General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: Don't care what Rahm thinks. :) But IMHO, Trump will run Ivanka for president [View all]Anatos
(179 posts)then you can't vote for anyone for President of the United States. There isn't anyone else qualified to take the job who isn't willing to be Commander-In-Chief. And there is nothing THIS President has done to indicate that he doesn't take the responsibility seriously. Any President who utilizes this power (power granted them by the Constitution and only clarified by this legislation) is accountable to the people to use it wisely.
I'm also pretty sure it was, indeed, the White House, not Mr. Obama, who put this line in the sand. Folks posting on the Internet have the luxury of erring on the side of liberty. Those who's job it is to prevent disaster are naturally going to err on the side of safety. Being we live in an age when a single individual can carry in his pocket the ability to kill thousands or even millions, and can communicate at light speed with anyone else on the globe, the government, any government, needs to be able to prevent such individuals from bringing such plans to fruition.
It is entirely understandable, and thoroughly American, to suspect any government with such power. But this is the struggle we've had with Republican Democracy since the founding. Such suspicions cannot be enough to restrict the government from having that power, or else you are simply building a purposefully weak government which cannot in the end govern. So I am not telling you to abandon your suspicions of anyone, not even President Obama. He may have shown himself to be the most trustworthy and honorable person to have held the office in our lifetime, but he is still a part of government. But it is simply silly, childish, and idealistic to assume that because a power can be abused then the government can't have that power. The whole point of democracy is that we need a government and it has to have sufficient power to govern.
So I guess what I'm saying is, if you really can't vote for Barack Obama because of this, I hope you'll at least have the good sense not to vote at all. All you're going to get by voting against him is someone who will, rather than won't, abuse the power we grant them.