[early voting]] by the Democrat political/media machine, Obama was elected president in 2008 with 365 [[electoral vote]]s and 53% of the popular vote. In 2012 he was elected to a second term with 332 electoral votes and 51% of the popular vote. Promoted heavily by [[liberals]], as demonstrated by his unjustified receipt of the 2009 [[Nobel Prize|Nobel Peace Prize]], Obama won the presidency despite a short and unremarkable political career by outspending his opponent, [[John McCain]], by hundreds of millions of dollars in 2008<ref>[http://www.opensecrets.org/pres08/contriball.php?cycle=2008 Candidate Comparison: Top Contributors 2008 Cycle]. OpenSecrets.org.</ref>, and spending more than a billion dollars from special interests to attain reelection in 2012.<ref>[http://www.opensecrets.org/pres12/index.php 2012 Presidential Race]. OpenSecrets.org [http://www.opensecrets.org/pres12/indus.php?cycle=2012&id=N00009638 Opensecrets.org Barack Obama], 33% Individual contributions, 67% large and corporate.</ref>

The [[liberal claptrap]] that helped elect Obama as president is still misguided today. It was claimed, for example, that Obama has millions of followers on Twitter, when allegedly some 70% of them are fake.<ref>http://content.usatoday.com/communities/theoval/post/2012/08/obama-has-millions-of-fake-twitter-followers/1#.UDfQVqA2et_</ref> And although the [[lamestream media]] promoted Obama as a great orator, in fact he relies almost entirely on teleprompters for his speeches and press conferences, and at one point even had teleprompters set up for him in a middle school classroom in order to speak to the media.

Obama is [[pro-abortion]]. In fact, he is the most pro-abortion president yet<ref>http://www.sba-list.org/suzy-b-blog/obama-most-pro-abortion-president-ever</ref>. Obama has dedicated himself to promoting abortion—rather than reduce them as he promised. The president has done this by, just to name a few, expanding abortions through Obamacare, appointing many pro-abortion judges and officials, moving to strip medical professionals of rights of conscience, and forcing taxpayers to support the pro-abortion movement around the globe. During his campaigns Obama said that he intended to "[[Redistribution of wealth|spread the wealth around]]" and has been portrayed as saying that entrepreneurs and employers deserve no credit for building their businesses.<ref>Zuckerman, M.B. (2010, July 16). [http://www.usnews.com/opinion/mzuckerman/articles/2010/07/16/obamas-anti-business-policies-are-our-economic-katrina Obama's Anti-business Policies are our Economic Katrina]. ''U.S. News''. Barnes, F. (2009, July 22). [http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/016/619dvjlm.asp An Anti-Business President]. ''The Weekly Standard''. Vol. 14, No. 38 Shedlock, M. (2010, August 20). [http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/2010/08/small-businesses-are-not-hiring-why.html Small Businesses are not hiring. Why should they?] Globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com. Wright, C.E. (2012, February 12). [http://www.americanthinker.com/2010/02/dear_mr_president_why_we_are_n.html Dear Mr. President: Why we are not hiring]. ''American Thinker''.</ref> On March 1, 2013 Obama issued [[Executive Order|executive orders]] to implement his [[Budget sequester|sequester]] of budget cuts which<ref>http://weaselzippers.us/2013/02/27/dnc-boosts-obama-sequester-job-loss-threat-of-750000-to-2-million</ref> has been widely criticized for destroying jobs in what was an anemic and fragile recovery.<ref>[http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2013-02-26/news/chi-20130226-foys_briefs_1_sequester-president-obama-press-secretary-jay-carney President Obama's sequester,] ''Chicago Tribune'', February 26, 2013.</ref>

Warren L. Dean Jr., an adjunct professor of law at Georgetown University Law Center, wrote:
*{{obama income inequality}}

Former [[Democrat]] Presidential candidate [[Joe Lieberman]] endorsed Obama's opponent [[John McCain]] in 2008 and has declined to endorse Obama for the [[Presidential Election 2012|2012 presidential election]].<ref>Lillis, M. (2012, April 22). [http://thehill.com/video/campaign/222929-lieberman-declines-to-endorse-in-presidential-race Sen. Lieberman declines to endorse in presidential race]. ''The Hill''.</ref>

Following the 2011 debt ceiling standoff between Obama and House Republicans,<ref name=Swann-Aug>{{cite web|url=http://www.standardandpoors.com/servlet/BlobServer?blobheadername3=MDT-Type&blobcol=urldata&blobtable=MungoBlobs&blobheadervalue2=inline%3B+filename%3DUS_Downgraded_AA%2B.pdf&blobheadername2=Content-Disposition&blobheadervalue1=application%2Fpdf&blobkey=id&blobheadername1=content-type&blobwhere=1243942957443&blobheadervalue3=UTF-8 |title=United States of America Long-Term Rating Lowered to 'AA+' on Political Risks and Rising Debt Burden; Outlook Negative |publisher= [[Standard & Poor's]] |date=August 5, 2011 |accessdate=April 3, 2013}}</ref> the United States Government's credit rating was, for the first time in its history, downgraded from AAA to AA+, and [[poverty]]<ref>[http://www.census.gov/hhes/www/poverty/data/incpovhlth/2009/pov09fig04.pdf Figure 4: Number in Poverty and Poverty Rate: 1959-2009]. ''U.S. Census Bureau''. Current Population Survey, 1960 to 2010 Annual Social and Economic Supplements.</ref> increased markedly. By and large his programs, said to combat the recession, unemployment, slow growth, and deficits, have failed<ref>"The vast majority (73%) of respondents reported the fiscal stimulus enacted in February 2009 has had no impact on employment to date. While 68% also believe a jobs bill, such as the one recently enacted into law, will have no impact on payrolls, 30% do believe it will boost payrolls moderately". [http://www.nabe.com/press/ind1004.pdf Industry Survey], ''National Association for Business Economics'', April 2010, p. 2.</ref> leaving the the country saddled with a $16 trillion [[national debt]] and climbing.<ref>Under Obama the U.S. National Debt has tripled. Source: [https://research.stlouisfed.org/fred2/graph/fredgraph.png?graph_id=86836 U.S. Treasury]; Federal Reserve Board.</ref> One of his most well known tactics is blaming someone else, such as George W. Bush, for all his failures instead of taking responsibility. Also on the domestic front, Obama passed an expensive [[health care]] bill in 2010 with no national concensus or [[bipartisan]] support and 34 Democrats dissenting. Recently, the [[Congressional Budget Office]] wrote an open letter to [[John Boehner]], the Speaker of the House, outlining the effects of repealing [[Obamacare]] and explaining why net loss of over 100 billion dollars would occur from the repeal. [http://cbo.gov/publication/43471]

Americans deaths in [[Afghanistan]] have more than doubled under Obama's leadership compared with the preceding eight years of George Bush, according to the Congressional Research Service <ref>Chesser, S.G. (2012, July 12). [http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/natsec/R41084.pdf Afghanistan Casualties: Military Forces and Civilians - CRS Report for Congress]. Pg. 3. ''Congressional Research Service'''.</ref> Against his own Defense Secretary's advice, Obama [[Libyan uprising 2011|attacked Libya]] - a possible violation of the [[War Powers Act]]. After he he took credit for the killing of [[September 11th]] mastermind terrorist [[Osama bin Laden]], the [[U.S. State Department]] warned of increased risk to the lives and safety of Americans.<ref>''KABC-TV/DT'' (2011, July 27). [http://abclocal.go.com/kabc/story?section=news/national_world&id=8273909 Risk of anti-US violence up after Osama bin Laden's death]. On ''ABC7 News''.</ref> Bin Laden's successor, [[Ayman al-Zawahiri]] confirmed the [[Benghazi Attack]] which killed four State Department employees, was motivated by revenge.<ref>[http://www.cnn.com/2012/09/12/world/africa/libya-attack-jihadists/index.html Pro-al Qaeda group seen behind deadly Benghazi attack], By Nic Robertson, Paul Cruickshank and Tim Lister, CNN, September 13, 2012.</ref> Bin Laden's killing, however had negligible impact on Obama's approval ratings.<ref>''Gallup''. [http://www.gallup.com/poll/113980/gallup-daily-obama-job-approval.aspx Gallup Daily: Obama Job Approval].</ref>

Obama's bizarre gaffes, or [[Obamaisms]], are frequent and damaging, but naturally unreported by the [[liberal media]]. Some examples are: spelling respect as R-S-P-E-C-T when he was attempting to sing that line from Aretha Franklin's famous song, spelling Ohio as O-I-H-O, and saying that we build the Intercontinental Railroad instead of the Transcontinental Railroad, saying "How's it going, Sunshine" when he was in the city of Sunrise, Florida. <ref>http://politicalhumor.about.com/od/barackobama/a/obama-isms.htm</ref>. Many hardworking American businessmen took offense to a 2012 campaign speech about the economy where he says "You didn't build that." Obama offended [[Poland]] by referring to the [[Nazi]] death camps there as "Polish death camps." Later Obama apologized.<ref>Sink, J. (2012, June 1). [http://thehill.com/blogs/global-affairs/europe/230419-obama-letter-says-he-regrets-polish-death-camp-gaffe Obama apologizes in writing for 'Polish death camp' verbal gaffe].''The Hill''.</ref> Even the ''New York Times'' was critical of Obama's incessant boasting about the killing of bin Laden.<ref>[http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/28/us/politics/critics-pounce-on-obamas-trumpeting-of-bin-laden-death.html?_r=0 Obama Trumpets Killing of Bin Laden, and Critics Pounce], By PETER BAKER and MICHAEL D. SHEAR, April 27, 2012.</ref>

Even according to a liberal NBC news poll, Obama's approval rating is a dismal 40%<ref>http://www.msnbc.com/msnbc/poll-americans-dissatisfied-economy</ref>, showing that six in ten Americans disapprove of his communist policies. Given that liberals frequently engage in [[Liberal lies|deceit]], the actual approval ratings are much lower.

==Biography==
===Birth===
{{TOC right}}
:''Main article : [[Early life and career of Barack Hussein Obama]]''
:''See also : [[Barack Obama's Muslim Heritage]]''
Obama claims to have been born in Hawaii to Stanley Ann Dunham and [[Barack Obama Sr.]] - who had married just six months prior - on August 4, 1961 in [[Honolulu, Hawaii]].<ref name=msnbc>''MSNBC'' (2008, February 20). "[http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23257295/ns/msnbc_tv-documentaries/t/obama-becomes-rising-star-among-democrats/ Obama Becomes Rising Star Among Democrats]."</ref> Some contend that this story is a complete fabrication. After many leading conservatives -- including the leadership of this site and [[Donald Trump]] -- called for Obama to release his birth certificate he produced a document that he claimed was his birth certificate on April 27, 2011. Sheriff [[Joe Arpaio]] of Maricopa County in Arizona conducted an investigation of Obama's eligibility and questioned whether the alleged "birth certificate" was a fake; however, no charges have been filed. [[Obama]] was reportedly assigned a social security number whose area code was assigned to applications coming from zip codes in Connecticut.<ref>Beginning in 1972, all Social Security numbers were issued from a central office in Baltimore, Maryland.[http://www.ssa.gov/history/ssn/geocard.html]</ref>

The original claims that Obama was born in [[Kenya]] come from the Obamas themselves. In 1991, Obama's literary agent, Acton & Dystel, published a promotional booklet that stated that Obama was born in Kenya. <ref>http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Government/2012/05/17/The-Vetting-Barack-Obama-Literary-Agent-1991-Born-in-Kenya-Raised-Indonesia-Hawaii</ref><ref>http://www.examiner.com/article/publisher-s-1991-booklet-says-barack-obama-was-born-kenya</ref> The claim that Obama was born in Kenya remained on the agent's web site until 2007. <ref>http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Government/2012/05/17/Obama-pamphlet-in-use-2007</ref> Internet archives confirm this information. <ref>http://web.archive.org/web/20070403190001/http://www.dystel.com/clientlist.html</ref> In addition to the information from literary agents, Michelle Obama stated in an interview that Kenya is Obama's "homeland".<ref>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sLzJz2A2N1c</ref>

Barack Obama Sr. was not a [[Natural born citizen|citizen of the United States]]. At the time of Obama's birth, Kenya was a British colony, meaning that not only was Obama Sr. a British subject, but he passed that status on to his son. When Kenya gained independence, Obama and his father both ceased to be British subjects and became Kenyan citizens. Barack Obama was a dual citizen of the United States and Kenya until his Kenyan citizenship automatically expired in 1984, as he had failed to renounce US nationality and swear loyalty to Kenya. Even if he had been born with US citizenship through his mother, it has been argued that as he was born with dual nationality, he is not a natural-born citizen of the United States, and thus constitutionally ineligible to become President. Despite this, no court that has considered such arguments has accepted the proposition that Obama is not a natural-born citizen.<ref>See [http://www.scribd.com/doc/88910250/Purpura-Moran-Initial-Decision-of-ALJ-Masin Initial Decision by Jeff S. Masin] in ''Purpura and Moran v. Obama'' at 7 ("Thus, accepting for the point of this issue that Mr. Obama was born in Hawaii, he is a “natural born Citizen” regardless of the status of his father."), Tisdale v. Obama (E.D.Va 2012) Order at 2 ("It is well settled that those born in the United States are considered natural born citizens." (citing ''United States v. Wong Kim Ark'', 169 U.S. 649)), ''aff'd per curiam'' by 4th Cir., ''Ankeny v. Governor of the State of Indiana'', 916 N.E.2d 678, 685 (Ind. Ct. App. 2009) ("With regard to President Barack Obama, the Plaintiffs posit that because his father was a citizen of the United Kingdom, President Obama is constitutionally ineligible to assume the Office of the President....we hold that the Plaintiffs' arguments fail to state a claim upon which relief can be granted")</ref>

===Early Life===
Obama's birth parents divorced in 1963 when his mother discovered Barack Obama Sr. was already married to a woman living in Kenya.<ref>[http://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/books/article-2024819/Barack-Obamas-father-Bigamist-drunk-wife-beater.html Barack Obama's father: Bigamist, drunk and wife-beater], By Ian Birrell, 12 August 2011. dailymail.co.uk This is one of the first misleading statements about Barack Obama when he was introduced to America as Keynote Speaker at the 2004 Democratic National Convention. Advance publicity billed him as the "son of Kenyan economist" when infact Obama Sr. was forced out of the graduate program at Harvard because of his bigamy. He returned to Kenya. Obama at the age 9 once briefly met his father who served in the corrupt Kenyan socialist regime's Department of [[Economic Planning]]. Obama Sr. killed himself in a drunken car accident.</ref> When Obama was 2 years old his mother married Lolo Soetoro, an [[Indonesian]] geologist. At age 6 his mother and adoptive father took him to Jakarta, Indonesia for 4 years while his mother pursued a Ph.D. in Anthropology requiring fieldwork there.<ref name="db mother">{{cite web|url=http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2011-05-03/a-singular-woman-by-janny-scott-review-by-stacy-schiff/#|work=The Daily Beast|format=HTML|language=English|title=Dreams of His Mother|author=Stacy Schiff}}</ref> His mother then abandoned him in Hawaii with his grandparents (Stanley and Madelyn Dunham, who had moved to Hawaii in 1959) <ref name=revealed>Malveaux, Suzanne (2008, August 20). "[http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0808/20/se.02.html Barack Obama Revealed]." ''CNN''.</ref> so she could return to Indonesia after her divorce. Obama's grandfather arranged for his friend, the noted communist writer [[Frank Marshall Davis]], to serve as a mentor and role model for an impressionable African-American youth.

