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Do As I Say, Not As I Do

When it comes to ethics, there's a lot of hypocrisy in the Obama administration.

by
Brent Littlefield

Bio

April 21, 2009 - 12:12 am
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— Chas Freeman, an Obama nominee for chair of the National Intelligence Council, who withdrew for a host of reasons: anti-Israel comments he made, the disclosure that Saudi royals financed Freeman’s think tank, the fact that he served on the board of a Chinese state oil company, numerous extreme comments he made concerning everything from 9-11 to Chinese suppression of dissidents.

— Attorney General Eric Holder, who recommended and supported President Clinton’s pardon of fugitive financier Marc Rich. Rich was indicted in 1983 on 65 counts of tax evasion and related matters, and his ex-wife had donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to President Clinton.

— Wall Street lawyer H. Rodgin Cohen, who was forced to withdraw from Obama’s nomination for deputy U.S. treasury secretary.  Cohen was named American Lawyer magazine’s Dealmaker of the Year for his role negotiating bank bailouts. The magazine says he was in the room “when Fannie Mae was nationalized.”

— Obama’s new choice for chief information officer in the White House, Vivek Kundra, who took leave from his job after the FBI raided his former office where he was the city of Washington D.C.’s chief technology officer. One of his former top aides has been arrested in an investigation of a kickback scandal in his office.

— Labor Secretary Hilda Solis, who is still in office after it was disclosed that her husband had more than $6,000 in former tax liens against his business. The couple claimed they were unaware of the liens.

— Nancy Killefer, who withdrew as Obama’s chief performance officer after it was disclosed she had a tax lien against her in Washington for failing to pay unemployment compensation taxes.

— And last but not least, who can forget former Senate Democrat Majority Leader Tom Daschle’s scuttled nomination for health and human services secretary after the disclosure he did not pay more than $128,000 in back taxes and almost $12,000 in interest? A fascinating disclosure regarding a man who voted multiple times against tax cuts.

Obama also vowed to end the revolving door of lobbyists. His campaign website still states, “As president, he will close the revolving door between political appointments and K-street lobbying.” It also contains the text of a speech he gave in Spartanburg, SC, on November 3, 2007, where he said lobbyists “won’t find a job in my White House.”

But those words appear to be a promise that he had no intention of fulfilling, if one is to judge by his actions since he took office.

— Ron Klain, Vice President Joe Biden’s chief of staff, is a former lobbyist from the law firm O’Melveny & Myers. His clients included Fannie Mae, the same entity that pushed the subprime loans propelling our nation into economic crisis.

— Attorney General Eric Holder was a registered lobbyist for clients like Global Crossing. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack was a registered lobbyist for the NEA, the national teachers’ union.

— William Lynn (deputy defense secretary), Mark Patterson (chief of staff to Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner), Mona Sutphen (deputy White House chief of staff), Cecilia Munoz (White House director of intergovernmental affairs), and Patrick Gaspard (White House political affairs director) are all registered lobbyists.

The list of former registered lobbyists now working for Obama goes on and on.

Many have pointed out that it is next to impossible to staff an administration without lobbyists. After all, some of these registered lobbyists are hired based on their expertise — in this case, promoting liberal causes on the president’s agenda.

Still, ending that “revolving door” was the president’s promise and the basis on which he asked for voters’ support.

The behavior shouldn’t come as a surprise when examining  Obama’s political roots in Chicago, the home of America’s most indicted and convicted political class. Obama not only endorsed impeached former Governor Rod Blagojevich in 2002 and 2006, he served as an adviser to Blagojevich in 2002. David Axelrod, Obama’s chief political strategist and a West Wing employee, worked for Blagojevich’s past campaigns.  Michael Strautman, now the White House’s chief of staff to the assistant to the president, was legislative director and even legal counsel to Blagojevich while he was in Congress.

Apparently the new era of responsibility was to begin in Washington after Mr. Obama left Illinois.

By the way, Strautmanis not only worked for Blagojevich, he is also a former lobbyist with the Association of Trial Lawyers of America — representing a violation of not one, but two Obama pledges.

Do as I say, not as I do … this may not be the change 53 percent of America bargained for when they voted in November.

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Brent Littlefield is a Republican strategist. He makes his home in Virginia.

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49 Comments, 49 Threads

  1. 1. Jack

    “Do as I say, not as I do”. The liberal mantra.

