For Obama, NSA Debate Intrudes Into Both Domestic And Foreign Policy Agenda

[Purveyor]

By JULIE PACE | ASSOCIATED PRESS |

For President Barack Obama, August was supposed to be the time when a major immigration bill landed on his desk.

There was hope for movement on a deficit deal with Republicans, and in the optimistic early days of his second term, even a belief that he would have achieved stricter gun laws.

Instead, Obama finds his fifth year in office beset by distractions, perhaps none with broader implications than the revelation of secret government surveillance programs.

That matter dominated Obama's hourlong news conference Friday. The issues that the White House had hoped to be promoting this summer? They played a diminished role, if at all.

The president set the tone, opening the session by announcing that he would work with Congress to make "appropriate reforms" to the National Security Agency surveillance programs. He also made clear that he had no intention of stopping the daily collection of Americans' phone records.

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http://www.newser.com/article/da837jag2/for-obama-nsa-debate-intrudes-into-both-domestic-and-foreign-policy-agenda.html

[Th1onein]

1. This can be his legacy. Good or bad; it's HIS choice.

Repeal the Patriot Act. It's the only thing that he can do to turn this around. This is not going to go away, and Americans will NOT be mollified by his attempts to make us "comfortable." FUCK THAT.

[msongs]

2. tried to keep all this stuff hushed up and failed and now trying to minimize the damage nt

[millennialmax]

3. These distractions will only hurt the 99% and all the blame falls squarely on Snowden/Greenwald.

The President shouldn't have to deal with this right now.

[PowerToThePeople]

4. Get some good people on it. Then he can focus on other things.