Other siblings of Obama's include his half-sister Maya Soetoro-Ng and 7 other children born to his father by 4 different women.<ref name=raisingobama>Purdum, Todd (2008, March). "[http://www.vanityfair.com/politics/features/2008/03/obama200803 Raising Obama]." ''Vanity Fair''.</ref> For much of his early life, prior to his transfer to Columbia University, he went by his nickname, "Barry." In the summer of 1988, before attending Harvard Law School (he'd just been accepted), he visited Kogelo, Kenya, to learn more about his father's family. When his mother died in 1995, he and his sister Maya scattered her ashes over Hawaii's south shore.<ref name=revealed />

===Personal Life===
[[Image:Michelle Obama.jpg|frame|right|Michelle (Robinson) Obama, wife of Barack Obama.]]
Barack Obama met his future wife, an attorney named Michelle Robinson, herself a recent Harvard Law School graduate, while he was an intern and she was on staff at Sidley Austin LLP, a prestigious corporate law firm.<ref name=msnbc /> Despite company policy prohibiting relations between staff and interns, the two started dating. The two continued dating long-distance while he finished law school, and on October 18, 1992,<ref>[http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/10/03/obama-anniversary-20-years-married_n_1935840.html Huffington Post says it was October 3, 1992.]</ref> were married by Reverend [[Jeremiah Wright]] at Trinity United Church.<ref name=revealed /> In 1999, their first child was born, Malia, and in 2001, another daughter, Natasha (often called Sasha).<ref name=msnbc />

Obama attended Reverend Jeremiah Wright's Trinity United Church from 1984-1988 during his time as a [[community organizer]] (''See [[Barack_Obama#1984-1988.2C_Community_Organizer|1985-1988, Community Organizer]] section''). Obama credits Wright with his alleged conversion to Christianity, and had both his daughters, Sasha and Malia, baptized there.<ref name=revealed />

===Education===
At age 6, Obama attended schools in Indonesia, the first a Catholic School while he was in Kindergarten, and later a public school. The school had mostly Muslim students (since most Indonesians are Muslim). In ''Dreams from My Father'', Obama writes, "In the Muslim school, the teacher wrote to my mother that I had made faces during [[Koran]]ic studies."<ref>''Dreams from My Father'', by Barack Obama, p.142 Aug 1, 1996. [http://www.ontheissues.org/Archive/Dreams_From_My_Father_Principles_+_Values.htm]</ref> ''Insight Magazine'' first reported [[Hillary Clinton]]'s organization had "questions about Obama’s Muslim background: ''Are the American people ready for an elected president who was educated in a [[Madrassa]] as a young boy and has not been forthcoming about his Muslim heritage?"''<ref>[http://www.debbieschlussel.com/2899/hillary-clinton-agrees-with-schlussel-obama-suspicious-deceptive-on-muslim-background/ Hillary Clinton Agrees With Schlussel: Obama Suspicious, Deceptive on Muslim Background], By Debbie Schlussel, January 19, 2007.</ref>

In 1971, at age 10, Barack Obama moved to Hawaii, and his grandparents helped him gain entrance to the prestigious Punahou Academy in Honolulu where he began substance abuse and illegal drugs.<ref>[http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/05/25/obama-pot-smoking-details_n_1545904.html Obama Pot-Smoking Details Revealed In David Maraniss Book], ''The Huffington Post'', By Luke Johnson, 05/25/2012 . </ref> He was accepted through a scholarship for disadvantaged minorities while he was in 5th grade.<ref name=revealed /> At this elite high school with 1,200 students he was just 1 of 3 black students, and couldn't make the starting lineup of the state champion basketball team his senior year. He wrote a poem for the school's literary magazine, ''Ka Wai Ola''.<ref name=raisingobama />

In 1979, he began a 2-year stint at Occidental College college in Los Angeles,<ref name=msnbc /> and then transferred to Columbia University in New York, which he graduated from in 1983.<ref name=pragmatic>Scott, Janny (2007, July 30). "[http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/30/us/politics/30obama.html?pagewanted=all In Illinois, Obama Proved Pragmatic and Shrewd]." ''New York Times''.</ref> During this time he published an anti-military tirade embracing Soviet General Secretary [[Leonid Brezhnev]]'s <ref>Obama supported CPSU General Secretary Brezhnev's foreign policy over both Presidents [[Jimmy Carter]] and Ronald Reagan's decision to deploy the MX Missile in Europe. [http://www.csmonitor.com/1981/1124/112439.html Brezhnev offers Schmidt moratorium on nuclear missiles], Elizabeth Pond, ''CS Monitor'', November 24, 1981. See also [http://graphics8.nytimes.com/packages/images/nytint/docs/obama-s-1983-college-magazine-article/original.pdf Breaking the War Mentality], Barack Obama, Columbia ''Sundial'', March 10, 1983.</ref> proposal for a nuclear freeze in the campus newspaper and allegedly spoke at an Anti-Apartheid rally,<ref name=revealed /> although several prominent student leaders said they did not remember him there. Professor Michael L. Baron was impressed by Obama and wrote him a recommendation for Harvard Law School.<ref name=differs>Scott, J. (2007, October 30). "[http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/30/us/politics/30obama.html?pagewanted=all Obama's Account of New York Years Often Differs From What Others Say]." ''New York Times''.</ref> In the winter of 1988 Barack Obama decided to attend Harvard Law School, and left Chicago for Cambridge, Massachusetts. In his 2nd year a power struggle broke out among the dominant white liberals over control of the ''Harvard Law Review''. Obama was elected its first black president as a compromise candidate largely with help of conservatives following a "marathon voting session" in which he finally won on the 19th ballot.<ref name=raisingobama /> This led to national attention and numerous job offers, which Obama passed up, at age 30, to pursue his political career in Chicago.<ref name=msnbc /><ref name=revealed />

===Early Employment===
====1983-1984, Financial Analyst and Writer====
In 1984 Obama worked as a writer and financial analyst for Business International Corporation to help pay off some of his student loans. Business International Corporation was a small newsletter-publishing and research firm which aided multinational companies understand overseas markets. Obama served as a writer/researcher for a company reference service, Financing Foreign Operations, and wrote for their newsletter, ''Business International Money Report''. His supervisor was Cathy Lazere. <ref name=differs /><ref>Henig, J. (2008, June 21). "[http://www.factcheck.org/2008/06/obama-polishes-his-resume-2/ Obama Polishes His Resume]." ''FactCheck.org''. [http://www.analyzethis.net/2005/07/09/barack-obama-embellishes-his-resume/ Barack Obama Embellishes His Resume] ''analyzethis.net''. </ref>

====1984-1988, Community Organizer====
In 1984, Obama was hired by the New York Public Interest Research Group, a non-profit organization promoting environmental, consumer, and government reforms. He also was paid just under $10,000 annually as a full-time organizer for Harlem's City College to mobilize student volunteers.<ref name=differs />

From 1985-88, Obama worked as a community organizer on the South Side of Chicago <ref>The Developing Communities Project (DCP) of the Calumet Community Religious Conference (CCRC)</ref> funded with a $25,000 grant by [[Bill Ayers]]' Woods Fund. The ''New York Times'' reported he was paid $1,000 a year, with $2,000 extra for a car<ref name=revealed /><ref name=streetwise>Scott, Janny (2007, September 9). "[http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/09/us/politics/09obama.html?pagewanted=all In 2000, a Streetwise Veteran Schooled a Bold Young Obama]." ''New York Times''.</ref> however stories vary wildly. Jerry Kellman, who hired him, says it was "$10,000 a year and a $2,000 car allowance". Obama himself gave different numbers; his memoir says $10,000 (as well as the car), in his Wesleyan speech he gave it as "$12,000 a year plus $2,000 for an old, beat-up car", and when he announced his candidacy for president, it was "a group of churches had offered me a job as a community organizer for $13,000 a year".

Ryan Lizza at ''The New Republic'' reported that "Jean Rudd of the Woods Fund...had provided Kellman with his original $25,000 to hire Obama". Ari Berman reported in ''The Nation'' that the "[Woods Fund] gave a $25,000 grant to the Developing Communities Project, which hired Obama". CBS Channel 2 in Chicago ran a story with a document showing that Obama's proposed salary in 1987 was $25,000, a number that the Obama campaign confirmed while insisting at the same time his original salary was $13,000.<ref>[http://theobamafile.com/obamaworks.htm Community Organizing], The Obama File. http://theobamafile.com.</ref>

During this time Obama joined Reverend Wright's Trinity United Church because in the words of Suzanne Malveaux of ''CNN'', "It was the church to join if you wanted to be one of Chicago's black movers and shakers." At the time, community organizing involved close affiliation with churches, which was how Obama met Wright. Obama abandoned the fight against asbestos contamination in the Altgeld Gardens housing project to pursue personal interests and a career by enrollment at Harvard Law School in the winter of 1988.<ref name=revealed />
====1988-1996, Law Practice====
In 1988 Obama gained work as a Summer Associate at one of the most prestigious corporate law firms in the world, Sidley Austin LLP<ref name=austin>Lattman, P. (2007, May 11). "[http://blogs.wsj.com/law/2007/05/11/sidley-austin-when-barack-met-michelle/ When Barack Met Michelle]." ''Wall Street Journal''.</ref><ref name=revealed />, owned by Newton Minow, thanks to the recommendation of Minow's daughter Martha, a professor at Harvard Law School. It was at Minow's law firm that Obama would meet Michelle Robinson, his future wife.<ref name=raisingobama /> From 1993-96 he practiced civil rights law including suing Citibank to force them into making [[Subprime loan|subprime mortgage]]s to unqualified minority borrowers.<ref>[http://www.forbes.com/2009/10/03/community-reinvestment-act-mortgages-housing-opinions-contributors-peter-schweizer.html A Poisonous Cocktail: Expanding the Community Reinvestment Act], Peter Schweizer, ''Forbes'', 10.05.09. In ''Selma S. Buycks-Roberson v. Citibank'', lead attorney Obama alleged that although his clients had been denied mortgages "because of delinquent credit obligations and adverse credit," they were really victims of institutional racism. The suit was brought about by the Community Reinvestment Act, so called affirmative action mortgage lending. The plaintiffs won $60,000, Obama and two other attorneys were paid $950,000.</ref> After graduating from Harvard he was hired by Miner, Barnhill, & Galland, a small politically-connected law firm.<ref name=austin /> It was at Miner, Barnhill, & Galland that he would meet influential real estate developer Tony Rezko.<ref name=revealed />

====1991-1992, Project Vote====
In 1991 Obama was recruited by Sandy Newman to head the Chicago chapter of Project Vote!<ref name=revealed />, and in 1992 was the Executive Director, overseeing a voter registration drive which registered 125,000 black voters and was credited with defeating an incumbent Democrat in the primary and electing U.S. Senator Carol Mosely Braun.<ref name=raisingobama /><ref name=pragmatic />

====1995, Nation of Islam====
According to the ''Encyclopedia Britannica'', prior to the information being scrubbed from its website in mid-April 2008 during the Democratic Presidential Primaries, Obama was one of three prominent organizers of the [[Nation of Islam]]'s [[Million Man March]] on Washington, D.C.<ref>http://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2008/04/wright-obama-helped-organize-march-with-louis-farrakhan/</ref>

====1992-2004, Lecturer at University of Chicago====
Obama taught part-time at the University of Chicago Law School<ref name=raisingobama /> from 1992-2004. Though Obama erroneously describes himself as a "constitutional law professor"<ref>http://www.examiner.com/article/obama-complains-of-being-constrained-by-a-system-founding-father-put-place</ref>, he was actually only a senior lecturer and the class he taught the most times was called "Current Issues in Racism and the Law".<ref>http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2012/09/20/obamas-favorite-course-to-teach-at-the-university-of-chicago-revealed/</ref> He was a Lecturer from 1992-96, teaching 3 courses per year<cite>, and a senior lecturer from 1996-2004. After Obama was criticized for lying about his job title, the University of Chicago released a statement stating that senior lecturers are considered Law School faculty and regarded as professors but not full-time or tenured. Obama was invited to join the faculty in a full-time, tenured track position several times during this period but declined each time.<ref>"[http://www.law.uchicago.edu/media Media Inquiries: Statement Regarding Barack Obama]." ''University of Chicago Law School''.</ref>

====1995, Author====
In 1995 Obama published ''Dreams From My Father'' about his life and family background.<ref name=msnbc />

===Personal Awards===
====2009 Nobel Peace Prize====
On October 9, 2009 Barack H. Obama became the third sitting U.S. President<ref name=wilsons>Wilson, Scott (2009, October 10). "[http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/10/09/AR2009100900914.html President Obama Wins Nobel Peace Prize]. ''Washington Post''.</ref> to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize "''for his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples''".<ref>NobelPrize.org (2009, October 9). "[http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/peace/laureates/2009/press.html The Nobel Prize for 2009: Press Release]." Oslo, Norway. Accessed May 13, 2012.</ref> Obama stated that he was "surprised and deeply humbled" to receive the unexpected award,<ref>(2009, October 9). "[http://articles.cnn.com/2009-10-09/world/nobel.peace.prize_1_norwegian-nobel-committee-international-diplomacy-and-cooperation-nuclear-weapons?_s=PM:WORLD Obama: Nobel Peace Prize is 'Call to Action']." ''CNN''.</ref> and also said, "To be honest, I do not feel that I deserve to be in the company of so many of the transformative figures who've been honored by this prize -- men and women who have inspired me and inspired the entire world through their courageous pursuit of peace".<ref name=wilsons /> The award was widely criticized given Obama's then lack of accomplishments.<ref>Chazan, G. & MacDonald, A. (2009, October 11). "[http://online.wsj.com/article/SB125509603349176083.html Nobel Committee's Decision Courts Controversy]." ''Wall Street Journal''. (2009, October 9). "[http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/10/09/obamas-peace-prize-draws-criticism-liberals/ Obama's Peace Prize Draws Criticism, Even From Some Liberals]." ''Associated Press''.</ref>

==1996-2003, Illinois State Senate==
===1996 Election===
{{main article|Radical roots of Barack Hussein Obama}}
In 1995 a cadre of like minded individuals gathered for a fundraising event in the early career of Barack Obama hosted by [[Weather Underground]] (WUO) [[terrorist]] [[William Ayers|William "Bill" Ayers]]. Besides Obama, those in attendance were Ayers wife [[Bernardine Dohrn]],<ref>Georgie Anne Geyer and Keyes Beach "Cuba: School for U.S. Radicals", ''Chicago Daily News/Chicago Sun-Times'' five part series October 1970, excerpted in [http://foia.fbi.gov/filelink.html?file=/weather/weath1c.pdf FBI file Weather Underground Organization (Weatherman),] Part 1c pp. 5-7 pdf (113-115 in original). [http://therealbarackobama.wordpress.com/2009/06/07/clandestine-agents-of-the-cuban-government-ayers-dohrn-myers/]</ref> and Carl Davidson, veterans of [[guerrilla warfare]] training in [[Cuba]] just prior 1968 Democratic National Convention riots. Ayers and Dohrn have taken credit for, and never denied, bombing the [[U.S. Capitol]], the [[Pentagon]] and the [[State Department]].