  2. 2. Stella

    The only thing to come from this- it doesn’t seem to matter what you’ve done in your past, there is always a job for you in politics.

  3. 3. JD

    Unfortunately, this characteristic is found in most modern politicians.

    But it has manifested like never before in the Obama administration and is personified primarily in the president himself.

    The hypocrisy is unbearable. Having spent untold trillions, Obama has now proposed a pathetic $100 million in budget cuts (and even these slight reductions are not guaranteed).

    But he’ll still lay claim to being fiscally responsible and the mindless masses will believe him.

    http://trackacrat.com/category/barack-obama/

  4. 4. Mike2

    “President Obama famously said in many of his campaign speeches: “I will launch the most sweeping ethics reform in history to make the White House the people’s house.””

    You know we are in trouble when they say that. I remember another recent president saying that “this will be the most ethical administration in US history”. Yep, that was Bill Clinton.

  5. 5. mnewman

    The 53% you speak of are deaf to this message.

  6. No surprise here; People like the Obamas and their followers go to heaven and complain about the treatment there.
    Nothing is ever good enough for them.

  7. 7. Michael M.

    My absolute favorite is Obama promised on the campaign trail to do away with earmarks and to not use signing statements when he signed bills into law. Then he uses a signing statement to justify the earmarks in the Omnibus Spending Bill.

    Ya gotta love it.

  8. 8. Sebastian Shaw

    President Obama is a living, breathing hypocrisy incarnate; everything about screams elitist out-of-touch Socialist. He has broken every single promise, yet he dares says with a straight face that he is consistent & keeping his promises. The man is a train wreck waiting to happen.

  9. 9. karlstro1

    What are Americans who follow the law supposed to do when thoes entrusted to fight the corrupt are the corrupt? Obama will go down as the most corrupt administration in history. Obama cannot be trusted. Period.

  10. 10. jj carlson

    For me, it all comes down to one basic question: Does Obama really love our country?

    EVERYTHING hinges on that one question.

    Some would say doesn’t running for president prove that he loves our country. And I would say of course it could…but it could also indicate that he simply has a lust for power.

    There is much evidence to indicate Obama does not posess a love or high regard for our country. (We all know the evidence; there is not need to recount it here.) Unfortunately, there is scant evidence to show that he does have an abiding love for our country…

    But everything hinges on that one basic question.

  11. 11. AlanABQ

    The rule of thumb, particularly where Dem-O-Crats are concerned, is this: Whatever they claim they are being or are pledging to do, you can bet that they have the opposite result in mind. I’d refer to them as the Orwellian ‘Big Brother’, what with all the doublespeak & all, but there’s no evidence of male characteristics within their ranks.

    ‘Big Eunuch’…’Big Nanny’… either of those seems much more fitting. Anyone else have good tags for them?

  12. 12. The Wizard

    The Obamanation continues to demonstrate his lack of management skills, leadership ability, ethics or transparency. In short, this hubris hypocrite is a fraud, a liar and corrupt sycophant.

    It has become obvious, he truly hates America, our values, our constitution and everything good about this country. He has exposed our citizens to great harm with the lacks in security at our borders and relaxing prosecution of illegal immigrants. Our national security systems have been totally compromised – on his watch.

    He has no fiscal responsibility or ecnomic sense. On his watch, Congress has now evolved into a HUGE ROTTING, BLOATED PIG. There is no oversight, there is no consequences – only to the tax payers. It appears all of those in DC have forgotten, they serve at the pleasure of the voters. Can’t wait until 2010! That is, if there is an America remaining.

    America, we are in huge trouble. This naive, fool is true the Emperor with NO Clothes.

    OBAMA – A MONUMENT TO INCOMPETENCY.

  13. 13. LynnS

    Your title is misleading. Obama hasn’t done anything (wrong), that is why he is the perfect candidate to go around the world and apologize for the rest of America.

    “Hey, don’t blame me”, is the new Obama slogan. I think that he has decided to change his age to how many days he has been in office. At the end of the first term he can say; “Hey don’t blame me, I was only 4 years old when that happened,” or “Thank you for not blaming me for something that happened when I was four”.

  14. 14. Paul -Indiana

    I’d love to work in DC, but, alas I have always paid my taxes. Woe is me.

