Oh, It’s A Retirement, All Right

Posted on | April 30, 2012 | 30 Comments

by Smitty

Althouse picks up on the phrase: “my last campaign” in an Obama fundraising pitch.

And I don’t want to sound alarmist, so let me go at this with minimalist phrasing: given the record of the past three years, can you be 100% sure that, accepting the premise of a second term, that Barack wouldn’t pull some stunt to retain executive power after 2016?

I accept the stated facts of Barack’s Hawaiian birth and Christianity. Other than those, there hasn’t seemed to be a straight word #1 out of the fellow. So, full circle, then: what’s your confidence level in this guy again?

That Obama talks about the Constitution like a dog.

Category: Barack Obama

Comments

30 Responses to “Oh, It’s A Retirement, All Right”

Leslie Eastman
April 30th, 2012 @ 7:46 pm

It’s too bad Obama won’t take a cue from his Crucifixion Chief and fall on his sword (metaphorically speaking). It would save us all time, energy and pain.
Lemuel Vargas
April 30th, 2012 @ 8:12 pm

Think he might try to do remove the amendment about the POTUS being limited to a 2nd term so that he would be able to finish whatever he has begun. He actually might have said similar words before.

If, however, he is not successful in doing so, then he might do it extra-judicially, our constitution be damned.

My 10 cents worth of opinion..
Info
April 30th, 2012 @ 8:39 pm

No, he strikes me a lazy sort. I see him retiring to Hawaii and basically spending the rest of his life going “neener, neener” at the American people.

I think we are going to see the question litigated, “Can a President pardon himself?”, bcs The One is going to try it.
Info
April 30th, 2012 @ 8:44 pm

That’s if he loses, of course.

G-d help the Republic if he wins. I see no scenario where that doesn’t end with a lot of blood shed.

(No, Secret Service, to be clear: I am not threatening BHO’s life. )
M. Thompson
April 30th, 2012 @ 9:22 pm

It’s the combination of Hawaiian everyone as a minority thinking, and Chicago machine hucksterism that’s off putting.

Oh, and “If (he) had been either simply an idealist or a caucus politician, he might have succeeded. His attempt to run the two in double harness was the cause of his undoing.”

Can anyone name this progressive, and who said it?
JeffS
April 30th, 2012 @ 9:24 pm

Hell, I don’t trust Obama to leave the White House in January 2013 should he loose this election. At the very least, he and his minions will do their best to screw things up for Romney.
Anon Y. Mous
April 30th, 2012 @ 9:42 pm

Yes, but it’s a tasty constitution.
Dianna Deeley
April 30th, 2012 @ 9:47 pm

I’m pretty sure he’s going to leave peaceably. Not because he wants to, mind, but because, well, who’s going to enforce his will?

This comforting reflection is one I keep firmly before my mind’s eye whenever Obama manages to outrage me, yet again.
Adobe_Walls
April 30th, 2012 @ 10:36 pm

Didn’t the question of a pesident pardoning himself already come up?
Adobe_Walls
April 30th, 2012 @ 10:40 pm

That would be why if he thinks he’ll lose there wouldn’t be an election.
Ford Prefect
April 30th, 2012 @ 10:40 pm

I accept the stated facts of Barack’s Hawaiian birth and Christianity.

I’m going to assume that you are using supreme irony in choosing these two things to “accept”.

Pretty much everyone now knows that the Hawaiian LFBC is a bad forgery.

As for his Christianity, I accept that Obama CLAIMS to be Christian but “By their fruit you will recognize them.” (Matt. 7:16). Obama is the most vehemently anti-Christian POTUS to date with a record to prove it. His “fruit” is evidence that he is an enemy of God, not a follower. I pray that will one day change but so far, we have no hope that it will.

So when I hear a phrase like “my last campaign”, I hope he is lying as opposed to making a promise like when he told us he would “fundamentally transform America”, or that fuel prices would “necessarily skyrocket.”

There are some promises that he has kept.
Info
April 30th, 2012 @ 10:48 pm

One could argue that there’s a precedent in the tradition of pardoning a turkey at Thanksgiving *rimshot*, but no, not really. Ford (Nixon’s hand-picked replacement) pardoned Nixon, not Nixon himself.
JeffS
April 30th, 2012 @ 10:52 pm

There’s a lot of mischief that he could do before leaving. Harmful mischief.

