Obama doublespeak
Obama doublespeak is a deliberate, calculated use of rhetoric that states his positions and that contradict his actual policies.
Abortion
- President Barack Hussein Obama lifts the Mexico City policy preventing the use of U.S. taxpayers’ money from supporting family planning groups which perform, promote and expand abortions.
"We are united in our determination to prevent unintended pregnancies, reduce the need for abortion, and support women and families in the choices they make. To accomplish these goals, we must work to find common ground to expand access to affordable contraception, accurate health information, and preventative services."
Lobbyists
- President-elect Obama transition cabinet includes over 40 registered lobbyists.
“Your voices should speak louder than the whispers of lobbyists,” Senator Obama told a crowd in Green Bay, Wi."
“I don’t take a dime of their [lobbyist] money, and when I am president, they won’t find a job in my White House. They will not fund my party, they will not run our White House, and they will not drown out the voice of the American people when I am president of the United States of America." (Sunlen Miller, "Obama Commends DNC For Cutting Lobbyist Contributions," ABC News' "Political Radar" Blog, 6/5/08)
"In every election, politicians come to your cities and your towns, and they tell you what you want to hear, and they make big promises, and they lay out all these plans and policies. But then they go back to Washington when the campaign's over. Lobbyists spend millions of dollars to get their way. The status quo sets in. And instead of fighting for health care or jobs, Washington ends up fighting over the latest distraction of the week. It happens year after year after year."
"We can be a party that says there's no problem with taking money from Washington lobbyists — from oil lobbyists and drug lobbyists and insurance lobbyists. We can pretend that they represent real Americans and look the other way when they use their money and influence to stop us from reforming health care or investing in renewable energy for yet another four years."
"Or this time, we can recognize that you can't be the champion of working Americans if you're funded by the lobbyists who drown out their voices. We can do what we've done in this campaign, and say that we won't take a dime of their money. We can do what I did in Illinois, and in Washington, and bring both parties together to rein in their power so we can take our government back. It's our choice." — Evansville, IN, on April 22, 2008
"I just want to make sure that we understand: I don't take money from federal lobbyists. I don't take money from PACs." (Sen. Barack Obama, MSNBC Presidential Debate, Las Vegas, NV, 1/15/08)
"I'm not in this race to continue the special-interest-driven politics of the last eight years. I'm in this race to end it. I've been taking on lobbyists throughout my career in Illinois." (Sen. Barack Obama, Remarks At A Town Hall Meeting, Billings, MT, 5/19/08)
"I believe I can bring about that kind of change - because I'm the only candidate in this race who's actually worked to take power away from lobbyists by passing historic ethics reforms in Illinois and in the U.S. Senate. And I'm the only candidate who isn't taking a dime from Washington lobbyists. They have not funded my campaign, they will not run my administration, and they will not drown out the voices of the American people when I'm President of the United States." (Sen. Barack Obama, Remarks To The Pennsylvania AFL-CIO, Philadelphia, PA, 4/2/08)
"The executive order on ethics I will sign shortly represents a clean break from business as usual. As of today, lobbyists will be subject to stricter limits than under any other administration in history. If you are a lobbyist entering my administration, you will not be able to work on matters you lobbied on, or in the agencies you lobbied during the previous two years. When you leave government, you will not be able to lobby my administration for as long as I am president."
"Yesterday, John McCain actually said that if he's president that he'll take on, and I quote, "the old boys network in Washington." Now I'm not making this up. This is somebody who's been in Congress for twenty-six years, who put seven of the most powerful Washington lobbyists in charge of his campaign. And now he tells us that he's the one who's gonna take on the old boys network. The old boys network? In the McCain campaign that's called a staff meeting. Come, on!"
"Sen. McCain bragged about how as chairman of the Commerce Committee in the Senate, he had oversight of every part of the economy. Well, all I can say to Sen. McCain is, "Nice job. Nice job." Where is he getting these lines? The lobbyists running his campaign? ... I'm not making this up, you can't make this up. It's like a 'Saturday Night Live' routine."