Ayers and Dohrn used their celebrity status among [[leftist]]s to launch Obama's career. Ayers, Dohrn and [[Jeff Jones]]<ref>[http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=106653 ''Obama's 'green jobs czar' worked with terror founder] Van Jones served on board of activist group where ex-Weatherman serves as top director'', By Aaron Klein, [[WorldNetDaily]], August 13, 2009.</ref> are authors of ''[[Bill_Ayers#Prairie_Fire_Organizing_Committee_and_Maoist_thought|Prairie Fire: The Politics of Revolutionary Anti-imperialism]],'' the title taken from ''The Sayings of Mao Zedong.''<ref>[http://www.marxists.org/reference/archive/mao/works/red-book/]</ref> The book declares "we are [[communist]] men and women."<ref>Harvey Klehr, ''Far Left of Center: The American Radical Left Today'' (Transaction Books, New Brunswick, 1988), 109.</ref> Ayers later jokingly, publicly admitted to ghostwriting Obama's book, ''Dreams From My Father''<ref>Cashill, J. (2011, March 28). [http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2011/03/ayers_affirms_he_wrote_dreams.html Ayers Affirms He Wrote Dreams From My Father]. ''American Thinker''.</ref> and Obama was to appoint several openly avowed Maoists to prominent White House and Executive Branch positions.<ref>Fund, J. (2009, October 21). [http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704597704574487431322664964.html From Mao to Obama]. ''The Wall Street Journal''.</ref>

====Knocking Candidates Off the Ballot====
Barack Obama ran for the Illinois state senate in 1996. He was initially supported by incumbent [[Alice Palmer]], who declared she would run for the U.S. Congress. However, when her bid for Congress failed on November 28, 1995, she tried to run for her old seat in the March 1996 election. Her supporters asked Obama to step aside, although whether this was with her permission remains uncertain.<ref name=pragmatic /> Not only did Obama not step down, he gathered a team of high-priced lawyers, including fellow Harvard Law School graduate Thomas Johnson, to challenge his opponent's petition signatures on technicalities after the filing deadline had passed. Such tactics are legal and frequently used in Chicago; in 2006 they eliminated 67 of the 245 aldermanic candidates;<ref name=bareknuckle>Jackson, David & Long, Ray (2007, April 4). "[http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/politics/obama/chi-0704030881apr04-archive,0,1523598,full.story Barack Obama: Showing His Bare Knuckles]." ''Chicago Tribune''.</ref> yet nevertheless led to the term "hardball" by the ''New York Times''<ref name=pragmatic /> and "cutthroat" by David Mendel as reported by both ''CNN''<ref name=revealed /> and ''MSNBC''.<ref name=msnbc /> The ''Chicago Tribune'' declared Obama had mastered "the bare-knuckle arts of Chicago electoral politics", noting "The man now running for president on a message of giving a voice to the voiceless first entered public office not by leveling the playing field, but by clearing it."<ref name=bareknuckle /> As one of Obama's four opponents, eliminated through his ballot challenges, would put it: {{cquote|"Why say you're for a new tomorrow, then do old-style Chicago politics to remove legitimate candidates? He talks about honor and democracy, but what honor is there in getting rid of every other candidate so you can run scot-free? Why not let the people decide?"
-Gha-is Askia, 1996 Illinois Senate candidate<ref>Jackson, David & Long, Ray (2007, April 3). "[http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/politics/obama/chi-070403obama-ballot-archive,0,5297304,full.story Obama Knows His Way Around a Ballot]." ''Chicago Tribune''.</ref>}} Mark Ewell, another candidate, filed 1,286 signatures, and Obama's challenges left him 86 short of the minimum requirement (757<ref name=spivak>Spivak, Todd (2008, February 28). "[http://www.houstonpress.com/2008-02-28/news/barack-obama-screamed-at-me/ Barack Obama and Me]." ''Houston Press''.</ref>). Ewell filed a federal lawsuit contesting the election board's decision but Tom Johnson intervened, and Ewell's case was dismissed just a few days later. Ewell and other Obama opponents were using early 1995 polling sheets to verify signatures of registered voters, but city authorities had just purged 15,871 unqualified people from the 13th district list, and Obama's challenges used the more recent, updated list. Askia was left 69 signatures short of the requirement. If names were printed instead of signed in cursive, they were declared invalid. If they were good but the person registering the signatures wasn't a registered voter (e.g. underage) they were invalid.<ref name=hardball>Griffin, Drew & Johnston, Kathleen (2008, May 29). "[http://articles.cnn.com/2008-05-29/politics/obamas.first.campaign_1_obama-campaign-barack-obama-chicago-politics?_s=PM:POLITICS Obama Played Hardball in First Chicago Campaign]." ''CNN''.</ref> Palmer had according to Obama campaign consult Ronald Davis, used two children to help gather her petition signatures. To this day Palmer denies the challenges were valid, and maintains she could have overcome the objections with more time and resources.<ref name=bareknuckle /> Thanks to his lawyers, Obama would win the election without a single other candidate on the ballot.

===2000 Election===
: ''Main Article: [[Illinois 1st congressional district election, 2000]]''
In 2000, Obama lost his only political election when he chose to run against experienced incumbent and former [[Black Panther]] and Bobby L. Rush for the U.S. Congress in a 65% black district. Rush's name recognition began at 90%, Obama's at 11%. Michelle Obama opposed taking on an such an iconic figure dear to the community and threatened divorce.<ref>[http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2145035/Michelle-Obama-prepared-divorce-papers-separate-Barack-leaving-suicidal.html New book claims Michelle Obama prepared divorce papers to separate from Barack], By Daniel Bates, 16 May 2012. dailymail.co.uk</ref> Establishment Democrats considered Obama "a white man in blackface".<ref>[http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/government-elections-politics/choice-2012/transcript-29/ PBS Frontline Transcript, The Choice 2012.</ref> Rush said of Obama, “He went to Harvard and became an educated fool,” adding, “We’re not impressed with these folks with these eastern elite degrees.”<ref>[http://dailycaller.com/2012/03/28/bobby-rush-in-2000-obamas-a-harvard-educated-fool-who-thinks-he-knows-all-about-the-civil-rights-protests/ Bobby Rush in 2000: Obama a Harvard ‘educated fool’ who ‘thinks he knows all about’ the ‘civil rights protests’], Daily Caller, 03/28/2012.</ref>Todd Spivak would give voice to this impression of Obama, noting that{{cquote|"My view of Obama then wasn't all that different from the image he projects now....One thing I can say is, I never heard him launch into the preacher-man voice he now employs during speeches. He sounded vanilla, and activists in his mostly black district often chided him for it."<ref name=spivak />}}Rush would go on to win the Primary with 61.02% of the vote; Obama received 30.36%.<ref name=streetwise /> The loss led to Obama considering dropping out of politics altogether, particularly after the September 11, 2001 attacks, since his name sounds similar to "Osama bin Laden".<ref name=msnbc />

===State Senate Voting Record===
[[File:O-2002-antiwar-rally-davidson.jpg|right|thumb|250px| Obama speaking at the October 2002 [[War on Terror|anti-War rally]] in Chicago organized by [[Carl Davidson]].<ref>Davidson is a longtime [[Mao]]ist and champion of the ''Thought of Mao Tse Tung.'' Davidson's anti-Trotskyite polemic, [http://www.wengewang.org/read.php?tid=10925 ''Left in Form, Right in Essence''] defends Maoist doctrine. </ref> Unlike Hillary Clinton and John Kerry, Obama took the rather unpopular position against "dumb wars".]]
Obama entered the Illinois Senate promising change to a corrupt system. He mixed often radical votes with more pragmatic agreements. Possibly one of his most radical votes was against requiring medical care for aborted children who survive [[abortion|the procedure]] - in fact the Illinois Planned Parenthood Council ascribed him a 100% rating for his consistently pro-choice votes.<ref name="cbs illinois">{{cite web|url=http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/01/17/politics/main2369157.shtml|title=Obama Record May Be Gold Mine For Critics|work=CBS|format=HTML|language=English|last=Clark|first=Amy S.|date=Jan. 17, 2007}}</ref> He was criticized for using the statehouse as a stepping stone for a more illustrious career: Steven J. Rauschenberger, a [[Republican]], said prior to Obama's election as president: “He is a very bright but very ambitious person who has always had his eyes on the prize, and it wasn’t Springfield. If he deserves to be president, it is not because he was a great legislator.”<ref name="nyt illinois">{{cite web|work=The New York Times|title=In Illinois, Obama Proved Pragmatic and Shrewd|last=Scott|first=Janny|format=HTML|language=English|date=July 30, 2007|url=http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/30/us/politics/30obama.html}}</ref>

The statehouse was majority Republican, so the Senator was sometimes forced to compromise. He formed allegiances across party lines to pass [[campaign finance]] reform that banned most gifts by lobbyists, prohibited spending campaign money for legislators’ personal use and required electronic filing of campaign disclosure reports.<ref name="nyt illinois"/> Obama also helped pass a so-called “driving-while-black bill”, which required the police to collect data on the race of drivers they stopped as a way to monitor [[racial profiling]].<ref name="nyt illinois"/>

Obama established himself as a chief spokesperson in opposition to the [[War on Terror]] during an October 2002 rally at Federal Plaza in Chicago<ref>The rally was organized by Chicagoans Against War in Iraq (CAWI) later renamed Chicagoans Against War and Injustice. [http://www.noiraqwar-chicago.org/?page_id=2 About CAWI] by Carl Davidson, Nov 02 2006. Retrieved from Chicagoans Against War and Injustice, March 15, 2010.</ref> [[community organizing|organized]] by veteran [[Mao]]ist and webmaster of [[Progressives for Obama]],<ref>[http://www.linkedin.com/in/carldavidson Carl Davidson,] LinkedIn.com, retrieved March 13, 2010.</ref> [[Carl Davidson]].

===2003 Emil Jones Deal===
: ''Main Article: [[2003 Barack Obama deal with Emil Jones]]''
When Illinois' U.S. Senator Peter Fitzgerald announced he would be retiring in April 2003, Obama jumped at the opportunity, declaring that he would be a candidate for the U.S. Senate in 2004.<ref name=msnbc /> To boost his chances Obama approached the newly crowned president of the Illinois Senate, Emil Jones Jr., with a proposal. According to Jones, whom Obama has since called his "godfather"<ref name=godfather>''Associated Press'' (2009, June 18). "[http://www.cbsnews.com/2100-250_162-3983147.html Obama's Political 'Godfather' In Illinois]."</ref> the conversation went as follows:
{{cquote|"After I was elected president, in 2003, he came to see me, a couple months later. And he said to me, he said, ‘You’re the senate president now, and with that, you have a lot of pow-er.’ And I told Barack, ‘You think I got a lot of pow-er now?,’ and he said, ‘Yeah, you got a lot of pow-er.’ And I said, ‘What kind of pow-er do I have?’ He said, ‘You have the pow-er to make a United States sen-a-tor!’ I said to Barack, I said, ‘That sounds good!’ I said, ‘I haven’t even thought of that.’ I said, ‘Do you have someone in mind you think I could make?,’ and he said, ‘Yeah. Me.’ "<ref name=raisingobama /><ref name=pragmatic />}}
Because of the deal, Obama's entire Illinois Senate legislative record was, as longtime Obama reporter Todd Spivak put it, built in a single year. During his 7th and final year in the Illinois Senate, Obama sponsored an incredible 26 bills into law, including many he now points to when criticized as inexperienced<ref name=spivak /> - as ''CNN's'' Suzanne Malveaux observed, "With help from on high, Obama got his name on hundreds of bills that he pushed through."<ref name=revealed /> Jones not only had Obama craft legislation addressing daily tragedies to raise his political profile<ref name=godfather />, he also appointed Obama head of almost all high-profile legislation in the Illinois Senate, angering other state legislators with more seniority who'd spent years supporting the bills.<ref name=spivak /> Illinois State Senator Rickey Hendon, the original sponsor of the famous racial profiling bill requiring videotaped confessions in police interrogations, complained bitterly about Jones' decision.<ref name=revealed /><ref name=intheblack>Spivak, Todd (2004, March 25). "[http://www.illinoistimes.com/Springfield/article-922-in-the-black.html In the Black]." ''Illinois Times''.</ref> Jones' influence had a major impact on Obama's chances in the 2004 elections, preventing major political players from backing Obama's opponents. To quote Emil Jones,{{cquote|"He knew if he had me in the run for the Senate, it would put a block on the current mayor. The current mayor and the father of the controller, which was Dan Hynes, they were roommates in Springfield when the mayor was a state senator, so they had a relationship. Another big financial backer for the governor was Blair Hull. Barack knew if he had me it would checkmate the governor, ’cause the governor couldn’t come out and go with Blair Hull, ’cause the governor needs me. Same with the mayor. So he had analyzed and figured all of that out. He knew I could help him with labor support. And I could put a checkmate on some of the local politicians that didn’t know him, but they couldn’t really go against me."
-Emil Jones<ref name=raisingobama />}}

==2004-2008, U.S. Senate==
:''See also: [[Early_life_and_career_of_Barack_Hussein_Obama#U.S._Senate_.282004-2008.29|Barack Obama:U.S. Senate (2004-2008)]], [[United States Senate election in Illinois, 2004]]''
[[Image:obama.jpg|thumb|left|Senator Barack Obama]]

===2004 Primary Election===
Despite initially trailing in the polls to frontrunner [[Blair Hull]]<ref name=intheblack />, Obama greatly benefited from what the ''Chicago Tribune'' called "the most inglorious campaign implosion in Illinois political history"<ref name=mendell>Mendell, David (2004, March 17). "[http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2004-03-17/news/0403170332_1_blair-hull-gery-chico-blacks-and-liberal-whites Obama Routs Democratic Foes]." ''Chicago Tribune''.</ref> when pressure from journalists and opposing candidates, just weeks before the election, forced the unsealing of Hull's messy divorce files.<ref name=blairhull>Voegeli, William (2004, March 19). "[http://www.claremont.org/publications/pubid.339/pub_detail.asp The Rise and Fall of Blair Hull]." ''The Claremont Institute''.</ref> The files revealed Hull's ex-wife's accusations of verbal and physical abuse.<ref name=spivak /> Hull would afterwards criticize the media, stating, "As for the press, I will never read the newspaper the same way again."<ref name=mendell /> Obama would go on to win the Primary with 53% of the vote.<ref name=blairhull /> Obama's unexpected victory led to him being termed a "rising star" by the media.<ref>Howlett, Debbie (2004, March 18). "[http://www.usatoday.com/news/politicselections/nation/2004-03-18-obama-usat_x.htm Dems See a Rising Star in Illinois Senate Candidate]." ''USA Today''.</ref>

===2004 General Election, Jack Ryan===
Once again Obama found himself trailing to popular frontrunner [[Jack Ryan]], and once again a candidate's campaign imploded thanks to media intervention. In an unprecedented move, the ''Chicago Tribune'' and local TV station WLS sued to force the unsealing of Ryan's divorce files, despite opposition from both Ryan and his wife, Jeri Ryan, who in the files accused Jack Ryan of trying to coerce her to perform sex acts in public. Though Ryan advisors told him he could still win if using a negative attack on Obama, Ryan refused to engage in what he considered dirty politics.<ref name=abandon>''Associated Press'' (2004, June 26). "[http://www.usatoday.com/news/politicselections/state/2004-06-25-ryan_x.htm Jack Ryan Abandons Senate Bid]."</ref> Ryan then dropped out of the race (per request by the Illinois GOP<ref name=idealist>Sangwan, Rahul (2004, October 1). "[http://www.dartmouthindependent.com/archives/2004/10/jack_ryan_81_th.html Jack Ryan '81: The Conservative Idealist]." ''Dartmouth Independent''.</ref>), following which the Illinois GOP scrambled to find a replacement, leaving Obama uncontested for weeks to campaign and build up public support. On top of all this, Obama was selected to give the keynote speech at the 2004 Democratic National Convention (July 27<ref>''Washington Post'' (2004, June 26). "[http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A19751-2004Jul27.html Illinois Senate Candidate Barack Obama]."</ref>), catapulting him into the national spotlight, and leading to further media publicity terming him a "rising star".<ref>Page, Susan & Despoignes, Peronet (2004, July 28). "[http://www.usatoday.com/news/politicselections/nation/president/2004-07-28-obama-speech_x.htm Rising Star Brings Democrats to Their Feet]." ''USA Today''.</ref>

