Book Review: The Obama Diaries

15 Responses to “Book Review: The Obama Diaries”

1. 

   Patrick said:

   Sep 21, 10 at 7:13 pm

   There is an entire chapter devoted to the shenanigans of the First Ladies new vegetable garden. At times it was described as an “organic” garden (which is wasn’t), the first White House Garden (it wasn’t), or that it was being planted by local students (actually the National Park Service did the heavy lifting). If Michelle Obama and the White House are willing to mislead the public on something as trivial as this, what will they say about something more significant like Russia, Cuba, or terrorism??

   Ok, come on Andy, this is a bit low. That shows your complete bias and unwillingness to even make an objective statement about this administration. You can google this topic if you’d like, but you’ll see that most of what you said is already known. There was no misleading. Of course, elementary kids aren’t experts on gardening. Would you expect them to do all of the work? And, the term “organic” is hard enough for most full-time farmers to acheive. Sure, they used organic items in the garden, but it wasn’t labeled as an “organic” garden. Misleading, don’t think so.

   The project is about promoting healthy eating, but you want to take another shot at the administration b/c of it. Come on man, give it break.

2. 

   Patrick said:

   Sep 21, 10 at 7:29 pm

   Also, it’s been known that the garden is not the first vegetable garden, but the first since WW II.

   That shows your complete bias and unwillingness to even make an objective statement about this administration.

   Perhaps a bit strong, but it’s one things to disagree on policies. It’s another to nitpick every little thing. Of course, I know most of his opponents think he’s got some big plan to take over the world. If they think he’s not smart enough to run this country, I wouldn’t bet on him having a masterplan either.

3. 

   Andy D said:

   Sep 22, 10 at 5:41 am

   Patrick,

   We will come back to the “complete bias and unwillingness to even make an objective statement” in just a minute.

   Let’s suppose for a moment that the Obama’s lied about anything to do with the garden. Would that concern you? Would you be worried about what they would say about other topics?

   I have been told that the organic rating is impossible to get in less than three years. Also, most of the news coverage gives the impression that it’s Michelle Obama out working in the garden (which it isn’t). Now we can split hairs on whether the Obama’s have said she would work out there, or whether they have simply not corrected the news stories. If this was the only issue where this administration was lying to the public it would be one thing. But time after time this administration says one thing to the public, then does something else.

   And by the way, it’s not the first vegetable garden at the White House since World War II. Hillary Clinton had a vegetable garden when she was first lady. It was on top of the White House, but it was still on the White House grounds. That means its the first vegetable garden in two administrations. Now who’s biased and unwilling to even make an objective statement about this administration?

4. 

   Patrick said:

   Sep 22, 10 at 1:21 pm

   Andy-

   Are you saying that Obama is the first President to tell a lie? I hope not. That argument will get you into trouble.

   Think about what you just wrote,” Also, most of the news coverage gives the impression…”. At the same time, you can look up on the internet, any one of those topics you brought up. The point is, you stated the Obama’s were trying to mislead the public. Whether or not I knew the last official White House garden doesn’t erase that it’s a known fact the Obama’s didn’t plant the first garden, the garden is not certified organic, and that the fifth graders didn’t do all the heavy lifting for the garden. People knew all of these facts when the garden was planted. Check out this quote from a former White House Executive Chef written in ’09 and another quote from the New York Times.

   “This garden is a tremendous idea, one that is both timely and in some ways overdue,” said former White House executive chef Walter Scheib. “There has always been a small garden at the White House, but this commitment by Mrs. Obama to local and freshly grown product is a progressive move forward that will raise the profile and awareness of local and sustainable food both at the White House and nationally to an unprecedented level. Chef [Cristeta] Comerford and all of the chef’s brigade must be thrilled to have this resource at their disposal. I know I would have been.”

   The White House grounds crew and the kitchen staff will do most of the work, but other White House staff members have volunteered. So have the fifth graders from Bancroft.

   Now, I think it’s a bit much for us to continue arguing about a vegetable garden, especially considering the larger picture of our country (and that much of her book is satire); but I think it raises another point. On this site, I’ve disagreed and sided with Obama on many instances. At some point, you have to decide whether or not your dislike for the President and his policies can cause you to over-emphatically jump on his administration for little things that realistically aren’t an issue. After all, it’s a vegetable garden that promotes healthier eating in America. Seems like we need more of that.

5. 

   Andy D said:

   Sep 23, 10 at 7:22 am

   Patrick,

   You have developed this into a very interesting argument. Go back and follow your own line of reasoning. At first you say I am being too biased and that I am unable to look at this administration objectively. I was arguing that an entire chapter on Michelle Obama’s garden was important. I argued that if the President and First Lady will lie about something as trivial as this, then what else will they lie about. Your argument followed the following course:

   1) The Obama’s didn’t mislead people because the terms used to describe their vegetable garden can’t possibly be true, so how is it misleading?

   2) The vegetable garden is the first since WWII, and not the first in White House history, so again, I must be biased.