Think “missing W keys”, only more so.
Dianna Deeley
April 30th, 2012 @ 11:25 pm

Please tell me who he gets to enforce that decree? The Occupests?
Adobe_Walls
April 30th, 2012 @ 11:29 pm

Actually I was thinking of Clinton. It seems to me there was some discussion near the end of his term as to whether or not he could. It turned out to be a moot point in spite of he and Hillary leaving with the silverware.
Adobe_Walls
April 30th, 2012 @ 11:41 pm

While I’m not claiming he plans to do so though it wouldn’t surprise me he’d have to declare a state of emergency. The powers at the presidents disposal have increased recently and it wouldn’t take long to ensure one of the many pots currently boiling boils over.
Adobe_Walls
April 30th, 2012 @ 11:42 pm

Most Bolsheviks are atheists.
Adjoran
April 30th, 2012 @ 11:58 pm

Conspiracy nuts said the same thing about Clinton and Dubya. I have the same answer for all of them: I have faith that, even if elected officials ignore their oaths to uphold, protect, and defend the Constitution, our Armed Services will fulfill theirs.

Now, there is a great deal of damage a lame duck can do between Election Day and the Inauguration, and I fully expect Obama to do as much as he can. Most can be undone, but not all, including pardons.

AFAIK, the Courts have never recognized any limitation of the President’s pardon authority. It might be possible to prosecute a President who took a bribe for a pardon, if it could be proved, but theoretically he could pardon himself as well on the way out the door.
ThePaganTemple
May 1st, 2012 @ 12:23 am

Unfortunately, leftists have infiltrated the Armed Services to such an extent, and continue to do so, that it might not be too many years before you might not be able to count on them either. But as far as Obama finding a way to stay in past his term, I seriously doubt that myself. He’s probably already looking forward to the day he can kick back and play golf, lecture, and travel the globe like a gadfly promoting first one “cause” and another. He already sees himself as a constitutional scholar, soon he will gladly add elder statesman to his resume’. And of course he’ll have a world full of sycophants fawning over his every word.
Doggie
May 1st, 2012 @ 12:55 am

If he wins, it was rigged and then he will never leave.
He’s not campaigning to the populace he’s laying the groundwork for the final transformation.
Adjoran
May 1st, 2012 @ 2:37 am

He can also cash in for millions in speeches and book deals. The rich leftists will take care of him like they took care of Al Gore.
elaine
May 1st, 2012 @ 3:55 am

He said early in his occupation of Resolute Desk that he would create and build a force to rival the size of our military, which will be just as well equipped.

Whether he meant that or was just blowing smoke is anyone’s guess, but maybe there’s a reason why his administration isn’t stressing too much over the huge number of long-term unemployed, hmmmmm?
Bob Belvedere
May 1st, 2012 @ 8:16 am

Has anyone considered the possibility that he wants to be President Of The Federation, er, The World?
Irrate Southerner
May 1st, 2012 @ 9:05 am

It would not surpise me in the least if Obama tries to hold on to ppower even if (when?) he loses in November.
Quartermaster
May 1st, 2012 @ 9:29 am

The Republic died at Appomatox in 1865. The whole thing is but a zombie these days.
Tennwriter
May 1st, 2012 @ 9:32 am

I’m agreeing with Adjoran and Pagan Temple here. He’d love to become Dictator for Life, but it ain’t happening, not yet anyways.
Pathfinder's wife
May 1st, 2012 @ 10:02 am

He isn’t going to try and hold on if he loses in November. He has far too many opportunities to make money, be influential, and (important for him) adored.
In fact, he makes out better if he doesn’t win.

The economy is set to possibly crash and crash hard in the next 18 months or so (give or take) — the slight uptick we see right now is not permanent or even all that substantial. This means global stability will crash as well, as will domestic stability. We’re probably, likely going into a period of unrest, destabilization, and crash on all fronts. It probably won’t balance itself out for at least another 7 years, give or take.
Mind you, this is only a probability imhao — anything could happen; maybe even a good anything.

If the not so good anything looks more likely to happen, I think we’ll see Obama not committed to winning in Nov. Just a hunch.
Laurence
May 1st, 2012 @ 10:48 am

Our best case scenario: he loses in 2012 and goes on to campaign in 2016, 2020, 2024…
ThePaganTemple
May 1st, 2012 @ 3:20 pm

It seems to me that he’s doing everything in his power to make sure he’s returned to private life as soon as possible.
Ahmet
May 1st, 2012 @ 7:16 pm

alyans