===2004 General Election, Alan Keyes===
: ''Main Article: [[Obama born alive controversy]]''
After a number of candidates including former Chicago Bears coach Mike Ditka declined to run<ref>''CNN'' (2004, August 9). "[http://articles.cnn.com/2004-08-09/politics/il.keyes_1_senate-candidate-senate-race-illinois-senate?_s=PM:ALLPOLITICS Keyes Challenges Obama for Illinois Senate Seat]."</ref>, the Illinois GOP finally settled on fiery [[Alan Keyes]], a former Ambassador to the Economic and Social Counsel of the United Nations<ref name=spivak />, with less than 3 months left before the November 2004 election.<ref name=msnbc /> His sudden entrance into the state for the election was initially attacked in the press as "carpetbagging".<ref>''Chicago Tribune''. "[http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2004-08-06/news/0408060313_1_mr-keyes-judy-baar-topinka-alan-keyes The GOP's Rent-A-Senator]." ''Washington Post'' (2004, August 9). "[http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A50885-2004Aug8.html Mr. Keyes the Carpetbagger].</ref><ref name=pearson>Pearson, Rick (2004, September 5). "[http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2004-09-05/news/0409050304_1_selfish-hedonist-alan-keyes-illinois-republican-party Keyes, State GOP Gearing Up Blame Campaign]." ''Chicago Tribune''.</ref> Keyes repeatedly claimed his primary motivation for entering a race he had seemingly no chance of winning was his disgust at Obama's votes on the popular [[Born Alive]] bills.<ref>Keyes, Alan (2004, August 18). "[http://www.mail-archive.com/newsandviews@chuckmuth.com/msg00699.html How You Can Help Alan Keyes for Senate!]." ''Keyes2004 Inc.''</ref> Keyes, from his first day of arriving in Illinois (August 9, 2004)<ref name=assails>''Associated Press'' (2004, August 9). "[http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/5654128/ Keyes Assails Obama's Abortion Views]."</ref>, accused Obama of having voted against bills mandating medical care for newborn children, and supporting "infanticide" (the term twice used in the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act<ref>''United States Congress'' (2003, March 13). "[http://news.findlaw.com/wp/docs/abortion/2003s3.html S.3: Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act of 2003]."</ref>) where hospitals left newborn infants to die like garbage.<ref>Smiley, Tavis (2004, August 31). "[http://www.keyesarchives.com/transcript.php?id=341 Alan Keyes on the Tavis Smiley Show]." ''NPR''. ''CBS2 Chicago'' (2004, August 30). "[http://www.keyesarchives.com/transcript.php?id=337 Alan Keyes on CBS2 Chicago This Morning]." This Morning.</ref> Obama in a debate on October 13, 2004, defended himself against Keyes' accusations of infanticide by claiming that Illinois law was already sufficient.<ref>''Chicago Tribune'' (2004, October 13). "[http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2004-10-13/news/0410140004_1_alan-keyes-senate-race-first-of-three-debates Debate or Discussion?]"</ref>

However, Keyes' rhetoric, calling Obama's votes "the slaveholder's position"<ref name=assails /> and saying "Jesus Christ would not vote for Obama"<ref>Thomas, Scott (2004, September 7). "[http://www.keyesarchives.com/transcript.php?id=348 Alan Keyes on the Scott Thomas Show (AM1160 - WYLL)]." ''Scott Thomas Show''. Chicago, Illinois.</ref> was widely ridiculed by the press. Keyes' unabashed criticism of homosexuality as "selfish hedonism" was also targeted.<ref name=pearson /><ref>''Associated Press''. "[http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/5897569/ Keyes: Cheney's Gay Daughter Practicing Selfish Hedonism]." Pallasch, Abdom M. (2004, September 2). "[http://web.archive.org/web/20071017122135/http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4155/is_20040902/ai_n12560727 Topinka Says He Should Apologize for 'Idiotic' Comment]." ''Chicago Sun-Times''.</ref> Obama would ultimately win the election, 70% to 27%.<ref>''CNN.com''. "[http://cnn.hu/ELECTION/2004/pages/results/states/IL/S/01/index.html Election Results: U.S. Senate/Illinois]." Election 2004.</ref>

===U.S. Senate Voting Record===
Obama's incomplete term in the U.S. Senate was largely unoteworthy. In voting against raising the [[debt limit]] in 2006 Obama famously said, "The fact that we are here today to debate raising America’s debt limit is a sign of leadership failure. It is a sign that the U.S. government can’t pay its own bills. ... I therefore intend to oppose the effort to increase America’s debt limit."<ref>''Washington Post'' FACT CHECKER, [http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/fact-checker/post/annotating-obamas-2006-speech-against-boosting-the-debt-limit/2013/01/14/aa8cf8c4-5e9b-11e2-9940-6fc488f3fecd_blog.html Annotating Obama’s 2006 speech against boosting the debt limit], Glenn Kessler, 01/15/2013.</ref><ref>Kaplan, R. (2011, April 11). [http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2011/04/obama-once-opposed-debt-ceiling-hike/237129/ Obama Once Opposed Debt Ceiling Hike]. ''The Atlantic''.</ref> In 2008 as candidate for president Obama called George W. Bush's request to raise the debt limit "irresponsible" and "unpatriotic".<ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1kuTG19Cu_Q Obama says adding $4 trillion to debt is unpatriotic.] Youtbue.</ref>

The ''National Journal'' ranked him the most liberal senator in 2007.<ref name="ranked">{{cite web|url=http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-502163_162-3775451-502163.html|title=National Journal: Obama Most Liberal Senator In 2007|author=Brian Montopoli|date=January 31, 2008|work=CBS}}</ref>

Obama frequently used the [[filibuster]] to obstruct the operations of government,<ref>O'Keefe, E. (2010, February 4). [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/02/03/AR2010020303801_pf.html Obama criticizes Senate Republicans for delaying confirmation votes]. ''The Washington Post''.</ref> and voted against the [[minimum wage]] bill<ref>[http://uspolitics.about.com/od/legislatio1/a/HR2206.htm HR 2206 - Emergency Appropriations], Kathy Gill, Your Guide to U.S. Politics: Current Events. May 26 2007. [http://more.gov.mtopgroup.com/2007/05/votes-hr-2206-iraq-supplemental.html Votes - H.R. 2206: Iraq Supplemental], May 28, 2007. Retrieved from Deeper Inside the Mountain, June 4, 2007.</ref> he introduced because it included a provision to pay active duty U.S. troops. He voted for the $700 billion TARP program to bailout the big banks after receiving more than $120,000 in contributions from [[Fannie Mae]], a government sponsored entity<ref>more than any other political candidate for office since 1989. [http://www.opensecrets.org/news/2008/09/update-fannie-mae-and-freddie.html Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac Invest in Lawmakers], By Lindsay Renick Mayer, September 11, 2008. opensecrets.org</ref> taken into conservatorship for mismanaging its affairs and responsible for all the big bank's problems.

According to Opensecrets.org, of the 671,269 contributions to Obama during his time in the Senate, [[Goldman Sachs]], JP Morgan, Citigroup, and Morgan Stanley were among the top 20 biggest money donors to his campaigns. [http://www.opensecrets.org/politicians/contrib.php?cid=N00009638&cycle=2008][http://www.votesmart.org/finance.php?can_id=9490] All four subsequently received approximately $70 billion in taxpayer assisted [[bailout]] money from the [[TARP]] program he voted for.<ref>[http://www.nytimes.com/imagepages/2008/10/14/business/14bailout.graphic2.html ''Beneficiary Banks'', New York Times. 2008-10-14.]</ref> UBS AG, a foreign bank and the 12th largest donor to Obama,<ref>http://www.opensecrets.org/pres08/contrib.php?cycle=2008&cid=N00009638</ref> was fined $780 billion in February 2009 in a U.S. Federal Court on charges it helped thousands of Americans evade taxes.<ref>[http://www.investmentnews.com/article/20090219/FREE/902199983 ''UBS fined $780 million in tax evasion scandal,''] Investment News, February 19, 2009.</ref>

==2008 Presidential Election==
{{main article|Barack Hussein Obama 2008 Presidential campaign}}
Unlike Hillary Clinton and John Kerry, Obama's hands were not stained with a vote for the Iraqi war resolution, as he was not in the Senate at the time; a minority of Democrats who wanted to punish candidates for exhibiting [[bi-partisan]]ship began calling for his candidacy after liberals lauded his 2004 [[Democratic National Convention]] speech.

===Primary Election===
In 2007-08, Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton competed for the Democratic nomination. Hillary Clinton cleverly resurrected the "Born Alive" controversy surrounding Obama that had lain largely dormant since 2004 (notwithstanding the continuing mentions by Jill Stanek), by accusing Obama of not being pro-choice for voting "Present" on a number of abortion-related bills<ref>Bettelheim, Adriel (2008, February 13). "[http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/article/2008/feb/13/obamas-present-tension/ Obama's 'Present' Tension]." ''PolitiFact''.</ref> - including the Born Alive ones,<ref name=clinton>Berman, Russell (2008, January 17). "[http://www.nysun.com/national/clinton-obama-should-vote-no-on-abortion-issue/69700/ Clinton: Obama Should Vote 'No' On Abortion Issue She Backed]." ''New York Sun''. Hernandez, Raymond & Drew, Christopher (2007, December 20). "[http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/20/us/politics/20obama.html?pagewanted=all It's Not Just 'Ayes' and 'Nays': Obama's Votes in Illinois Echo]." ''New York Times''.</ref> and cowardly ducking the votes.<ref>''Politi-Fact''. "[http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2008/feb/13/hillary-clinton/yes-but-its-complicated/ Response to Hillary Clinton Comment for January 21st, 2008]." Truth-o-Meter. Dorning, Mike (2007, December 20). "[http://www.swamppolitics.com/news/politics/blog/2007/12/criticism_of_obama_present_vot.html Clinton Camp Criticizes Obama 'Present' Votes]." The Swamp. ''Chicago Tribune''.</ref> This led to criticism of Obama by two pro-choice organizations, Emily's List, and the National Organization for Women.<ref>Dorning, Mike (2008, January 14). "[http://www.swamppolitics.com/news/politics/blog/2008/01/obama_campaign_mounts_defense.html The Swamp: Obama Campaign Defends His Abortion-Rights Record]." ''Chicago Tribune''. Dorn, Michael (2008, February 6). "[http://voices.washingtonpost.com/fact-checker/2008/02/obamas_voting_record_on_aborti_1.html Obama's Voting Record on Abortion]." ''Washington Post''. Newton-Small, Jay (2008, January 14). "[http://swampland.time.com/2008/01/14/obama_campaign_defends_present/ Obama Campaign Defends 'Present' Abortion Votes]." ''Time Magazine''.</ref> However, Pam Sutherland, the long-time head of Illinois Planned Parenthood, came to Obama's aid, criticizing Clinton for making the attack, and stating repeatedly that Obama's present votes were part of a broader strategy used by Planned Parenthood to keep Illinois voters from knowing their state senators were voting against the controversial and popular bills.<ref>Hernandez, Raymond & Drew, Christopher (2007, December 20). "[http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/20/us/politics/20cnd-obama.html?_r=2&hp&oref=slogin Obama's Vote in Illinois Was Often Just 'Present']." ''New York Times''. Follmer, Max (2008, March 28). "[http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/01/14/obama-emphasizes-prochoic_n_81460.html Obama Emphasizes Pro-Choice Voting Record as Clinton Questions 'Present' Votes]." ''Huffington Post''.</ref>
{{cquote|"He came to me and said: ‘My members are being attacked. We need to figure out a way to protect members and to protect women. A ‘present’ vote was hard to pigeonhole which is exactly what Obama wanted. What it did was give cover to moderate Democrats who wanted to vote with us but were afraid to do so" because of how their votes would be used against them electorally. A ‘present’ vote would protect them. Your senator voted ‘present.’ Most of the electorate is not going to know what that means."
-Pam Sutherland, President/CEO of Illinois Planned Parenthood Council, 1980-2012<ref>Davis, Teddy (2007, July 17). "[http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2007/07/obama-abortion/ Obama Abortion Dodges Blessed by Planned Parenthood], ''ABC News''.</ref>}}As the contest in Iowa drew near and the former First Lady's inevitability was being usurped by a challenger, Hillary Clinton organizers began circulating rumors that Obama was secretly a Muslim.<ref>[http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/12/10/barackemail/ Obama Under the Clinton Microscope], By JEFF ZELENY, ''New York Times'', December 10, 2007; [http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2007/12/06/clinton-volunteers-anti-obama-e-mail-causes-stir/ Clinton volunteer's sending of anti-Obama e-mail causes stir]. December 6, 2007. CNN; [http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=92143 Hillary Clinton Press Release - Sen. Obama Rewrites History], December 2, 2007, references Obama in the Muslim school in Indonesia in 3rd grade, quoting the ''The Los Angeles Times'', 3/15/07; [http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/news/world/americas/article1995587.ece Obama ‘was educated in madrassa’], Tim Reid and Tom Baldwin, ''The Times'' (London), January 20, 2007.</ref> Clinton also made the claim repeatedly that while Obama was leading in Delegates she was winning the Popular Vote<ref>Koffler, Daniel (2008, May 28). "[http://www.huffingtonpost.com/daniel-koffler/hillary-clinton-and-the-p_b_103913.html Hillary Clinton and the Popular Vote: Not Wrong, but Meaningless]." ''Huffington Post''. Barone, Michael (2008, March 28). "[http://www.usnews.com/opinion/blogs/barone/2008/03/28/projection-clinton-wins-popular-vote-obama-wins-delegate-count Projection: Clinton Wins Popular Vote, Obama Wins Delegate Vote]." ''U.S. News''.</ref>, though this was in part because Obama hadn't been registered in Michigan.<ref>Romano, Andrew (2008, August 2). "[http://www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/blogs/stumper/2008/06/02/clinton-s-popular-vote-claim-close-but-not-quite.html Clinton's Popular Vote Claim? Close--But Not Quite*]." ''Newsweek''. ''RealClearPolitics''. "[http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2008/president/democratic_vote_count.html 2008 Democratic Popular Vote]."</ref> Obama's advantage with super-delegates over Clinton was about 2-to-1.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Superdelegate endorsements for Friday 6/6|work=Democratic Convention Watch|url=http://demconwatch.blogspot.com/2008/06/superdelegate-endorsements-for-friday.html}}</ref> Obama was able to attract the support of [[liberals]] by pointing out that he had come out against the [[Iraq War]] "from the beginning" whereas Clinton had voted in favor of the war in 2002.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.usatoday.com/news/politics/election2008/2008-01-31-democrats-debate_N.htm|title=Obama, Clinton stress differences on Iraq, issues|author=David Jackson|work=USA Today|format=HTML|language=English}}</ref> On June 7, 2008, Hillary Clinton withdrew from the Primaries, conceding the race and endorsing her opponent<ref>''Associated Press''. "[http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24993082/ns/politics-decision_08/t/clinton-ends-historic-bid-endorses-obama/ Clinton Ends Historic Bid, Endorses Obama]."</ref>, when Obama passed the 2,118 Delegates required; winning 2,201 delegates to Clinton's 1,896.<ref>''CNN''. "[http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2008/primaries/results/scorecard/#D Election Center 2008].</ref>

===Born Alive Record Resurfaces===
On June 30, 2008, Obama's voting record on the "Born Alive" bills came once more to the forefront when CNN gave voice to the growing controversy and revealed the defense Obama had been using since 2004-2008, that the Illinois bills he'd voted against were different from the federal bill, was false, since he'd brought up for a vote a bill word for word identical to the federal bill in the Health and Human Services Committee he chaired, and voted against it, defeating it.<ref>''CNN''. "[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QPZCXcTwZPY How He Really Voted on Abortion: Obama's Record Under Attack]." ''The Situation Room''. Uploaded to ''YouTube'' by Jill Stanek. ''CNN''. "[http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0806/30/sitroom.02.html Transcripts: June 30, 2008]." The Situation Room.</ref> This led in August to a confrontation between Obama and the [[NRLC]].<ref>''National Right to Life Committee''. "[http://www.nrlc.org/news/2008/NRL08/ObamaCoverup.html Obama Cover-up Revealed on Born-Alive Abortion Survivor's Bill]." NRL News, Vol. 35, Issue 7-8, pg. 5.</ref> After Obama accused critics of 'lying'<ref>Brody, David (2008, August 16). "[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Skq5M1Ksp_c McCain/Obama Forum]." ''CNN''. Uploaded to ''YouTube'' by Jill Stanek. David Brody (August 16, 2008). "[http://blogs.cbn.com/thebrodyfile/archive/2008/08/16/obama-gets-heated-on-born-alive-infant-protection-act.aspx Obama Gets Heated on Born Alive Infant Protection Act]." ''CBN News''. The Brody File.</ref> the NRLC challenged the assertion, and the Obama campaign conceded he "misspoke" and had voted against an identical bill to the "federal bill that everybody supported" but focused on Obama's new claim, that Illinois law was already sufficient to protect newborn children.<ref>Berman, Russell (2008, August 18). "[http://www.nysun.com/national/obama-facing-attacks-from-all-sides-over-abortion/84059/ Obama Facing Attacks From All Sides Over Abortion Record]." ''New York Sun''.</ref> The NRLC promptly declared "Senator Barack Obama's four-year effort to cover up his full role in killing legislation to protect born-alive survivors of abortions continues to unravel."<ref>Johnson, Douglas (2008, August 18). "[http://www.nrlc.org/ObamaBAIPA/Obamacoveruponbornalive.htm Obama Cover-up on Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Continues to Unravel After Sen. Obama Says NRLC is 'Lying']." ''National Right to Life Committee''.</ref>

===Jeremiah Wright===
:''See also: [[Barack Obama and Liberation Theology]]''
One major dilemma that arose for Obama during his campaign was his connection to his preacher [[Jeremiah Wright]]. Obama and his wife (raised a Baptist) were members of the Trinity [[United Church of Christ]]<ref>http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1776246/posts</ref> in Chicago, a church that embraced [[black liberation theology]] and its emphasis on empowering so-called "oppressed groups" against "establishment forces". This denomination was the first in America to ordain gays as ministers.<ref>http://www.mcclatchydc.com/227/story/31079.html, Obama's church pushes controversial doctrines, March 20, 2008</ref> Church pastor Jeremiah Wright had been making inflammatory comments and posting his sermons online for sale. These include the statement "G-d damn America," and in describing the September 11th attacks, "We have supported state terrorism against the Palestinians and black South Africans, and now we are indignant because the stuff we have done overseas is now brought right back to our own front yards. America's chickens are coming home to roost."<ref>[http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/Story?id=4443788 Obama's Pastor: G-d Damn America, U.S. to Blame for 9/11]</ref> In addition, Rev. Wright blamed America saying "We supported Zionism shamelessly while ignoring the Palestinians and branding anybody who spoke out against it as being [[anti-Semitic]]."

