Obama doublespeak

Obama doublespeak is a deliberate, calculated use of rhetoric that states Barack Obama's positions and that contradict his actual policies.

Abortion

President Barack Hussein Obama lifts the Mexico City policy that prevented the use of U.S. taxpayers’ money from supporting family planning groups which perform, promote and expand abortions.

"We are united in our determination to prevent unintended pregnancies, reduce the need for abortion, and support women and families in the choices they make. To accomplish these goals, we must work to find common ground to expand access to affordable contraception, accurate health information, and preventative services."

Lobbyists

President-elect Obama's transition cabinet includes over 40 registered lobbyists.

“Your voices should speak louder than the whispers of lobbyists,” Senator Obama told a crowd in Green Bay, Wi.

“I don’t take a dime of their [lobbyist] money, and when I am president, they won’t find a job in my White House. They will not fund my party, they will not run our White House, and they will not drown out the voice of the American people when I am president of the United States of America." (Sunlen Miller, "Obama Commends DNC For Cutting Lobbyist Contributions," ABC News' "Political Radar" Blog, 6/5/08)

"In every election, politicians come to your cities and your towns, and they tell you what you want to hear, and they make big promises, and they lay out all these plans and policies. But then they go back to Washington when the campaign's over. Lobbyists spend millions of dollars to get their way. The status quo sets in. And instead of fighting for health care or jobs, Washington ends up fighting over the latest distraction of the week. It happens year after year after year."

"We can be a party that says there's no problem with taking money from Washington lobbyists — from oil lobbyists and drug lobbyists and insurance lobbyists. We can pretend that they represent real Americans and look the other way when they use their money and influence to stop us from reforming health care or investing in renewable energy for yet another four years."

"Or this time, we can recognize that you can't be the champion of working Americans if you're funded by the lobbyists who drown out their voices. We can do what we've done in this campaign, and say that we won't take a dime of their money. We can do what I did in Illinois, and in Washington, and bring both parties together to rein in their power so we can take our government back. It's our choice." — Evansville, IN, on April 22, 2008

"I just want to make sure that we understand: I don't take money from federal lobbyists. I don't take money from PACs." (Sen. Barack Obama, MSNBC Presidential Debate, Las Vegas, NV, 1/15/08)

"I'm not in this race to continue the special-interest-driven politics of the last eight years. I'm in this race to end it. I've been taking on lobbyists throughout my career in Illinois." (Sen. Barack Obama, Remarks At A Town Hall Meeting, Billings, MT, 5/19/08)

"I believe I can bring about that kind of change - because I'm the only candidate in this race who's actually worked to take power away from lobbyists by passing historic ethics reforms in Illinois and in the U.S. Senate. And I'm the only candidate who isn't taking a dime from Washington lobbyists. They have not funded my campaign, they will not run my administration, and they will not drown out the voices of the American people when I'm President of the United States." (Sen. Barack Obama, Remarks To The Pennsylvania AFL-CIO, Philadelphia, PA, 4/2/08)

"The executive order on ethics I will sign shortly represents a clean break from business as usual. As of today, lobbyists will be subject to stricter limits than under any other administration in history. If you are a lobbyist entering my administration, you will not be able to work on matters you lobbied on, or in the agencies you lobbied during the previous two years. When you leave government, you will not be able to lobby my administration for as long as I am president."

"Yesterday, John McCain actually said that if he's president that he'll take on, and I quote, "the old boys network in Washington." Now I'm not making this up. This is somebody who's been in Congress for twenty-six years, who put seven of the most powerful Washington lobbyists in charge of his campaign. And now he tells us that he's the one who's gonna take on the old boys network. The old boys network? In the McCain campaign that's called a staff meeting. Come, on!"

"Sen. McCain bragged about how as chairman of the Commerce Committee in the Senate, he had oversight of every part of the economy. Well, all I can say to Sen. McCain is, "Nice job. Nice job." Where is he getting these lines? The lobbyists running his campaign? ... I'm not making this up, you can't make this up. It's like a 'Saturday Night Live' routine."

Surge

The Iraqi surge was a complete success approved by President Bush. For which president-elect Obama said “Now, I had no doubt — and I said at the time, when I opposed the surge, that given how wonderfully our troops perform, if we place 30,000 more troops in there, then we would see an improvement in the security situation and we would see a reduction in the violence.”

“I am not persuaded that 20,000 additional troops in Iraq is going to solve the sectarian violence there in fact I think it will do the reverse. I think it takes pressuire off the Iraqis to arrive at the sort of political accommodation that every observer believes is the ultimate solution to the problems we face there. So I am going to actively oppose the president’s proposal… I think he is wrong.”

"Here’s what we know. The surge has not worked. And they said today, ‘Well, even in September, we’re going to need more time.’ So we’re going to kick this can all the way down to the next president, under the president’s plan."

"So, I think it is fair to say that the president has simply tried to gain another six months to continue on the same course that he's been on for several years now. It is a course that will not succeed. It is a course that is exacting an enormous toll on the American people, enormous toll on our troops who have performed brilliantly and done everything that's been asked of them and is not making us more safe."

Fair Pay

Senator Obama's women staffers are paid just 78 cents for every dollar his male staffers make.

"women still earn only 77 cents for every dollar earned by men," and "just totally wrong."

"Today many women work to help support their families but are paid just 77 cents to a dollar a man makes," says the female narrator of the Obama campaign ad. "It's one more thing John McCain doesn't get about our economy. He opposed a law to guarantee women equal pay for equal work, calling it too great a burden on business... A burden on business? How about the burden on our families."

"But I can’t think of any problem more important than making sure that women get equal pay for equal work. It’s a matter of equality. It’s a matter of fairness. That’s why I stood up for equal pay in the Illinois State Senate, and helped pass a law to give 330,000 more women protection from paycheck discrimination. That’s why I’ve been fighting to pass legislation in the Senate, so that employers don’t get away with discriminating against hardworking women like Lilly Ledbetter. And that’s why I’ll continue to stand up for equal pay as President."

"that there are no second class citizens in our workplaces, and that it's not just unfair and illegal -- but bad for business-- to pay someone less because of their gender, age, race, ethnicity, religion or disability"

“While this bill bears her name, Lilly knows this story isn’t just about her. It is a story of women across this country still earning just 78 cents for every $1 men earn, women of color even less, which means that today in the year 2009, countless women are still losing thousands of dollars in salary, income, and retirement savings over the course of a lifetime.”

See also

• Lobbyists ties to the Obama administration