Seriously:
Obama laments entrenched power at Ohio State commencement
President Barack Obama is the most powerful man in the world, but he still laments that there is so much still out of his control.
Obama told Ohio State University graduates Sunday that it will be their responsibility to make the world a better place, because forces aligned against them still hold substantial power. The dour commencement address touched on Obama’s familiar we’re-all-together theme and included shots at his regular bogeymen: Wall Street, an obstinate Congress and, of course, the press.
“As you’ve studied and worked and served to become good citizens, the fact is that all too often the institutions that give structure to our society have, at times, betrayed your trust,” Obama said. “In the run-up to the financial crisis, too many on Wall Street forgot that their obligations don’t end with what’s happening with their shares. In entertainment and in the media, ratings and shock value often trumped news and storytelling. In Washington – well, this is a joyous occasion, so let me put it charitably: I think it’s fair to say our democracy isn’t working as well as we know it can. It could do better. And so those of us fortunate enough to serve in these institutions owe it to you to do better, every single day.”
And while Obama said he’s “not going to get partisan,” he included reminders that it’s not his fault Washington focuses on the desires of the rich over the needs of the poor and middle class, that even modest gun control reforms failed in the Senate and that his quest for a grand bargain is perpetually delayed by “small things.”
“The founders trusted us with this awesome authority. We should trust ourselves with it, too,” Obama said. “Because when we don’t, when we turn away and get discouraged and cynical and abdicate that authority, we grant our silent consent to someone who’ll gladly claim it. That’s how we end up with lobbyists who set the agenda; and policies detached from what middle-class families face every day; the well-connected who publicly demand that Washington stay out of their business – and then whisper in government’s ear for special treatment that you don’t get. That’s how a small minority of lawmakers get cover to defeat something the vast majority of their constituents want. That’s how our political system gets consumed by small things when we are a people called to do great things, like rebuild a middle class, and reverse the rise of inequality, and repair the deteriorating climate that threatens everything we plan to leave for our kids and grandkids.”
I’m thinking this Obama guy should run for President. If he was in charge, things would be different.
The Crawdad Hole 
Okay, I’m gonna take a nap before game time. Y’all keep the noise down in here.
presidency is not enough have to make him dictator
Maybe he DID “pack up and go home”, but just hasn’t told anyone.
He does seem to be mailing it in.
Real Science blog echos the Klown and calls backtrack a “nutcase”. Pretty impressive.
http://stevengoddard.wordpress.com/2013/05/06/total-nutcase-in-the-white-house/
…he included reminders that it’s not his fault Washington focuses on the desires of the rich over the needs of the poor and middle class..”
They don’t. In fact, DC is completely obsessed with the poor and middle class. That’s what sells in politics. I wish they would stop “helping” us and focus on the wealthy for a change. The more they “help” us, the worse off we are.
“….That’s how a small minority of lawmakers get cover to defeat something the vast majority of their constituents want….”
That’s what I love the most about the American system. It’s not a pure democracy in the sense that the majority rules and minority is SOL. Our minority is vocal, has rights, and even some power. America can and has defeated “something the vast majority wants,” many times. Ending slavery, civil rights, women’s right to vote, all happened because they were the right things to do, not because “the majority” made it happen.
41% of the Senate is not a “small minority of lawmakers” and 59% is not a vast majority.
Yikes, that speech was worse than I thought.
“…We have never been a people who place all our faith in government to solve our problems, nor do we want it to. But we don’t think the government is the source of all our problems, either…”
Actually, in America we do believe that Gov is the source of all our problems and we have a long tradition of doing just that. I can remember my great grandparents complaining about the Gov. Blaming the Gov for all our problems is not just as American as apple pie, it’s based on wisdom and experience.
The Prez also warned people not to listen to those who warn about tyranny. ai yi yi! Being concerned about Gov abuse of power and tyranny is also as American as apple pie. We have a whole system of checks and balances set up to prevent tyranny. Of course our Gov is of the people and from the people, but we also know that absolute power corrupts absolutely. The people hold the power, not by ignoring those who warn of tyranny, but by constantly guarding against it.
I’m seriously on my way to being a birther. Are we sure this guy was raised in America??! As much as I can’t stand the Seattle anarchists that protest every May Day, those are 100% pure American kids. They may be pointlessly challenging authority, but at least they know they have the right to challenge it.
That’s actually the point. Whether Obama was born here or not might be the subject of Tinfoil Tuesday, but that he wasn’t raised here is undisputed. When other little boys in this country were learning about the Pilgrims, the “shot heard ’round the world”, and Washington and his father’s cherry tree, Obama was in school in Indonesia. Many of the stories we learn about the United States in elementary school are the stuff legends are made of, but whether they are exactly true or not, they instill in little kids a pride in our country. Time enough to learn the Pilgrims stole from Indian grave sites to set up housekeeping later. But Obama only went to an American school for high school, and then in a rather exotic place as the US goes.
I farting so hard im crying
GOD DAMSEL!! It’s hard to read this when your glasses are fogged from laughing so hard.
I tried to text my daughter that I rented Django Unchained. You can’t even imagine how that turned out! I’m still laughing at it. Just try texting that and see what you get 😀
What a whiner. That whole separation of powers thing is a real pain in the ass isn’t it? And it requires so much Hard Work! And who accepted more money from Wall St. than any other candidate in 2008? Who was that again?
Whiner , indeed.
Just think—only a few years ago, he was a bit player as a Senator in the legislative branch, complaining about the power abuses of the executive branch.
Situational principles are the name of his game.
Some clown at PJM:
I firmly believe that Gov is the source of all MY problems 😦
Fire the, all.