In April 2008, after 20 years in the church, candidate Obama made public statements poised to set him at odds with the man who conducted his wedding and baptized his children. With the negative publicity persisting, a month later Obama ended the friendship, left Wright's church, and blamed the media.<ref>[http://elections.foxnews.com/2008/05/31/obama-resigns-church-membership-in-chicago/], Obama Drops Church Membership in Chicago, May 31, 2008</ref> Obama claimed “It’s not fair to the other members of the church who seek to worship in peace...", and distanced himself from Wright's sermons as "a bunch of rants that aren't grounded in the truth."<ref>USA TODAY, ''Obama breaks with former pastor, Candidate cites rants on U.S. role in terror, AIDS'', by Kathy Kiely and David Jackson [http://www.usatoday.com/printedition/news/20080430/1a_offlede30_dom.art.htm]</ref><ref>''Obama Says He Is Outraged By Wright's "Rants"''[http://www.usnews.com/usnews/politics/bulletin/bulletin_080430.htm]</ref>

===Result===
Obama made an effort to portray John McCain as similar to George W. Bush, drawing attention to McCain's refusal to criticize the unpopular president. McCain was particularly criticized for saying of how many years we should be willing to stay in Iraq, "Make it a hundred."<ref>Dobbs, Michael (2008, April 2). "[http://voices.washingtonpost.com/fact-checker/2008/04/mccains_100year_war.html FactChecker: McCain's '100-Year War']." ''Washington Post''.</ref>{{cquote|"John McCain went on television and said that there has been great progress economically over the last seven-and-a-half years. John McCain thinks our economy has made great progress under George W. Bush? How could somebody who has been traveling across this country, somebody who came to Erie, Pennsylvania, say we’ve made great progress?"
-Barack Obama<ref>Zeleny, Jeff (2008, April 18). "[http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/04/18/obama-criticizes-mccain-on-economic-stance/ Obama Criticizes McCain on Economic Stance]." ''New York Times''.</ref>}} On August 22nd, Obama selected [[Joe Biden]] as his running mate for the vice presidency<ref>''CNN'' (2008, August 23). "[http://articles.cnn.com/2008-08-23/politics/biden.democrat.vp.candidate_1_biden-john-mccain-barack-obama?_s=PM:POLITICS Obama Introduces Biden as Running Mate]."</ref>, which would be contrasted one week later with John McCain's selection of [[Sarah Palin]].<ref>Cooper, Michael & Bumiller, Elisabeth (2008, August 29). "[http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/30/us/politics/29palin.html?pagewanted=all Alaskan is McCain's Choice; First Woman on G.O.P. Ticket]. ''New York Times''.</ref>

On November 2, 2008, Barack Obama won the presidential election with 365 electoral votes to John McCain's 173.<ref>(2008, November 14). "[http://elections.nytimes.com/2008/results/president/explorer.html Electoral Explorer]." Election Results 2008. ''New York Times''.</ref> Obama received 53% of the popular vote to John McCain's 46%.<ref>(2008, November 17). "[http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2008/results/president/ President]." Election Center 2008. ''CNN''.</ref>

==2009-: U.S. Presidency==
{{main article|Obama administration}}
[[File:Obama and George H. W. Bush.jpg|thumb|right|300px|President Barack Obama meets with former President George H. W. Bush in the Oval Office, Feb. 15, 2011. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza).]]
Five years into Obama's presidency the number of people holding jobs still was 3 million below the all time high of 138 million<ref>The effectiveness of [[American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009|Stimulus]] and deficits: [http://research.stlouisfed.org/fred2/graph/fredgraph.png?graph_id=112811 Job growth under President Obama's first term;] Source: United States Department of Labor.</ref> workers - despite an increase of 10 million people in population over the same period of time.<ref>[https://research.stlouisfed.org/fred2/graph/fredgraph.png?graph_id=112809 U.S. Population growth during Obama's first four years in office.] Source: U.S. Census Bureau.</ref> Under Obama and Senate Democrats<ref>The Democratic controlled Senate did not propose, vote on, or pass a budget for nearly five years. [http://www.cnn.com/2013/03/23/politics/senate-budget-bill/index.html Senate passes its first budget proposal in four years,] Ted Barrett and Alison Harding, CNN, March 23, 2013.</ref> budget management, the United States suffered its largest [[Federal budget deficit|deficit]]s<ref>Edwards, B. et. al. (2009, November 6). [http://www.cbo.gov/ftpdocs/107xx/doc10708/11-06-mbr.htm Monthly Budget Review: Fiscal Year 2009]. ''Congressional Budget Office''. Delisle, E.C. et. al. (2010, November 5). [http://www.cbo.gov/ftpdocs/118xx/doc11873/NovemberMBR.pdf Monthly Budget Review: Fiscal Year 2010]. ''Congressional Budget Office''.</ref> in history and its credit-worthiness downgraded from Standard & Poors. Obama assured Americans that unemployment would not rise above 8% if his [[economic stimulus]] program was adopted, however it rose and stagnated in the 8-10% range<ref>Di Leo, L & Lynch, S.N. (2010, August 20). [http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704476104575439172480870774.html Jobless Claims Jump in New Sign Recovery is Sputtering]. ''The Wall Street Journal''.</ref><ref>Bureau of Labor Statistics. [http://data.bls.gov/PDQ/servlet/SurveyOutputServlet?data_tool=latest_numbers&series_id=LNS11300000&years_option=specific_years&include_graphs=true&to_month=1&from_month=2 Databases, Tables & Calculators by Subject: Labor Force Statistics from the Current Population Survey]. ''United States Department of Labor''. Data extracted on: July 19, 2010 (4:31:11 PM).</ref> for the entirety of his first term.

Patrick H. Caddell and Douglas E. Schoen, writing in the [[Wall Street Journal]], noted, "Rather than being a unifier, Mr. Obama has divided America on the basis of race, class and partisanship." The commentators also note Obama's approach to governance has encouraged radical leftists to pursue a similar strategy on his behalf. Mary Frances Berry, former head of the U.S. Civil Rights Commission, acknowledged that the [[Obama administration]] has taken to polarizing America around the issue of race as a means of diverting attention from other issues, saying, "Having one's opponent [[race card|rebut charges of racism]] is far better than discussing [[Unemployment|joblessness]]."<ref>Berry, M.F. (2010, July 20). [http://www.politico.com/arena/perm/Mary_Frances_Berry_91E3D9D5-C40D-440C-9D48-1C50CBC60C87.html Energy Arena, Driving the Conversation: Contracting Out U.S. Security? And will Branding Tea Party Racist Work?] ''Politico''.</ref> Caddell and Schoen, who worked for President Carter and Clinton, respectively, further stated, "Mr. Obama has also cynically [[class warfare|divided the country on class lines]]. He has taken to playing the populist card time and time again. He bashes Wall Street and insurance companies whenever convenient to advance his programs, yet he has been eager to accept campaign contributions and negotiate with these very same banks and [[corporation]]s behind closed doors in order to advance his political agenda... President Obama's divisive approach to governance has weakened us as a people and paralyzed our political culture."<ref>Caddell, P.H. & Schoen, D.E. (2010, July 28). [http://online.wsj.com/article/NA_WSJ_PUB:SB10001424052748703700904575391553798363586.html Our Divisive President]. ''The Wall Street Journal''.</ref>
===Domestic policy===
====Economic policy====
[[File:Keynes.jpg|thumbnail|right|190px|[[Barack Obama]] advocates the use of discredited [[Keynesian economics|Keynesian economic concepts]]<ref>
*[http://centurean2.wordpress.com/2011/03/20/fabian-john-maynard-keynes-the-stealthy-enemy-of-human-freedom/ John Maynard Keynes the stealthy enemy of human freedom]
*[http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-02-22/deathbed-of-keynesian-economics-will-be-in-u-k-matthew-lynn.html Deathbed of Keynesian Economics will be in the UK]
*[http://www.iwf.org/inkwell/show/23102.html Will the G8 Repudiate the Philosophy of Living Beyond Our Means?]
*[http://www.keynesatharvard.org/book/KeynesatHarvard-ch09.html KEYNES AT HARVARD Economic Deception as a Political Credo BY ZYGMUND DOBBS]
</ref> ]]
{{see also|Obamunism|American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009}}
Critics of the Obama administration have coined the word "[[Obamunism]]" to describe Barack Obama's [[socialism|socialistic]] and "[[fascism]] light" [[economic planning]] policies.<ref>[[Benito Mussolini]] defined fascism as the wedding of state and corporate powers. Accordingly, trend forecaster [[Gerald Celente]] labels [[Obama administration corporate bailouts|Obama's corporate bailouts]] as being "fascism light" in nature.</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thebigmoney.com/articles/daily-intel/2009/07/20/obamunism-inc|work=The Big Money|publisher=WashingtonPost.Newsweek Interactive Co. LLC|format=HTML|language=English|title=Obamunism, Inc.|author=David Sessions|date=July 20, 2009}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.smallbusinessadvocate.com/small-business-interviews/gerald-celente-6944|author=Jim Blasingame|title=Is the government creating a bailout bubble?}}</ref> Obamunism can also refer to Obama's [[Obama administration fiscal policy|ruinous fiscal policies]] and [[Obama administration monetary policy|reckless monetary policies]].<ref name="gerard">{{cite web|url=http://seekingalpha.com/article/120883-monetary-policynot-obama-s-stimulusis-what-needs-watching|title=Monetary Policy-Not Obama's Stimulus-Is What Needs Watching|author=Gerard Jackson|date=February 16, 2009|work=Seeking Alpha}}</ref><ref name="bam">{{cite web|work=New York Post|date=May 17, 2009|url=http://www.nypost.com/seven/05172009/postopinion/editorials/bams_wise_words_169731.htm|title=BAM'S WISE WORDS}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://blog.heritage.org/2009/03/24/bush-deficit-vs-obama-deficit-in-pictures/|title=Bush Deficit vs. Obama Deficit in Pictures|work=The Foundry|publisher=The Heritage Foundation|author=Conn Carroll|date=March 24th, 2009}}</ref> As seen in his own actions, Barack Obama instructed his advisors to find loopholes that would enable the president to act as a [[dictator]] by pushing through legislation and increases in spending without congressional authority.<ref>Naked Emperor News (2011, October 12). [http://www.theblaze.com/stories/executive-dictatorship-obama-instructs-advisers-to-push-through-stimulus-projects-without-pesky-congressional-authorization/ Exclusive Dictatorship: Obama Instructs Advisors to Push Through Stimulus Projects Without Pesky 'Congressional Authorization']. ''The Blaze''.</ref>

Nevertheless, budgets passed under President Obama have included the smallest average annualized growth of federal spending (1.4%) since before President Reagan. Federal spending grew an average of 8.7% per year during Reagan's first term and an average of 8.1% per year during George W. Bush's second term.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.forbes.com/sites/rickungar/2012/05/24/who-is-the-smallest-government-spender-since-eisenhower-would-you-believe-its-barack-obama/|title=Who Is The Smallest Government Spender Since Eisenhower? Would You Believe It's Barack Obama?|publisher=Forbes|author=Rick Ungar|date=May 24th, 2012}}</ref>

[[Wall Street]] firms and banks that were bailed out were among Obama's biggest campaign supporters.<ref>''OpenSecrets.org''. [http://www.opensecrets.org/pres08/contrib.php?cycle=2008&cid=N00009638 Barack Obama: Top Contributors]. The Center for Responsive Politics.</ref> Therefore, the Obama administration bailouts of corrupt, unproductive, and reckless Wall Street firms was hardly surprising, and many argue that it was not helpful in making the United States economy more productive and prosperous by encouraging more risk taking through letting banks off with a slap on the wrist. Others argue that bailing out the banks kept credit flowing and prevented a much deeper recession and a total collapse of the financial system. The government will recoup some though not all of its capital infusions over time. A 2005 study found that government corporate bailouts are often done for mere political considerations and the economic resources allocated exhibit significantly worse economic performance than resources allocated using purely business considerations.<ref>Faccio, M. et. al. (2005, March 1). [http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=676905 Political Connections and Corporate Bailouts]. ''Social Science Research Network''.</ref> Proponents of [[free market]] capitalism said Bernanke should not have bailed out failing firms and instead should have allowed free market capitalism to quickly recover as it did in the depression of 1920 without government intervention (free market capitalists assert that government intervention drags out economic recessions and depressions).<ref>Woods, T.E. (2009, April 10). [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=czcUmnsprQI Why You've Never Heard of the Great Depression of 1920]. ''Ludwig Von Mises Institute''. Hosted on ''YouTube''.</ref>

Top trend forecaster [[Gerald Celente]] predicts that the corrupt economic policies of the Obama administration will lead to a second [[Great Depression|great depression]] (Celente predicted the 1987 US stock market crash, the dot.com crash, the US 2008/2009 recession, and the collapse of the USSR in the early 1990s) and may lead to a "second [[American Revolution]]" (Celente predicted the [[Tea Party Movement|tax protests]] that are now occurring in America).<ref name="celente1">Celente, G. (2009, August 1). [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8MMX3SKzrfU&feature=channel_page pt 2/2 Gerald Celente on Financial Sense Newshour Aug 1st 2009]. ''Financial Sense Newshour''. Hosted on ''YouTube''.</ref><ref name="celente2">Celente, G. (2009, August 2). [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sy9bfw1ebgw&feature=response_watch ]. ''Financial Sense Newshour''. Hosted on ''YouTube''.</ref> Celente also asserts that the costly and inefficient temporary short term methods that the Obama administration is using to alleviate economic problems in the short term (which is causing massive increases in [[Obama administration deficit spending]]) is only making matters worse and will not prevent the worse economic depression in United States history from occurring.<ref>Celente, G. (2009, August 11). [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_C8K7rWkGGw pt 1/2 Gerald Celente on Howestreet.com 11 Aug 2009]. ''HoweStreet.com''. Hosted on ''YouTube''.</ref><ref>Celente, G. (2009, August 11). [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1LBffdIW0XA&feature=response_watch pt 2/2 Gerald Celente on Howestreet.com 11 Aug 2009]. ''HoweStreet.com''. Hosted on ''YouTube''.</ref>

The Obama administration has been sharply criticized for [[Obama administration deficit spending|its massive deficit spending]] and [[Obama administration monetary policy|its reckless monetary policy]] via vast increases in the [[money supply]], although inflation under Bernanke has been below the historic mean.<ref name="gerard"/><ref name="bam"/><ref>Carroll, C. (2009, March 24). [http://blog.heritage.org/2009/03/24/bush-deficit-vs-obama-deficit-in-pictures/ Bush Deficit vs. Obama Deficit in Pictures]. ''The Foundry''. The Heritage Network.</ref> Celente predicts that if a "second American Revolution" occurs in a peaceful and productive manner, it may include a [[Third Party System|third party movement]] of governance that will advocate a more [[free market]] [[capitalism]] approach to the American economy and a more strict interpretation of the [[United States Constitution|United States constitution]] as far as the authors' [[original intent]].<ref name="celente1"/><ref name="celente2"/>