  15. 15. Don

    Hypocrisy is boundless, but what usually bothers me is the mindless sanctimony. At least Obama’s is calculating, because he does it so well. For example, the proposal for ending the conscience exemption for doctors who refuse to provide abortions, and thus criminalizing the refusal. Fine. But how about ending the conscience exemption that gives one a legal excuse not to participate in the draft, so you don’t have to be free and equal for the killing? On the other hand, ending the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy could have future unintended consequences for Peace Corp Chris Mathew types; for example, showing up in drag for induction in the next “unjust war” wouldn’t work like it did during the Vietnam War. And what about the “chicken hawk,” slur fondly applied by the left to conservatives. The last I looked, Bill Ayers and none of the Weather Underground showed up to fight with their fraternal comrades, the Vietcong. Oh, and the last I looked, even the Chicago police, the left’s nightmare boogy men, still take prisoners alive, even when the whole world watching.

  16. 16. Peter the Bubblehead

    2. Stella wrote:
    The only thing to come from this- it doesn’t seem to matter what you’ve done in your past, there is always a job for you in politics.

    Peter writes: Correction; …There is always a job for you in politics if your name is followed by a -D.

    Just try getting away with half this stuff if your name is followed by an -R.

  17. 17. Delia

    What truly horrifies me is that there are people still drunk from the vat of bitter kool-aid 0bama passed around to his ‘followers’ as they were lead over the cliff. I mean, I knew there were SOME stupid people in the USA…but THAT many? Yikes! Tragic.

  18. 18. AThinkingPerson

    Yet more proof that we were right all along about Carter II. All smoke and mirrors and absolutely zero substance with a frightening amount of America-hating tendencies thrown in for good measure. History will not judge him nor his militant followers kindly.

  19. 19. drjohn

    And I’ll bet you still cannot see the list of waivers for lobbyists.

    Transparency you can believe in.

  20. 20. terlizzi999

    To be honest at this point why should anyone be suprised about the inconsistencies of the Obama administration. The MSM certainly did its job in geting this closet socialist elected by refusing to ask tough questions and people wonder why most of the electorate who voted for this Jimmy Carter clone didnt even know the issues or who was speak of the house when asked…and those are just the highlights (polling data show this).

    By comparison of the same polling data shows an overwhelming majority of McCain supporters could easily answer any of the issues and could name anyone in power from speaker of the house to minority whip.

    Congratz to the blind electorate for voting in a closet socialist while the informed electorate made an infored decision and lost.

    Socialists 1
    America 0

  21. 21. Rick

    Do you know how to tell when a DemocRat is lying? His lips are moving.

  22. 22. Michele

    I have always taught my sons “Listen to what they say, but watch what they do because that is where the truth lies”.

    Obama is a narcissistic consummate serial and likely compulsive liar. He will say anything to make people like him.

    I would really prefer to have an adult in the White House rather than some egocentric, immature, person at the helm of the most powerful nation.

  23. 23. TOhio

    Obama Law #1: Tell people what they want to hear, then do what you want to do anyway.

    Reasoning: The people aren’t as smart as me (Obama) and the other people at the top of the Democratic Party, so they will not notice. But if they do, we’ll use the corrupt CNN media to tell them that what they are seeing isn’t what they are seeing. Prime example? The bow before the king that wasn’t really a bow.

    You have to admit that on some level Obama is right. Any idiot at this point who still believes everything that Obama says is indeed a bonafide fool and part of the Idiot Class that he controls.

    We have to reduce the number of fools in the U.S. that vote.

  24. 24. Bill

    ““We need a president who sees government not as a tool to enrich well-connected friends and high-priced lobbyists”

    Right. Nobel-winning economist Edmund Phelps warns that Obama is turning this nation from an enterprise economy to a lobbyist economy- success in the future will be based entirely on political connections.

  25. 25. Beohun

    The hypocrisy is unbearable. Having spent untold trillions, Obama has now proposed a pathetic $100 million in budget cuts (and even these slight reductions are not guaranteed).

    The $100 mil cut is nothing more than smoke and mirrors. To borrow from Biden, mark my words, Obama is going to go on TV later today, tomorrow, sometime this week and say something about he heard the TEA Party issues and listened and found a way to cut the $100 mil from the budget. In this instance he will be staying true to his campaign rhetoric, he’s “Hope”ing this will “Change” the subject and thus cause the TEA Party movement to die in it’s infancy before it can become something truly big and threatening.

    For the record, I use the term threatening not in some nefarious “Right Wing Boogeyman” sense but more the threatening the status quo of the Beltway.

