Sometimes we hope the politician is lying

[Prism]

It's a funny thing how, during campaigns, we might hammer politicians as liars and thieves, but there are occasionally moments where we earnestly hope the politician we support is lying his head off. In supporting Obama during the campaign, there were various issues where I thought "Well, he has to say that now to get elected, but once he is I bet his real thoughts will come to the fore."

Take, for instance, LGBT rights. In the 90s, then state senator Obama was a strong supporter of gay marriage. Typically, a liberal politician evolves towards gay marriage - rarely do they pirouette away from it. So when primary candidate Obama stood there declaring his religious beliefs that marriage was between a man and a woman, that "God is in the mix", I thought, well, he's trying to court religious conservatives here. He thinks he needs their support to win the election. When the McClurkin fiasco hit, I continued feeling that way, and there are heated arguments in my DU posting history to prove it. "Don't worry, he's lying. Once he's in office . . ."

I was wrong.

Oh, I still believe the President is lying about his attitude towards gay marriage. But, not so strangely, it is a lie he has chosen to keep for purposes of political expediency. He has weighed the issue and decided support from religious conservatives both within and without the party is important enough to leave LGBT families twist in the wind, unprotected and assaulted, with nary a word of encouragement when gay marriage came to places as rural as Iowa.

With Afghanistan, I am willing to bet many people hoped Candidate Obama was lying. In American elections, especially in the age of terror, any political candidate who wishes to remain viable must not allow him or herself to be seen as weak on defense. Candidate Obama knew his base opposed Iraq across the board. That left him with Afghanistan. The war of necessity. The place where we needed to win. I will not surrender or withdraw, he declared, but lead the American people to a stirring military victory where we need it most.

I would bet, especially in light of current reactions, much of the anti-war, anti-Iraq base probably hoped Candidate Obama was lying. I would bet there was a hope and feeling that a President of deep intelligence would enter office, look at this conflict from the inside, measure the pros and cons, and declare "This is not worth the blood, the havoc, the empire, the losses."

Those people were wrong just as I was wrong about gay rights.

Sometimes, on the things you really want a politician to tell the truth on, they let you down. And sometimes, when you earnestly hope they're lying out of political expedience, they're unfortunately telling you the truth or are constrained by powers far beyond the mere citizenry.

This is simple reality in our politics. Arguing what a President does or does not promise and behaving as if these are ironclad contracts or straightforward declarations of earnest belief is dishonest folly. We all know a politician will not keep promises, and we all know a politician will not always let slip his or her true beliefs for fear of what opponents might say or how constituents might punish them. In any election, we the citizens must use all the evidence at our disposal to divine what a politician might really do once in office, what promises they truly will keep and those they will not.

I was deeply wrong about the President's commitment to LGBT rights. He wasn't lying with McClurkin or Warren or that DOMA brief. I misread and misunderstood him.

I imagine, right now, many people who hoped Obama's intelligence would carry his administration away from Afghanistan rather than ever further in are feeling betrayed and disappointed. They didn't merely vote for his promises - they voted for his potential. I think many people felt this President had the potential to draw us out of the quagmire.

They were wrong. They are angry. I stand with them. It happens sometimes like that.

[Laelth]

1. There were a number of issues I had hoped Candidate Obama was lying about.

Sadly, on each one of the issues I had hoped he was lying about, his policies have reflected his words.

On other issues, I had hoped he was telling the truth--his opposition to health insurance mandates, for example. That, I now find, was a lie, as was his desire for open government.

I am disappointed.

:dem:

-Laelth

[Stinky The Clown]

2. Wow

R

[jgraz]

3. And, unfortunately, he was lying where we hoped he was telling the truth

You only need look at his financial "reform" proposal for an example of that.

[Prism]

5. I find it so hard to believe

How can anyone, anyone at all, look at what the American financial industry did to our economy and not make it their Number One Priority that it should never, under any circumstances, happen again?

No charitable explanation of the administration's limpness on this issue can be based in logic. There are only uncharitable explanations, each worse than the one before.

[stray cat]

4. Many DUers seem to have voted for what they thought was a liar (bad news he was honest)

[jgraz]

6. Well, there was that tiny bit about bringing real change to Washington

Still waiting on that...

[HughMoran]

7. I agree with your sentiments and appreciate the intellectually honest arguments

I also hoped he was "just saying those things" to get elected. I still have high hopes that, in the end, he will promote gay rights and that we will leave Afghanistan a better place than it is now. I still think "slow and steady" Obama will rule the day - assuming he's reelected. If we destroy Obama, I only see things turning back toward "Bush" thinking again.

[cowcommander]

8. Only if you were naive

Come on, anyone with a brain would've already noticed this during the debates. McCain and Obama never disagreed with each other on the Afghanistan question.

[Prism]

9. These calculations are an inextricable part of the process

Obama and Biden also both pulled the gay marriage opposition out of their hats during the debates. I thought, based on his personal history with gay issues, the President was choosing political expedience for the sake of election.

That wasn't uninformed naivete or mindless hope. I made a conscious, informed calculation based on his past behavior and stated beliefs. How could a man who supported the LGBT community so fiercely as far back as '96 so sharply devolve into a religionist on this issue? I figured, once the election was over, things would go quite a bit smoother once he was placed in office.

That turned out not to be the case. But you can't say I was ignoring his words. I was trying to take in the whole picture, his entire career, rather than the sound bytes crafted for his campaign. Unfortunately, the sound byte had the upper hand. It was my mistake.

[cowcommander]

10. I'm sorry to hear that. But you should've noted his reponse to Prop 8 in CA

His weak reponse to it was a sign of things to come.

[LooseWilly]

11. I just chalk it up as a vote for "Hope".

Like so many hopes... dashed and ruined.

There's always apathy though, and hard liquor, to see one through...

[Starry Messenger]

12. Well you certainly nailed that one.

Now I'm left wondering which bits were the lies.

[SammyWinstonJack]

13. K&R

[TokenQueer]

14. Thank you.

:thumbsup:

[Starry Messenger]

15. kick.