During what the [[White House]] billed as [[Recovery Summer]], one half million workers per week continued losing their jobs. His signature legislative achievement, [[ObamaCare]],has been found to be [[unconstitutional]]<ref>Schoenberg, T. & Fisk, M.T. (2010, December 13). [http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-12-13/u-s-health-care-law-requirement-thrown-out-by-judge.html Obama's Health-Care Law Ruled Unconstitutional Over Insurance Requirement]. ''Bloomberg''.</ref> by several judges and constitutional by others, and is credited as a major cause of uncertainty, high [[unemployment]],<ref>http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=33220</ref> lagging job creation,<ref>Foster, J.D. (2010, August 5). [http://blog.heritage.org/2010/08/05/it%E2%80%99s-official-medicare%E2%80%99s-finances-shadowed-by-uncertainty/ It’s Official: Medicare’s Finances Shadowed by Uncertainty]. ''The Foundry''. The Heritage Network.</ref> and risk of a credit default crisis.<ref>Samuelson, R.J. (2010, March 29). [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/03/28/AR2010032802353.html With health bill, Obama has sown the seeds of a budget crisis]. ''The Washington Post''.</ref><ref>Cramer, J. (2010, March 16). [http://www.thestreet.com/story/10703361/cramer-obamacare-will-topple-the-market.html Cramer: Obamacare Will Topple the Market]. ''The Street''.</ref>

His 2012 Budget plan has been roundly criticized in the mainstream and liberal press as not a serious effort to deal with the nation's economic crisis.<ref>[http://republican.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=blogs.view&blog_id=1551d6f5-2ac9-4b8d-97ab-74def354024e Newspapers Call Out White House: ‘What Would That Path Be, Mr. President?’]</ref>

[[Jeffrey Tucker]] wrote, "President Obama's economic policy has been catastrophic for liberty, enterprise, and the American dream—the very archetype of what not to do to end recession." [http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1118186176/ref=as_li_tf_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=anncoulter-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1118186176]
=====Stimulus=====
:''See also: [[Recovery Summer]]''
In early 2009, Obama lobbied Congress and the public to pass a sweeping Stimulus package<ref>(2009, January 3). "[http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/28479998/ns/politics-white_house/t/obama-urges-congress-pass-stimulus-plan/ Obama Urges Congress to Pass Stimulus Plan]." ''Associated Press''. Parsons, C. & Nicholas, P. (2009, February 10). "[http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/28479998/ns/politics-white_house/t/obama-urges-congress-pass-stimulus-plan/ Barack Obama Sternly Urges Congress to Pass Economic Stimulus]." ''Chicago Tribune''.</ref> known as ''The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009'' (H.R. 1).<ref>"[http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c111:H.R.1: Bill Text Versions: H.R. 1]." 111th Congress (2009-2010). ''Library of Congress''. "[http://www.irs.gov/newsroom/article/0,,id=204335,00.html The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009: Information Center]." ''IRS''.</ref> The report of the Congressional Budget Office mandated by law stated that the legislation would ultimately harm the economy.<ref>Dinan, S. (2009, February 4). "[http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/feb/04/cbo-obama-stimulus-harmful-over-long-haul/ CBO: Obama Stimulus Harmful Over Long Haul]." ''U.S. News''.</ref> Contrary to his promise of bipartisanship,<ref>Dinan, S. (2009, March 28). "[http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/mar/28/mccain-obama-breaks-campaign-promises-shuns-bipart/?page=all McCain: Obama Breaks Promise of Bipartisanship]." ''Washington Times''.</ref> the bill passed the House 244-188 on January 28, 2009 with 11 Democrats voting with the entire Republican caucus against,<ref>Calmes, J. (2009, January 28). "[http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/29/us/politics/29obama.html House Passes Stimulus Plan With No G.O.P. Votes]." ''New York Times''.</ref> and received just 3 Republican votes when passing the Senate 61-37.<ref>Herszenhorn, D.M. (2009, February 10). "[http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/11/washington/11web-stim.html Senate Approves Stimulus Plan]." ''New York Times''.</ref> One third of the massive $838 billion bill consisted of [[Backdoor_spending_authority#Backdoor_tax_expenditures|backdoor tax expenditures]]<ref>(2009, February 11). "Senate Passes $838 Billion Stimulus Bill]." ''Associated Press''.</ref> and the rest direct [[new spending]] on "just about every pent-up Democratic proposal of the last 40 years."<ref>(2009, January 28). "[http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123310466514522309.html A 40-Year Wish List]." ''Wall Street Journal''.</ref> In responding to criticism of the broken bipartisanship promise at the time, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi famously quipped, "We won the election. We wrote the bill."<ref>Kane, P. (2009, January 23). "[http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/01/22/AR2009012203961.html Stimulus Plan Meets More GOP Resistance]." ''Washington Post''.</ref> On February 18, 2009, the Stimulus was signed into law by Obama.<ref>(2009, February 17). "[http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29231790/ns/politics-white_house/t/obama-stimulus-lets-americans-claim-destiny/ Obama: Stimulus Lets Americans Claim Destiny]." ''Associated Press''.</ref> In August 2009, Republicans and Democratic Senator David Obey drew attention to mistakes on the Recovery.gov site claiming millions of Stimulus jobs created that didn't exist. Obama responded by saying the errors just indicate his accounting is an "inexact science".<ref>(2009, November 18). "[http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/11/18/obama-calls-stimulus-data-errors-issue-says-focus-job-growth/ Obama Calls Stimulus Data Errors 'Side Issue,' Says Focus Is on Job Growth]." ''FOX News''.</ref>
=====[[Sequestration]]=====
According to [[Pulitzer Prize]] winning journalist [[Bob Woodward]] of the ''[[Washington Post]]'', Obama misled the American people in a Presidential debate only two weeks before the 2012 election when he said, "The sequester is not something that I’ve proposed,”<ref>[http://articles.washingtonpost.com/2013-02-22/opinions/37238840_1_jack-lew-treasury-secretary-rob-nabors Obama’s sequester deal-changer,] By Bob Woodward, ''Washington Post'', February 22, 2013.</ref> when in fact his chief budget negotiator and current Chief of Staff, [[Jack Lew]], made a call to Democrat [[Harry Reid]] at 2:30 pm on July 27, 2011 with the proposal after clearing it with Obama,<ref>[http://dailycaller.com/2012/10/22/fact-check-woodward-wrote-that-obama-administration-proposed-sequester/ Fact-check: Woodward wrote that Obama administration proposed sequester]. dailycaller.com </ref> as fully documented in Woodward's book, ''The Price of Politics''. Federal Reserve Chairman [[Ben Bernanke]] warned of immediate jobloss of about 750,000 jobs - about the same level as under George W. Bush<ref>[http://research.stlouisfed.org/fred2/graph/fredgraph.png?graph_id=109262 Monthly Jobloss under George W. Bush, Jan 2007 - Jan 2009]. See also [http://research.stlouisfed.org/fred2/graph/fredgraph.png?graph_id=109266 Initial Unemployment Claims] over the same period, annualized. Source: U.S. Dept. of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics.</ref> - if Obama's budget and economic plans were allowed to take effect.<ref>[http://money.cnn.com/2013/02/26/news/economy/bernanke-burden-recovery/ Bernanke: Spending cuts add 'significant' burden to recovery,] By Annalyn Kurtz, CNN February 26, 2013.</ref>

Woodward, who's reporting on [[Watergate]] is credited with toppling the administration of [[Richard Nixon]], told Wolf Blitzer of CNN he was told by a senior White House official he'd regret talking about the President Obama's positions on the sequester.<ref>[http://www.businessinsider.com/bob-woodward-obama-sequester-white-house-reporting-price-politics-2013-2 Bob Woodward: White House Threatened Me On Sequester,] businessinsider.com </ref>

====Healthcare mandates====
{{main article|Obamacare}}
On March 23, 2010, Obama signed the unpopular Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA). The act originated in the [[Democratic]]ally controlled House and was amended and passed the Senate just prior to Sen. [[Ted Kennedy]]'s death largely along party lines with a significant number of Democrats voting to oppose. In what was construed as a de facto rejection of the bill, [[Massachusetts]] voters elected a [[Republican]] candidate, [[Scott Brown]], who promised to vote against the bill if given the chance.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://voices.washingtonpost.com/thefix/senate/scott-brown-wins-massachusetts-senate-race.html|work=The Washington Post|author=Chris Cillizza|date=January 19, 2010|title=Scott Brown wins Massachusetts Senate special election race|language=English|format=HTML}}</ref> After Obama made a promise to issue an [[executive order]] that would ultimately prohibit the use of taxpayer subsidies to pay for [[abortion]] services,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://articles.latimes.com/2010/mar/22/nation/la-na-healthcare-passage22-2010mar22/3|work=The Los Angeles Times|format=HTML|language=English|title=House passes historic healthcare overhaul|date=March 22, 2010|author=Noam N. Levey and Janet Hook}}</ref> the Democratic [[House of Representatives]] would pass the bill as it left the Senate 219-212, with 34 Democrats and all other parties dissenting.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://articles.cnn.com/2010-03-21/politics/health.care.main_1_health-care-entire-house-democratic-caucus-pre-existing-conditions?_s=PM:POLITICS|date=March 21, 2010|author=Alan Silverleib|work=CNN|format=HTML|language=English|title=House passes health care bill on 219-212 vote}}</ref>

Amongst other things, the act mandated that everyone purchase health care coverage or face punitive tax measures, and was upheld by the [[Supreme Court]].

====Regulatory reform====
Obama criticized the "revolving door" of government and business.<ref>"We need to close the revolving door that lets lobbyists come into government freely, and lets them use their time in public service as a way to promote their own interests over the interests of the American people when they leave." [http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/remarks-president-welcoming-senior-staff-and-cabinet-secretaries-white-house REMARKS BY THE PRESIDENT IN WELCOMING SENIOR STAFF AND CABINET SECRETARIES TO THE WHITE HOUSE,] January 21, 2009. whitehouse.gov </ref> After appointing [[Peter Orszag]] his first Budget Director to dole out the stimulus cash, Orszag resigned to become Citigroup's Vice Chairman of Global Banking. Citigroup was the recipient of $476 billion in [[bailout]] money - more than any other bank - after the disastrous [[Financial crisis of 2008]].<ref>[http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2011/03/citibank_received_more_bailout.html Citigroup Received More Bailout Money Than Any Other Bank,] By Nitasha Tiku, 3/16/11. </ref> Before the bailout, Orszag's expert opinion of the chances of a mortgage meltdown were 1 in 500,000.<ref>[http://www.pierrelemieux.org/stiglitzrisk.pdf Implications of the New Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac Risk-based Capital Standard,] by Joseph E. Stiglitz, Jonathan M. Orszag and Peter R. Orszag. Fannie Mae Papers, Volume 1, Issue 2, March 2002, Conclusion p.6. </ref>

====Environment and energy====
{{main article|Gulf of Mexico oil spill disaster}}
President Obama authorized offshore oil drilling in the [[Gulf of Mexico]]<ref>[http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/2010/0430/Gulf-of-Mexico-oil-spill-imperils-Obama-s-offshore-drilling-plan Gulf of Mexico oil spill imperils Obama's offshore drilling plan,] By Mark Clayton, ''Christian Science Monitor'', April 30, 2010.</ref> stating, "oil rigs today generally don’t cause spills"<ref>White House Press Release, [http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/remarks-president-a-discussion-jobs-and-economy-charlotte-north-carolina Remarks by the President in a Discussion on Jobs and the Economy in Charlotte, North Carolina,] Office of the Press Secretary, April 02, 2010. Retrieved from whitehouse.gov 3 May 2010.</ref> and was widely criticized for his mishandling of the "[[Gulf oil spill disaster|worst environmental disaster]] in US history."<ref>[http://www.examiner.com/x-33986-Political-Spin-Examiner~y2010m4d29-Worst-environmental-disaster-in-US-history-Oil-slick-in-Gulf-of-Mexico-is-set-on-fire Worst environmental disaster in US history,] Maryann Tobin, ''Examiner'', April 29, 2010.</ref><ref>[http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/04/30/the-oil-spill-is-obamas-fault/?src=twt&twt=NytimesKrugman Conscience of a Liberal: The Oil Spill Is Obama’s Fault,] Paul Krugman, ''New York Times'', April 30, 2010.</ref>
====Reverses Clinton era gay discrimination====
{{main article|Don't Ask Don't Tell}}
Candidate Obama promised to repeal a policy that originated with President Clinton and passed by a Democratically controlled Congress that prohibited inquiries into military personnel's [[sexual orientation]] while barring openly gay [[homosexuals]] from serving in the military. [[Liberals]] expressed anger when time passed and no effort to repeal the law was seen;<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2008/nov/21/obama-to-delay-repeal-of-dont-ask-dont-tell/|work=The Washington Times|format=HTML|title=Obama to delay ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ repeal|language=English|author=Rowan Scarborough|date=November 21, 2008}}</ref> in fact, Obama's [[justice department]], as part of their duty to defend all laws passed by any administration, filed a brief arguing against the [[Supreme Court]] granting a [[writ of certiorari]] to a gay soldier challenging the law (the writ was not granted). In response, the soldier, James Pietrangelo II, a former Army infantryman and lawyer, said, “[Obama's] a coward, a bigot and a pathological liar. This is a guy who spent more time picking out his dog, Bo, and playing with him on the White House lawn than he has working for equality for gay people."<ref>{{cite web|work=Time Magazine|publisher=Time Inc.|format=HTML|url=http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1903545,00.html?imw=Y|title=Dismay Over Obama's 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' Turnabout|author=Mark Thompson|date=Jun. 09, 2009}}</ref>

On December 15th, 2010, a bill was introduced in the [[House of Representatives]] to repeal the law - it passed a day later by a vote of 250-175;<ref>{{cite web|url=http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2010/roll638.xml|title=FINAL VOTE RESULTS FOR ROLL CALL 638|format=HTML|work=Office of the Clerk of the U.S. House of Representatives}}</ref> it passed the Senate three days later 65-31.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=111&session=2&vote=00281|work=The U.S. Senate|title=U.S. Senate Roll Call Votes 111th Congress - 2nd Session|format=HTML|language=English}}</ref> Obama signed the Don't Ask, Don't Tell Repeal Act of 2010 on December 22nd.<ref name="g dadt">{{cite web|url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/dec/22/obama-repeals-dont-ask-dont-tell|work=The Guardian|format=HTML|language=English|title='Don't ask, don't tell' repealed as Obama signs landmark law|date=22 December 2010}}</ref> The [[Pentagon]] itself could not immediately implement the repeal and questioned whether it would hurt combat readiness.<ref name="g dadt"/>

====Labor law and compensation to 9/11 first responders====
Obama's first act of office was to sign the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act - effectively nullifying the [[Supreme Court]] case ''Ledbetter v. Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co.'', which ruled that Ledbetter had to have filed a pay [[discrimination]] suit within 180 days of the first time Ledbetter was paid less than her male peers;<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/30/us/politics/30ledbetter-web.html|work=The New York Times|format=HTML|language=English|title=Obama Signs Equal-Pay Legislation|author=Sheryl Gay Stolberg|date=January 29, 2009}}</ref> the law made corporations subject to suit within 180 days of each time the employee was unfairly paid.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://writ.news.findlaw.com/grossman/20090213.html?=features|work=FindLaw|author=Joanna L. Grossman|date=Feb. 13, 2009|format=HTML|language=English|title=The Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009}}</ref>

