Greenwald: I Didn’t Even Know Snowden’s Name Until He Was In Hong Kong

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74. Say you destroy Snowden's image, what does that get Obama?

Snowden is frequently attacked, much of it ridiculous and childish and clearly part of a larger effort to completely discredit him.

From my perspective, it seems a strategy of discrediting anyone who says anything negative about the president or 'makes the president look bad.' That's how most of the attack-Snowden posts come across to me. Just like the "you're a racist if you criticize Obama" ones. You know what I'm talking about.

But I never considered it from the poster's perspective. What motivates one to go directly to the character of the person who expresses the wrong opinion or shares a piece of silly news, and just go to town? Like in this case with Snowden. Say you guys succeed and he becomes despised worldwide. What does that get Obama, when all that Snowden exposed and has yet to expose is still there? How is Obama helped, image-wise?

Or is it just diversion, and that's all?