  26. 23 Tohio:
    “Reasoning: The people aren’t as smart as me (Obama)”

    You mean Obama thinks he’s smart? He’s so stupid he doesn’t even know he’s stupid.

    I like Nicolas Sarkozy’s remark, “Obama has subtle intelligence” which is a very French way of saying its something nobody would notice.

  27. 27. Sebastian Shaw

    #26, Ian Thorpe, Obama believes his own hype! When enough people tell you you’re smart, you start to believe it! Isn’t Affirmative Action grand?

    Pass the arugula.

  28. 28. Kelly

    And we won’t hear much in the (liberal focused and funded) media as long as we’re all satisified griping online in unknown blog rooms instead of taking real world action to make sure he only has 2 years to screw things up past repair. Speak up to your friends, family, neighbors and whoever else you can. It’s still a free country (today at least). Obama and his entire team are making mistakes we’ll all have to live with for years to come. Not one Democratic friend I know knew anything about the Tea Parties for example. Not even one!

  29. 29. savage24

    Joe McCarthy called these guys “medical wonders” no brains, no guts and no backbone. This describes damned near everyone in Washington DC.

  30. 30. Sebastian Shaw

    Kelly, the tide is turning & Obama’s fall from grace will be fast & furious; the media will then ask, “who caused this?” The MSM will forget the look in the mirror for the answer. Obama will have a bumpy ride in 2010 & by 2011 he will completely shatter–just like Jimmy Carter.

  31. 31. Retro

    Quote #6: “People like the Obamas and their followers go to heaven…”

    HA! They WISH!

  32. 32. Nosinin

    #30 I surely hope that you are right!! Coz we are watching some seriously flawed history taking place right now. I am terrified that no one will be able to “undo” it.

  33. 33. Meryl

    It’s not hypocrisy.

    It’s lying. It’s deception.

    It’s “no one is going to stop me, so I really don’t care who knows what I’m doing.”

    This is one general thing that makes me absolutely sick at the moment: with all the people (including Senator Robert Byrd, for cryin’ out loud) waking up and yelling about what what the White House occupant is doing in violation of the Constitution (re separation of powers, for instances)…there’s absolutely no mystery about what he’s doing, but NOBODY IN ELECTED OFFICE IS DOING ANYTHING TO STOP HIM.

    I may have to start my round of contacts to my elected officials again, just asking them for a simple declarative statement that they, in fact, do still support and intend to defend the Constitution of the United States.

    I’m not seeing any evidence of it–even from Robert Byrd. He’s identifying the problem. He’s documenting his concern. But he’s not DOING anything.

    So obama doesn’t even have to bother being a hypocrite. When you’ve killed the guards and everyone else goes on coffee break, there’s really no reason to disguise the fact that you are robbing the bank.

    He is doing whatever he wants. And no one. No.One.Is.Stopping.him.

    I don’t think the country will last until 2010 election day unless somebody who has the power decides to STOP HIM.

  34. 34. AThinkingPerson

    #33 Meryl: Your post hit the nail on the head and I might steal (borrow?) your idea about asking for a statement from your local elected officials that they will support and defend the Constitution. Pure genius Meryl! What a great way to keep their feet to the fire until the next Tea Party and/or election comes!

  35. 35. steveg

    #33Meryl….Maybe instead of attempting to send the White House one million teabags we should have sent them one million copies of the constitution..

  36. 36. JackT

    Pay no attention to those Republicans behind the curtain.

  37. 37. AlanABQ

    33 does have it right. What makes me nervous is this:

    What if the “truthers” & Paulbots were on to something? Seriously, why is no one else in D.C. being active? Why is it almost exclusively pundits, TEA partiers & bloggers

    I’m not big on conspiracy theories, but either the Republicans in office either are scared, just don’t care, or they’re following a script.

    Friggin’ RINOs.

  38. 38. Meryl

    By the way, I have never had a “yes” answer from any of my elected officials to my respectful and brief question, “Do you support the Constitution of the United States? Are you willing to say so in a press release?”

    I receive only form responses thanking me for registering my concerns.

    I do think making this query, again and again, has validity.

    34.AThinkingPerson….steal it, borrow it, use, share it….if anyone ever gets their elected official to say “yes”, let us know.

  39. 39. Ms. Attitude

    38. Meryl:

    I just did it!

  40. 40. sule

    Hey, no worries!