On January 2, 2011, Obama signed the James Zadroga [[9/11]] Healthcare and Compensation Act.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.wnyc.org/articles/wnyc-news/2011/jan/02/obama-signs-zadroga-act-law/|publisher=New York Public Radio|title=Obama Signs Zadroga Act into Law|author=Fred Mogul|date=January 02, 2011|work=wNYC|format=HTML|language=English}}</ref> The act, which afforded 9/11 first responders who were sickened by the dust from the collapse of the [[World Trade Center]] health care and compensation, passed [[Congress]] after its sponsors agreed to scale down the pricing from 7.4 to 4.2 billion dollars.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.wnyc.org/articles/wnyc-news/2010/dec/22/zadroga-911-bill-passes-senate/|publisher=New York Public Radio|work=wNYC|format=HTML|language=English|title=Congress Approves 9/11 Health Bill|date=December 22, 2010}}</ref>

===Foreign policy===
[[File:Western Wall Obama.jpg|thumb|left|320px|At [[Western Wall]], Jerusalem, 2008.]]
As Senator, Obama was highly critical of President Bush and promised change. As President, Obama has tripled down in Afghanistan, widened the war into Pakistan, multiplied drone attacks, bombed Yemen and Somalia, and started an undeclared NATO war in Libya. On presidential war powers, surveillance questions, Guantanamo, detention policy and habeas corpus, Obama has similarly stayed the course, or expanded Bush's precedents. In a speech on May 19, 2011 Obama fully embraced the [[Bush Doctrine]] of preventative war.<ref>Krauthammer, C. (April 19). [http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/the-news-in-obamas-speech/2011/05/19/AF4dFN7G_story.html The News in Obama's Speech]. ''The Washington Post''.</ref>

From the Boston Globe:
<blockquote>
'The New America Foundation, which tracks the strikes, has listed 23 raids since the beginning of April, 2011, all but one in Pakistan’s tribal regions of North and South Waziristan. A June 20 attack was reported in Kurram, an area north of North Waziristan along the Afghanistan border.'
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
'The drone program has become increasingly controversial as the Obama administration has expanded its use beyond the Afghanistan and Iraq wars. Lethal missiles have been launched from unmanned aircraft in at least five countries in addition to Pakistan: Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, Yemen, and, most recently, Somalia. The military’s Joint Special Operations Command used a drone last June to attack what officials said were two senior members of the Al Shabab militant group on the Somali coast.' <ref>DeYoung, K. (2011, July 4). [http://www.boston.com/news/world/asia/articles/2011/07/04/cia_halts_drone_launches_from_pakistan_base/ CIA Halts Drone Launches From Pakistan Base]. ''The Boston Globe''. </ref>
</blockquote>

A commentator says:
<blockquote>
'Obama is commendable when he says he wants to avoid war. His policies, however, favor war by destabilizing the Middle East making it extremely hostile and favoring radical Islam over America’s ally, Israel, and American interests in the region... The president has chosen a very dangerous path for every American and one that promises great difficulty for Israel.' <ref> [http://www.thejerusalemconnection.us/blog/2012/03/14/obamas-words-disguise-his-israel-foreign-policy-actions.html Obama's words disguise his Israel foreign policy actions.] </ref>
</blockquote>
====Commander-in-chief====
By Obama's third year as Commander-in-Chief, over 1200 American troops died in Iraq and Afghanistan - significantly more than the number who died during President [[George W. Bush]]'s term of office. And growing numbers of civilian contractors also have fallen. In the first half of 2010, 250 contractors reportedly died in Iraq and Afghanistan - more than the 235 military personnel who fell during the same period.<ref>http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2011/05/24/114662/what-price-war.html#ixzz1Nz07pg5O</ref>
====National Defense====
President Obama signed into U.S. law the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), only after his administration successfully lobbied to remove language from the bill that would have protected American citizens from being detained indefinitely without trial.<ref>Aaron Dykes. [http://www.infowars.com/president-obamas-ndaa-signing-statement-i-have-the-power-to-detain-americans-but-i-wont/ Obama’s Signing Statement on NDAA: I have the power to detain Americans… but I won’t], Infowars.com, January 1, 2012. </ref> After the legislation cleared Congress, the ACLU commented that if President Obama signed the bill it "will damage both his legacy and American’s reputation for upholding the rule of law," while executive director of the ''Human Rights Watch'' blasted the President for being ‘on the wrong side of history,’ noting that "Obama will go down in history as the president who enshrined indefinite detention without trial in US law."<ref>President Decides to Sign Ill-Conceived National Defense Authorization Act. [http://www.hrw.org/news/2011/12/14/us-refusal-veto-detainee-bill-historic-tragedy-rights US: Refusal to Veto Detainee Bill A Historic Tragedy for Rights], ''Human Rights Watch'', December 14, 2011. [http://www.aclu.org/national-security/white-house-backs-away-defense-bill-veto-threat White House Backs Away from Defense Bill Veto Threat], ''[[ACLU]]'', December 14, 2011.</ref>

Section 1031 of the NDAA bill, which itself defines the entirety of the United States as a “battlefield,” allows American citizens to be snatched from the streets, carted off to a foreign detention camp and held indefinitely without trial. As reported by Infowars.com, the bill states that “any person who has committed a belligerent act” faces indefinite detention, but no trial or evidence has to be presented, the White House merely needs to make the accusation.<ref>Paul Joseph Watson. [http://www.infowars.com/obama-administration-demanded-power-to-indefinitely-detain-u-s-citizens/ Obama Administration Demanded Power To Indefinitely Detain U.S. Citizens], Infowars.com, December 12, 2011. S.1867 [http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/F?c112:2:./temp/~c1122VN0Iv:e548990: National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2012 (Engrossed in Senate [Passed Senate] - ES)], ''The Library of Congress'' THOMAS, 112th Congress (2011-2011), Accessed January 25, 2012. Text of S.1867 - National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2012. [http://www.opencongress.org/bill/112-s1867/text?version=es&nid=t0:es:281 Sec. 1031. Affirmation of authority of the Armed Forces of the United States to detain covered persons pursuant to the Authorization for Use of Military Force.], [[U.S. Congress]], ''OpenCongress.org'', (Accessed January 25, 2012).</ref>
====Al Qaeda and Libya====
{{main article|Libyan uprising 2011}}
In February 2011, the political unrest that spread through the Arab world showed up as protests in Libya. Colonel Muammar Gaddafi, leader of Libya for 41 years, responded to the violence<ref>http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article28376.htm</ref> with legitimate steps.<ref name="nyt libya">{{cite web|url=http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/international/countriesandterritories/libya/index.html|work=The New York Times|publisher=The New York Times Inc.|format=HTML|language=English|title=Libya — Protests and Revolt (2011)}}</ref> The [[United Nations Security Council]] voted to impose [[sanctions]], and later passed a resolution to protect civilians. Obama, without approval from Congress and over the objections of his own National Security staff,<ref>http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503544_162-20038391-503544.html</ref> directed American forces to take out Libya's air defense system.<ref name="nyt libya"/> Secretary of Defence [[Robert Gates]], National Security Adviser Tom Donilon, Deputy National Security Adviser Denis McDonough, and [[White House]] counterterrorism chief [[John O. Brennan]] all opposed the action. Obama later said, "if we waited one more day Benghazi, a city nearly the size of Charlotte, could suffer a massacre that would have reverberated across the region and stained the conscience of the world."<ref>{{cite web|author=Barack Obama|url=http://www.npr.org/2011/03/28/134935452/obamas-speech-on-libya-a-responsibility-to-act|title=Obama's Speech On Libya: 'A Responsibility To Act'|date=March 28, 2011|publisher=National Public Radio ([[NPR]])|language=English|format=HTML}}</ref> [[Alan J. Kuperman]], in an editorial for the ''[[Boston Globe]]'' - suggested this statement was false, writing, "intervention did not prevent genocide, because no such bloodbath was in the offing. To the contrary, by emboldening rebellion, US interference has prolonged Libya’s civil war and the resultant suffering of innocents."<ref name="kuperman">{{cite web|author=Alan J. Kuperman|work=The Boston Globe|url=http://articles.boston.com/2011-04-14/bostonglobe/29418371_1_rebel-stronghold-civilians-rebel-positions|title=False pretense for war in Libya?|date=April 14, 2011}}</ref> Kuperman, a professor of public affairs at the University of Texas who authored a book called ''The Limits of Humanitarian Intervention'', further stated that the rebels had tricked the world into thinking a bloodbath was at hand and that Obama had lied to the American people in order to act on this theory.<ref name="kuperman"/>
<blockquote>
Gaddafi [never] threaten civilian massacre in Benghazi, as Obama alleged. The “no mercy’’ warning, of March 17, targeted rebels only, as reported by ''The New York Times'', which noted that Libya’s leader promised amnesty for those “who throw their weapons away.’’ Gaddafi even offered the rebels an escape route and open border to Egypt, to avoid a fight “to the bitter end.’’ <ref> [http://politicalcartel.org/2011/04/17/libya-and-the-obama-doctrine/ Libya and the “Obama Doctrine”.] </ref>
</blockquote>
Gaddafi wrote to Obama and told him he bore no ill will. "We have been hurt more morally than physically because of what had happened against us in both deeds and words by you," he wrote. "Despite all this you will always remain our son whatever happened. We still pray that you continue to be president of the USA. We endeavour and hope that you will gain victory in the new election campaign."<ref>[http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/apr/06/gaddafi-obama-nato-libya?INTCMP=ILCNETTXT3487]</ref>
=====Aid to violent Islamists=====
A March 29, 2011 article in the ''[[Washington Post]]'' included these paragraphs:
{{Cquote|"It’s almost a certitude that at least part” of the Libyan opposition includes members of al-Qaeda, said Bruce Riedel, a former senior CIA analyst and adviser to President Obama. Riedel said that anti-Gaddafi elements in the rebel stronghold of Benghazi have had “very close associations with al-Qaeda” dating back years....I would hope that we now have a good sense of the opposition in Libya and can say that this is 2 percent, not 20 percent,” Riedel said. “If we don’t, then we are running the risk of helping to bring to power a regime that could be very dangerous.<ref>http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/libyan-opposition-includes-a-small-number-of-al-qaeda-fighters-us-officials-say/2011/03/29/AFRlXWyB_story.html</ref>}}

This set off a fierce debate in the [[Obama administration]] over the wisdom of arming terrorists.<ref>http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/30/world/africa/30diplo.html?_r=1&partner=rss&emc=rss</ref> It is now known sometime prior to March 31, 2011,<ref>http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/31/world/africa/31intel.html?_r=2&hp</ref> at the urging of Hillary Clinton<ref>http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/19/world/africa/19policy.html?_r=3&hp& </ref> and over the objections of his National Security Council, Obama signed a Presidential Finding authorizing support for the rebel jihadis.<ref>http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/03/30/us-libya-usa-order-idUSTRE72T6H220110330</ref>

By October 2011, [[Libyan rebel fighting group]]s with support from [[NATO]] overtook the capital and toppled the government. Gaddafi was captured and brutally and sadistically murdered.<ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mPzeLLL9V-c Leading from behind - a critique of Obama foreign policy]</ref> The jihadis were immediately recognized by the U.S. and the U.N. as the new legitimate government. Mustafa Abdul-Jalil, chairman of the National Transitional Council, announced [[Sharia]] will be the source for all legislation and all laws conflicting with Sharia are null and void.<ref name="Sharia">[http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/libya/8861608/Libya-Al-Qaeda-flag-flown-above-Benghazi-courthouse.html Libya: Al Qaeda flag flown above Benghazi courthouse - Daily Telegraph]</ref> Abdel Rahim al-Kib, the country's interim prime minister, echoed Jalil's words days later.<ref>[http://www.presstv.ir/detail/207953.html New Libyan PM backs Islamic sharia law]</ref> The al Qaeda flag was flown above the Benghazi courthouse, and reports surfaced that the Libyan jihadis had imposed Sharia law in some parts of the country even earlier.<ref name="Sharia" /> By February 17, 2013, four foreign nationals were arrested for distributing Christian literature, a charge that could carry the death penalty<ref>[http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/feb/17/libya-arrests-suspected-foreign-missionaries Libya arrests foreign 'missionaries' Four foreign nationals accused of distributing Christian literature,] a charge that could carry the death penalty, Chris Stephen guardian.co.uk, Sunday 17 February 2013.</ref>

=====U.S. Ambassador murdered=====
:{{main|Benghazi Attack}}
With several U.S.embassies besieged on the anniversary of the [[September 11 attacks]], White House Press Secretary [[Jay Carney]] declared there was no reason to believe the attack on the sovereign territory of the United States consulate in Benghazi, less than two months before the [[2012 Presidential election]] which killed Americans, was a terrorist attack.
{{Cquote|The unrest that we’ve seen around the region has been in reaction to a video that Muslims, many Muslims, find offensive.}}
This became the official White House line. Between laughs with [[Jon Stewart]] on the ''Comedy Channel'', Obama said the death of Americans was "not optimal".<ref>[http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Government/2012/10/18/Obama-Benghazi-murders-not-optimal Interview with Jon Stewart of the ''Daily Show''].</ref> When pressed by reporters, who pointed out evidence that the violence in Benghazi was a terrorist attack, Press Secretary Carney argued “the unrest around the region has been in response to this video.”

Leading suspected jihadis in the murders and terrorist attack were the local Benghazi branch of Ansar al-Shariah, known to have ties to al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb.<ref>http://blogs.ajc.com/political-insider-jim-galloway/2012/10/19/when-an-obama-adviser-called-benghazi-an-al-qaeda-hotbed/?cxntfid=blogs_political_insider_jim_galloway</ref> A commander of the terrorist group boasted jovially about the attack over drinks with reporters for the ''[[New York Times]]'' in Benghazi<ref>http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/16/world/africa/election-year-stakes-overshadow-nuances-of-benghazi-investigation.html?pagewanted=2&ref=world</ref>.<ref>http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2012/10/frappe-libya-attack/</ref>

=====[[Al Qaeda in the Maghreb]]=====
Two more Americans were killed, along with 35 others, after being taken hostage by rebel jihadists in Mali shortly after the Libyan upheaval.<ref>[http://world.time.com/2013/01/21/algeria-37-foreigner-hostages-killed-in-attack/ Algeria: 37 Foreigner Hostages Killed in Attack], Associated Press, Jan. 21, 2013. ''TIME'' magazine.</ref>

Hillary Clinton testified before the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee in the wake of the Benghazi murders under her stewardship, that weapons and fighters equipped by the Obama administration made their way to [[Mali]] and [[Algeria]]:
{{cquote|There is no doubt that the Algerian terrorists had weapons from Libya. There is no doubt that the Malian remnants of AQIM [Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb] have weapons from Libya.<ref>[http://news.yahoo.com/clinton-says-militants-used-weapons-libya-algeria-attack-154222664.html Clinton says militants used weapons from Libya in Algeria attack,] Reuters, Jan 23, 2013.]</ref>}}

====Afghanistan====
{{main article|Afghanistan War}}
Obama escalated troop strength<ref name="pbs">{{cite web|url=http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/obamaswar/themes/strategy.html#ixzz1LhWNImZp|title=Obama's New Strategy (March '09)|author=George Packer, Seth Jones, David Kilcullen, Rory Stewart, Andrew Exum, Col. Andrew Bacevich (Ret.)|work=PBS|language=English|format=HTML}}</ref> and defense costs in Afghanistan from $43.5 billion in George Bush's last year to $113.7 billion for 2011.<ref>Congressional Research Service, quoted in Gregory Anthony, ''What price war?''</ref> Adviser to General [[Stanley McChrystal]] David Kilcullen wrote, "One of the big strategic shifts is the use of language now which talks about Pakistan and Afghanistan as the same theater. Now we talked about Af-Pak long before the Obama administration came about, but the public use of that term, and the description of it as the Afghanistan-Pakistan campaign, sends a new message to people about how the administration is going to think about Afghanistan and Pakistan."<ref name="pbs"/> T

====Mexico====
[[File:Eric Holder.jpg|right|thumb|200px|[[Eric Holder]] remains as Attorney General despite being held in Contempt of Congress. Others such as Rahm Emanual have departed in wake of the Fast & Furious revelations.<ref>[http://www.americanthinker.com/2011/10/fast_and_furious_in_a_rotten_nutshell.html#ixzz27iRBCN28 Fast and Furious in a Rotten Nutshell], Ronald Kolb, ''American Thinker'', October 7, 2011,</ref>]]
:''Main article:'' '''[[Operation Fast and Furious]]'''
In May of 2010, President Obama promised Mexican President [[Felipe Calderon]] that his administration would assist Mexico in curbing drug cartel violence, which has led to 30,000 deaths in Mexico. "President Calderon and I . . . stand together against the drug cartels that have unleashed horrific violence in so many communities," Obama said on May 19. "Mexico can count on the United States as a full partner in this effort."