   Then I responded that these less than believable terms were used by the White House, and by newspapers which the White House never corrected. I also pointed out that inspite of your and the presses hope that the Obama’s simply meant just since WWII, it isn’t the first vegetable garden since WWII.

   3) You responded with, but it’s ok because all President’s lie, so if this one lies you don’t mind. And because people knew the White House was lying, it’s ok.

   Parick, you are much better than this. President Obama campaigned on a new style of politics, yet when he is caught doing lying like other politicians, you give him a pass because he means well. In spite of the fact that Michelle Obama claimed this was the first vegetable garden in White House history in an interview, you claim its ok because people know she didn’t really mean what she said because it can’t be the first garden in the history of the White House.

   I agree with you that the vegetable garden is a trivial matter. Again, if the President will lie about this trivial matter, how can we trust him on big issues? You say all politicians lie, I argue this one has a long history of lying. Yet you say its ok because other politicians do it. Please tell me that I am either reading your comments wrong, or you hadn’t looked at it in this light and need to reevaluate your opinions on this President. Otherwise, you are simply suffering from the very bias you accuse me of.

6. 

   pack04 said:

   Sep 23, 10 at 10:51 am

   Andy,
   You have made some very similar points to what I was going to say. I will add a little here.
   Mr. Obama drew a line in the sand saying he would be different. So when he does things that are not different, such as lie or stretch the truth a little bit, of course people call him on it. The same is true with Republicans and their morals as it pertains to family values. They drew a line in the sand saying we are “good.” So when it turns out that they get caught on the bad side of that line we really love to stick it too them. However, if a Democrat does a similar thing it is not that big of a deal.

   Also, you said “That shows your complete bias and unwillingness to even make an objective statement about this administration.” You think it is wrong for Andy to promote anything that attacks the sitting president from any and every angle possible. However, towards the end of Mr. Bush’s term it was almost considered American to attack him from every single angle. I mean how many people cheered when Mr. Bush had a shoe thrown at him? I am not saying because it happened to Mr. Bush it should happen to Mr. Obama. It is now part of the job, to be scrutinized for every little thing. It would not surprise me if somebody tracks what foot he starts off walking with. It happens. You can’t dismiss it because you think it is petty. I thought being informed on things was good and important. It is a small issue for sure. So is Christine O’Donnell’s witchcraft comment but that has legs.
   The issue here is for sure that if they are willing to lie on this what else are they lying on?

7. 

   Patrick said:

   Sep 23, 10 at 10:54 pm

   Actually Andy, I think you misunderstood me. I don’t think the Obama’s lied about the garden. I can’t find any evidence where the administration claimed it was the first garden. But, I find numerous articles speaking about the planting of the garden and the history of gardens at the White House. Which means this information was readily available, had the lie been told. Not one article I looked up, not even conservative sites have berated the White House for that information. (So where did the book find this information?) As for organic, plenty of organic items were used in the planting of the garden. So, if I say I’m planting an organic garden, it’s true. However, it doesn’t mean I have a certified organic garden. We’ve already settled the upkeep part of the garden.

   So, I’m just not seeing how they lied, or mislead anyone about the garden. I made the comment about Presidents lying, b/c I’ve seen you stick by GW Bush for pretty much a majority of your posts, even though I can think of a couple of his fibs.

   And no Pack, it wasn’t considered American to attack Bush. After 9/11, it was considered un-Patriotic by Repub. standards to go against any GOP member or Bush. I’m ok with being informed, but until I see the evidence of them lying about the garden…..

8. 

   pack04 said:

   Sep 27, 10 at 10:12 am

   Patrick,
   A simple reading of my post sort of shows that well you miss the boat. I said “towards the end of Mr. Bush’s term” which by which I was meaning 2008, the end of his second term as President. I certainly did not mean 2001 which would have been towards the BEGINNING of his terms.

   Yes after September 11, 2001 it was considered un-Patriotic to go against Mr. Bush or Republican. However, since I did say the END of his terms, 2007 and 2008, I am going to stick with my claim that people were attacking him from all different angles, lies or truths.

   Again, I am not saying all the attacks on Mr. Obama are fair because it happened to Mr. Bush. I am just saying people can’t cry when Mr. Obama got attacked when most of them were doing the same type of attacking on Mr. Bush. I am not saying you ever did or did not attack Mr. Bush or are now crying, I am now generalizing.

9. 

   Andy D said:

   Sep 28, 10 at 4:39 am

   Patrick, I am not even sure where to begin.

   On February 9, 2010, Michelle Obama appeared on Larry King Live. She stated, “But as you know, this year I planted this wonderful garden…the first ever White House garden.” The complete transcript of the interview can be found here. As far as no one else criticizing Mrs. Obama for this lie, that’s why you should make sure you read my site, and buy this book from the link in the article .

   There were a lot of “unpatriotic” and “un-American” charges thrown around during the Bush administration. If you remember, Democrats told us that questioning the President was the height of patriotism. I am simply being a patriot.

