Barack Obama wants to run for reelection posing as a crusader for clean government battling against the special interests. In 2008, I know that Obama convinced much of the press corps that he was running a “cleaner” campaign than his rivals.
Obama attracted some libertarian, moderate, and conservative support because he convinced people he would bring good government to the White House and curb the influence of special interests. Even if his is a liberal White House, the thinking went, at least it will be a HONEST liberal White House.
Team Obama has already indicated it plans to try to ride this wave again in 2012. David Axelrod pushed these lines on Sunday morning television. And now, liberal columnist Jonathan Alter, intimately dialed into the West Wing, is trumpeting this very argument. I quote Alter’s claims not to pick a fight with him, but because if Alter is saying it, you can bet this is the talk behind closed doors in Obama’s inner circle.
“He has one asset that hasn’t received much attention: He’s honest.”
But Obama frequently tells blatant falsehoods about important matters, and then in a Clintonian fashion explains how some interpretation of his words could be made to correspond to the truth.
For your consideration, I provide som counter-examples:
- “We have excluded lobbyists from policymaking jobs.” He hasn’t of course. He’s hired at least 50. But the WH’s explanation: “we have turned away lobbyists for many, many positions.”
- “I haven’t raised taxes once.” But he had already slashed middle-class tax deductions for health-care, raised the tobacco tax, created a tanning tax, and done other tax hikes.
- “The exit strategy will be executed this week,” Obama said in March of Libya.
- His administration gave completely disingenous explanations regarding Obama’s 180-degree-reversal on Presidential War Powers.
