I try not to mix the politician with the POV. Especially in this case. My impression of Obama is he's a very cerebral president. My impression is that he wants the country to have an open, honest conversation about important issues. Without stirring up controversy sometimes it's probably impossible to get people talking about or thinking about these things. My initial belief is that he not only doesn't believe in this, but wants to see strong signs that public opinion disagrees also with what he has proposed.
I'm hopeful the next president will be just as conscientious about the intricacies of important issues and how it's important not to act on controversial things without strong public support.
My initial reaction, though strongly opposed to what he's saying is: "Joke is on us". The fear I think is having a U.S. president who will not consider public opinion and go about making his / her decisions in a bubble.
So what you are saying is that Obama is supporting surveillance in the hopes that we will oppose it because he supports it? I think you are giving him too much credit. There aren't many policies that all politicians can agree on, but spying on citizens seems to be one of them. This is a great example of how Obama can do no wrong.
I'm hopeful the next president will be just as conscientious about the intricacies of important issues and how it's important not to act on controversial things without strong public support.
My initial reaction, though strongly opposed to what he's saying is: "Joke is on us". The fear I think is having a U.S. president who will not consider public opinion and go about making his / her decisions in a bubble.