The ''[[Washington Post]]'' has reported however that White House officials stopped a requirement for gun dealers to report bulk sales of high-powered semiautomatic rifles commonly used by illegal drug cartels. [[Justice Department]] officials had asked for White House approval to require thousands of gun dealers along the border to report the purchases to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms and Explosives. ATF investigators expected to get leads on suspected arms traffickers. Senior law enforcement sources said the proposal from the ATF was held up by then White House chief of staff [[Rahm Emanuel]].<ref>Horwitz, S. & Grimaldi, J.V. (2010, December 17). [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/12/17/AR2010121706598.html White House Delayed Rule Meant to Stop Gun Flow to Mexico]. ''The Washington Post''.</ref> Gun dealers have been required for decades to report the sales of multiple handguns to the ATF.

====Guantanamo Bay====
{{main article|Guantanamo Bay}}
One of Obama's campaign promises was that he would close the American detention center at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba - detainees would be flown to other countries while the ones awaiting trial would enter the American court system. Two days after taking office he signed an order directing the military to do so.<ref name="salon">{{cite web|url=http://www.salon.com/news/politics/war_room/2011/04/25/obama_guantanamo_rhetoric|work=Salon|title=The Obama/Gitmo timeline|author=Natasha Lennard|format=HTML|language=English}}</ref> But, in November 2009 Obama admitted that his self imposed deadline of January 2010 would be missed, and in March 2011 the president went back on his campaign promise, signing an executive order to create a formal system of indefinite detention for the prisoners.<ref name="salon"/>
====Russia====
Obama criticized [[Conservative]] president of [[Russia]], [[Vladimir Putin]] for carrying out a referendum for the seizure of [[Crimea]] to Russia.<ref>http://cnsnews.com/news/article/obama-calls-rethinking-crimea-vote</ref>

==2012 Presidential Campaign==
: ''Main article: [[Presidential Election 2012]]''
===2011: Birth Certificate Released===
: ''Main article: [[Barack_Obama_Controversies#Birth_Certificate]]''
On April 27, 2011<ref>CNN Political Unit (2011, April 27). "[http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2011/04/27/white-house-releases-obama-birth-certificate/ White House Releases Obama Birth Certificate]." ''CNN''</ref>, a long-running controversy surrounding Obama's birth was largely put to rest<ref>Winter, J. (2011, April 29). "[http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2011/04/29/expert-says-obamas-birth-certificate-legit/ Expert: No Doubt Obama's Birth Certificate is Legit]." ''FOX News''. Tuchman, G. (2011, April 25). "[http://articles.cnn.com/2011-04-25/politics/birthers.obama.hawaii_1_birther-controversy-obama-opinion-research-corporation?_s=PM:POLITICS Obama Birther Claims Have No Merit]." ''CNN''. (2011, April 27). "[http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/42779923/ns/politics-white_house/t/obama-releases-detailed-us-birth-certificate/ Obama Releases Detailed U.S. Birth Certificate]." ''MSNBC''.</ref> when Obama had his long-form birth certificate posted at WhiteHouse.gov.<ref>"[http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/rss_viewer/birth-certificate-long-form.pdf Certificate of Live Birth]." State of Hawaii. Retrieved from ''WhiteHouse.gov''.</ref> Donald Trump, who had attacked Obama on the Birth Certificate issue and was then leading Republicans in polls for the upcoming GOP primary<ref>James, F. (2011, April 15). "[http://www.npr.org/blogs/itsallpolitics/2011/04/15/135446314/poll-donald-trump-birther-darling-leads-gop-field-at-26 Donald Trump, Birther In Chief? Poll Has Him Leading GOP Field with 26 Percent]." ''NPR''.</ref>, was effectively knocked out of the race because of this.<ref>Kapur, S. (2011, May 10). "[http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2011/05/10/trumps-popularity-tanks-after-obama-releases-long-form-birth-certificate/ Trump's Popularity Tanks After Obama Releases Long-Form Birth Certificate]." ''RawStory.com''.</ref>

The following is a timeline of previous events leading up to the release:

* In June 2008 the Obama campaign allowed FactCheck.org to look at his “Certificate of Live Birth” and take photos.<ref>Henig, J. (2008, August 21). Born in the U.S.A. FactCheck.org. Retrieved from http://www.factcheck.org/elections-2008/born_in_the_usa.html</ref>
* In July 2008 a blogger discovered a birth announcement from the Honolulu Advertiser from August 13, 1961 for Barack Obama. It has since been discovered another newspaper, the Star Bulletin, also documented the birth.<ref>Snopes.com. Barack Obama Birth Certificate. Retrieved from http://www.snopes.com/politics/obama/birthcertificate.asp</ref>
* PolitiFact went to extreme lengths to verify Obama’s citizenship, attaining scanned copies of his 1992 marriage certificate from Cook County, IL, his driver’s license record, and his registration and disciplinary record. PolitiFact also addressed a number of concerns about the documentation.<ref>Hollyfield, A. (2008, June 27). Obama’s birth certificate: Final chapter. PolitiFact. Retrieved from http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/article/2008/jun/27/obamas-birth-certificate-part-ii/</ref>
* In October 2008 Hawaii’s Department of Health released a statement by Dr. Chiyome Fu.kino verifying that Obama’s birth certificate was on record.<ref>Hawaii Department of Health. News Release: Statement by Dr. Chiyome Fu.kino. Retrieved from http://hawaii.gov/health/about/pr/2008/08-93.pdf</ref>
* In August 2009 it was revealed that an alleged Kenyan birth certificate for Obama was a hoax.<ref>Snopes.com. Kenyan Mistake. Retrieved from http://www.snopes.com/politics/obama/birthers/kenyacert.asp</ref> Another website allows you to create your own imitation Kenyan birth certificates online.<ref>KenyanBirthCertificateGenerator.com. Blue Collar Industries. Retrieved from http://kenyanbirthcertificategenerator.com/</ref>

===2011: Death of Osama bin Laden===
On May 1, 2011, Obama announced in a press conference<ref>Obama, B. (2011, May 2). "[http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2011/05/02/osama-bin-laden-dead Osama Bin Laden Dead]." ''WhiteHouse.gov''.</ref><ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kf1SLhNoUNY Nobel Prize Winner with a kill list].</ref> that Osama bin Laden was dead after a U.S. assault force infiltrated a compound in [[Abbottabad raid|Abottobad]], Pakistan.<ref>Baker, P., Cooper, H., & Mazzetti, M. (2011, May 1). "[Bin Laden is Dead, Obama Says]." ''New York Times''. "[http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/Osama_Bin_Laden/ Target Bin Laden: The Death of Public Enemy #1]." ''ABC News''. ''NPR''. "[http://www.npr.org/series/135908383/osama-bin-laden-dead Special Series: Osama Bin Laden Killed]." </ref> Attacks on Americans and American consulate bureaus have since escalated as reprisals for bin Laden's death. [[Al Qaeda]], once presumed broken and on the run, now functions openly throughout North Africa, the Arabian Peninsula, and parts of Eurasia. Relations with longtime ally Pakistan have become strained. Obama experienced only a temporary blip in approval polls.<ref>Dao, J. & Sussman, D. (2011, May 4). "[http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/05/us/politics/05poll.html For Obama, Big Rise in Poll Numbers After Bin Laden Raid]." ''New York Times''. ''Pew Research Center'' (2011, May 2). "[http://www.people-press.org/2011/05/03/public-relieved-by-bin-ladens-death-obamas-job-approval-rises/ Public 'Relieved' by Bin Laden's Death, Obama's Job Approval Rises]." Jones, J.M. (2011, May 5). "[http://www.gallup.com/poll/147437/obama-approval-rallies-six-points-bin-laden-death.aspx Obama Job Approval Rallies Six Points to 52% After Bin Laden Death]." ''Gallup''.</ref><ref>''CBS/Associated Press'' (2012, May 1). "[http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-201_162-57424622/1-year-after-osama-bin-laden-killed-still-no-answers-from-pakistan/ 1 Year After Osama bin Laden Killed, Still No Answers from Pakistan]."</ref> Pakistan has denied White House claims that there was a deal with it allowing the raid.<ref>''Associated Press'' (2011, May 10). "[http://www.foxnews.com/world/2011/05/10/pakistani-president-claims-bin-laden-deal/ Former Pakistani President Claims There Was Never Bin Laden Deal With U.S.]." Retrieved from ''FOX News''.</ref>

=== 2012: Possible Ties to ACORN ===
According to Stanley Kurtz - author of ''Radical-in-Chief: Barack Obama and the Untold Story of American Socialism'' (2010) Obama in 1995 sought and obtained the endorsement of a left-wing third party, the [[New Party]] in his quest to be elected to the Illinois State Senate.<ref>Kurtz, S. (2012, June 7). [http://www.nationalreview.com/articles/302031/obamas-third-party-history-stanley-kurtz Obama's Third-Party History]. ''National Review Online''.</ref> Obama's "Fight the Smears" campaign has denied this, as has Politico's Ben Smith.<ref name=pollack>Pollack, J.B. (2012, June 7). [http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Government/2012/06/07/Obama-Caught-Lying-Again-He-WAS-Member-of-New-Party-Says-Kurtz Obama Caught Lying Again: He WAS Member of 'New Party', Says Kurtz]. ''Breitbart''. Smith, B. (2008, October 25). [http://www.politico.com/blogs/bensmith/1008/The_dread_New_Party.html The Dread New Party]. ''Politico''.</ref> Others who claim he was affiliated with the New Party/ACORN include The Blaze's Billy Hallowell<ref>Hallowell, B. (2012, June 7). [http://www.theblaze.com/stories/report-new-documents-show-obama-was-a-member-of-the-far-left-new-party/ News Docs Reportedly Show Obama Was a Member of the Far-Left 'New Party']. ''The Blaze''.</ref>, Breitbart's Joel Pollack, Human Events' Erick Erickson<ref>Erickson, E. (2008, June 10). [http://www.humanevents.com/2008/06/10/obama-and-the-new-party/ Obama and the New Party]. ''Human Events''.</ref>, Newsbusters' P.J. Gladnick<ref>Gladnick, P.J. (2008, October 12). [http://newsbusters.org/blogs/p-j-gladnick/2008/10/08/will-msm-report-obama-membership-socialist-new-party#ixzz21JfE3z1z Will MSM Report on Obama Membership in Socialist New Party?] ''Newsbusters''.</ref>, Rick Moran at AmericanThinker.com<ref>Rick Moran. [http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2008/06/obamas_alliance_with_marxists.html Obama's Alliance with Marxists], ''American Thinker'', June 03, 2008.</ref>, and various writers at Discover the Networks (which include Kurtz and Erickson).<ref>[http://www.discoverthenetworks.org/groupProfile.asp?grpid=7434 NEW PARTY (NP)], ''DiscoverTheNetworks.org''.</ref>

Kurtz in 2012 has claimed to find minutes of the New Party Chicago chapter that say, "''Barack Obama, candidate for State Senate in the 13th Legislative District, gave a statement to the membership and answered questions. He signed the New Party 'Candidate Contract' and requested an endorsement from the New Party. He also joined the New Party.''"<ref name=pollack /> Obama campaign strategist David Axelrod responded to Kurtz with silence and when asked if that meant "yes or no", Axelrod stated, "You can take that as I have no idea what you are talking about."<ref>Pollack, J.B. (2012, June 7). [http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Government/2012/06/07/Exclusive-Axelrod-Plays-Dumb-on-Obama-and-Socialist-New-Party Exclusive: Axelrod Plays Dumb on Obama and Socialist New Party]. ''Breitbart''.</ref>

===2012: "You didn't build that" Controversy===
{{main|You didn't build that}}
On July 13, 2012, at a campaign event in [[Virginia]], Obama gave a speech that immediately stirred up controversy. Speaking about the government's role in the success of private business, he said:<ref>http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2012/07/13/remarks-president-campaign-event-roanoke-virginia</ref>
{{cquote|If you were successful, somebody along the line gave you some help. There was a great teacher somewhere in your life. Somebody helped to create this unbelievable American system that we have that allowed you to thrive. Somebody invested in roads and bridges. If you’ve got a business - you didn’t build that. Somebody else made that happen.}} The [[Romney]] campaign has used "If you’ve got a business - you didn’t build that" in ads to show America that Obama believes it is government that creates business rather than hard-working individuals. The Obama campaign has alternatively stated that the sentenced was poorly worded since he was not giving a scripted speech and that when Obama said "that" he was referring to roads and bridges. Obama points to a later portion of his speech in which he said, "The point is, is that when we succeed, we succeed because of our individual initiative, but also because we do things together," to support his claim.

===Results===
On November 6, 2012 Barack Obama won reelection with 332 electoral votes to Mitt Romney's 206.<ref>http://www.politico.com/2012-election/map/#/President/2012</ref> Obama received 51% of the popular vote (65,899,660 votes) to Romney's 47% (60,932,152 votes).<ref>http://www.fec.gov/pubrec/fe2012/2012presgeresults.pdf</ref>

==See also==
*[[Political positions of Barack Obama]]
*[[Barack Obama and uncharitableness]]
*[[Barack Obama and abortion]]
*[[Essay:Born Outside the U.S.A.!]]
*[[Essay: The Special Interests Candidate]]
*[[Lobbyists ties to the Obama administration]]
*[[Obama doublespeak]]
*[[Obama inauguration]]
*[[Religion of Barack Hussein Obama]]
*[[The Honorable James David Manning]]
*[[Al Qaeda in the Maghreb]]
*[[Essay:The Obama Manifesto]]
*[[Obama syndrome]]
*[[Barack Obama's past dog meat eating and 2012 election campaign]]
*[[Barack Obama's "Last chance at dinner" fundraising letter]]
*[[Essay: Does Barack Hussein Obama care if America defaults on credit?]]
*[[Essay:The lie that we are safer under Obama]]
*[[Essay: Barack Obama's successful economic policies]]
*[[Essay: Foes Want Obama to Fail, A Republican Perspective]]
*[[Essay:Impeach Obama]]
*[[Obama's second term agenda]]
*[[ObamaRail]]
*[[Obama sequester]]
*[[Obama (disambiguation)]]
*[[Essay: President's speech after the defeat of two tyrants]]

==External links==

*[http://barackobamadoubletalk.com/ Barack Obama Doubletalk]
*[http://hotair.com/archives/2013/07/03/national-journal-obama-facing-crisis-over-incompetence/ National Journal: Obama facing crisis over incompetence]
*[http://www.spiked-online.com/index.php?/site/article/6130/ The New Cult of Personality]
*[http://www.noquarterusa.net/blog/2008/06/23/che-obama-and-the-revolutionary-agenda/ Che, Obama, and the Revolutionary Agenda]
*[http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/jun/09/americas-first-muslim-president/ GAFFNEY: America's first Muslim president?] Washington Times
*[http://www.huffingtonpost.com/john-l-esposito/barack-obama-and-islam_b_212519.html Barack Obama and Islam.] by [[John L. Esposito]].
*[http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=78931 Democrat: Obama's grandma confirms Kenyan birth.]
*[http://www.ontheissues.org/barack_obama.htm Barack Obama on the issues.]

==References==
{{reflist|2}}

{{USPresidents}}
{{2008 presidential candidates}}
{{2012 presidential candidates}}
[[Category: Barack Hussein Obama]]
[[Category:Obama Presidency]]
[[Category:Obama Administration]]
[[Category:Current Heads of government]]
[[Category:Current Heads of State]]
[[category:Nobel laureates in Peace]]
[[Category:2012 Presidential Candidates]]
[[Category:Abortion Advocates]]
[[Category:Socialism]]
[[Category:Muslims]]
[[Category:Socialists]]
[[Category:Homosexual Agenda]]
[[Category:Chicago]]
[[Category:Liberals]]
[[Category:Anti Second Amendment]]
{{DEFAULTSORT:Obama, Barack Hussein}}