10. 

    pack04 said:

    Oct 02, 10 at 8:41 am

    Patrick you want a lie from our President? Here you go:

    These quotes are from the Presidents speech on March 22, 2010 on the passage of the Heath Care Bill.

    Most importantly, today’s vote answers the prayers of every American who has hoped deeply for something to be done about a health care system that works for insurance companies, but not for ordinary people.

    It’s about every American who knows the shock of opening an envelope to see that their premiums just shot up again when times are already tough enough.

    If you have health insurance, this reform just gave you more control by reining in the worst excesses and abuses of the insurance industry with some of the toughest consumer protections this country has ever known – so that you are actually getting what you pay for.

    Flash forward to a letter dated September 23, 2010 from the GA Department of Community Health, the people that administer my health care plan:

    The Open Access Plans will NO longer be offered. (work for insurance company, no me)

    There will be an increase in premiums for all options (premiums shot up when time are tough)

    There will be changes to co-pays, deductible and out of pocket maximums. [ I looked at the prices on these...all going up!] (higher prices are not more control by reining in excesses)

    I know health care is no green garden but this man support and signed a law that directly effects my life. He then had the courage to lie to all of us about the “savings.” Now I might be mistaken on the lying part. He could just be too damn dumb to realize what would actually happen when this law was enacted. If that is the case well then I certainly am glad that he can pronounce nuclear correctly…

11. 

    Patrick said:

    Oct 03, 10 at 10:22 pm

    Andy -

    I couldn’t access the link, but I found it online anyway. I read that part, but still don’t understand why no one said two words about it. You have to admit, if she was on National TV saying this, someone would be all over it the next morning. I’m going to try to research this a bit more b/c I find it hard to believe if it was this big of a deal, at least one media outlet, Fox News, would not have let that go.

    Pack –

    I think it would be interesting to see if your premiums stay the same or increase if Repubs take over Congress and repeal the Healthcare Law. I mean, if there is no Law, then what justification would the industry have for premium increases, right?

12. 

    pack04 said:

    Oct 04, 10 at 9:22 am

    Wow Patrick. I can’t believe that I am still amazed that you completely take things I say in a completely different direction especially when I prove you wrong.

    You wanted a case when the President lied. I gave you one plan and simple. I never said premiums would not go up when the health care bill was passed. I never said they would not go up if the health care bill was not passed. I knew they were going up.

    The issue here is the President said they would not go up. They did. He lied. We can argue the greatness or failures of the health care bill at other times. This is just about the President lying. I wonder where the articles are about that? You got to know if this health care bill failed to pass and premiums went up there would be finger wagging saying “I told you so.” The bottom line is the man is full of shit just like every other politician. The bad thing for him is he drew the line in the sand saying he was not. It just makes it look that much worse. Sort of like how a Republican playing with a hooker looks worse then a Democrat playing with one.

13. 

    Patrick said:

    Oct 04, 10 at 11:23 am

    Actually, I just said that comment to play devil’s advocate.

    At first, these comments were directed at how the vegetable garden could foster distrust about larger things. I asked Andy specifically about the vegetable garden, not healthcare. I’ve read about the rising premiums and next years health care law kick-ins. It wasn’t an issue of proving wrong. I never said the President never lies or breaks promises on anything. If so, please show it to me.

    You’re too caught up in trying to prove me wrong, that you jumped off topic. Try asking Andy to guest post on healthcare, then we can have all the discussion you want on that.

14. 

    pack04 said:

    Oct 06, 10 at 3:51 pm

    My bad Patrick. You are correct you didn’t ask for lies you were just saying there was no lie in this one instance. Nor did you say that the President never lies or breaks promises.

    Honestly I was just pissed off about getting that notice in the mail. If you read in what I said I also did not want a discussion on the “the greatness or failures of the health care bill.”

    I’ll give you some honest talk. You have pointed out that you cannot find any of the claims that Ms. Ingraham or Andy have written about. I am going to say that I will most likely believe what Andy or Ms. Ingraham have said without researching things myself because I believe that Mr. Obama lies. This distrust has developed because of things similar to what I pointed out with the health care bill in a previous post. I also believe that he is an arrogant (I believe most chief executives to be this type of personality) enough person to make those claims and I also believe that most major new sources do not care to report if this claim on the 1st green garden is true or not, or even if Mrs. Obama said such a thing.

    Is it wrong of me to jump to conclusions like that? Absolutely. You can try your best to prove any of my above claims wrong, you can call me names but you are going to have a very difficult time trying to get me to change my opinion. I have listened to Mr. Obama for over 2 years now and my opinion is based on what I have heard from him and his actions. They have fostered a distrust in me. Yes we can disagree with how one should solve a problem and this is not the reason for my distrust. It is based on other things, because of that when stories like what Andy mentioned above I will most like believe after taking a few seconds to process the information. And yes I know you don’t always support Mr. Obama.

15. Political Friends Blog | President Accused of Misleading Public said:

    Oct 09, 10 at 3:52 pm

    [...] think this is an interesting revelation on the heals of the recent discussion on this site on whether or not President Obama lies.  I also want to stress that this report was [...]

Leave a Reply