    …yet ANOTHER magazine featuring Michelle (for the first time in life proud being American) O. showing off her buff arms, as the headline gushes over “her beauty, intelligence, fashion, and charm”…

    Oh, and don’t miss the nearby magazine cover with Barry and Michelle who are now gonna tell us how they keep their “love alive”…

    Oh, please…no more…I promise I’ll be good…

    Now, don’t we all feel better?

  41. 41. Paul -Indiana

    Based on Obama’s unknowing recitation from the teleprompter a few weeks ago of someone else’s speech, I suggest the following. Get a good hacker to modify the teleprompter’s software to make good changes. Things like War On Terror [rather than Overseas Contingency Operation]. It’s obvious he’s just a talking head reciting the words his keeper enters into the teleprompter. Let’s have some fun with that clown.

  42. 42. Peter the Bubblehead

    41. Paul -Indiana wrote:
    It’s obvious he’s just a talking head reciting the words his keeper enters into the teleprompter. Let’s have some fun with that clown.

    Peter writes: I’m just waiting for the Ron Burgundy moment. It’s coming!

  43. 43. Meryl

    Ms.Attitude…way to go.

  44. 44. Sebastian Shaw

    Paul, a better way is to hack into the teleprompter & turn the speech into gibberish where Obama will have to talk off the cuff.

  45. 45. Войска ПВО

    Sebastian Shaw writes:

    “Kelly, the tide is turning & Obama’s fall from grace will be fast & furious; the media will then ask, “who caused this?” The MSM will forget the look in the mirror for the answer. Obama will have a bumpy ride in 2010 & by 2011 he will completely shatter–just like Jimmy Carter.”

    ..yea, but we gotta do what Kelly advises and not wait for others to do the job for us. This guy may be a tool, but he is the leader of all of the mindless tools in this country — like Pastor of Mottheads, Someone75, and the other trolls here who thinks the sun rises out that dimwit’s rectum.

    So, Mr Shaw, get to that Tea Party meeting, clean and polish up that musket (figurateively, of course), melt the pewter and cast some ammunition, and make your way to the town common to face down the Red Coats, old son!

  46. 46. not so fast

    33. Meryl: . . . “It’s not hypocrisy. It’s lying. It’s deception. It’s “no one is going to stop me, so I really don’t care who knows what I’m doing.”

    Sounds like “I’m the decider.”

    If you’re going to claim offense, you have to be fair about it. All of us have a responsibility to either 1) stand on consistent principles or 2) admit we’re doing exactly what “the other guy” did to get back at them for doing the same things we thought were wrong then (ie revenge is more important than honor).

    Don’t fear the facts.

  47. 47. deguello

    Not only is the Obama administration a conferacy of dunces;it’s a crime syndicate as well. Change you can believe in!

  48. 48. Neil

    Obama has failed miserably, so far, in the area of overall transparency and accountability. Promises he made relating to civil liberties, human rights, torture and others are all being re-spun or abandoned outright. I think he underestimates the damage this is doing to his credibility, especially with younger voters. It’s the MTV effect. Everybody loves the image, but not everybody’s buying the record. You can’t dance to it. But he looks cool.

    He made a serious error on the torture question. Although I disagreed with his initial position, I would be more confident, now, in his ability to lead if he would have stuck with his commitment and defended it. Then he passes the buck to Holder, who promises to follow the rule of law. I hope he does. This whole issue could blow up in the administration’s face. It could be devastating in 2010.

    But Republicans need to find higher ground than Obama’s broken promises. It’s going to evolve into a litany voters will shun and reject as partisan name calling. Republicans need to formulate alternatives to Administration policy and present workable solutions. Especially relating to the economy. By 2010 another 4 million could be unemployed, another 2 million homeless. Republicans will have to come up with something new. As understanding trickles down to the public as to how this whole mess evolved, they will be looking for fresh answers. Obama is already starting to turn, and it’s only 95 days. Significant gains in Congress could be realized just by presenting a fresh approach. Something that gives young people confidence there might be jobs when they get out of college. It will be difficult because Many of Obama’s policies are from the Bush era. If they, however, concentrate on alternatives rather than name calling, the Republican Party could be re-energized. As long as they don’t make promises they don’t plan to keep.

  49. 49. Jimbo

    While perusing the comments I just realized that Obama has distaste and hatred for America…… Why else would he be radically changing it?

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