Stealth Deceit
I will surprise absolutely no one by pointing out the insincerity, hypocrisy and deceitful nature of politicians. Anyone but a simpleton will be aware that, on some level, most politicians are dishonest. Yet, with each new election cycle, people muster enthusiasm for, campaign for, donate to and vote for candidates they hope will do better and manage their towns, cities, states and country with integrity and purpose. Human beings, in this regard, are incurable optimists.
So, a certain amount of political dishonesty is tolerated by the electorate. In fact some might say that a certain amount of dishonesty is expected. Consequently, many might consider that writing about political deceit is likely to be a colossal waste of time. Yet there are some circumstances where the lying (and the liar) are so stealthy that exposing them as such is something of a civic duty.
The absolute master of the political lie, Barack Obama, will go down in history as the most duplicitous politician since Machiavelli. As the reader will no doubt recall, the deceit started even BEFORE his election. First there was his failure to produce verifiable documentation of his citizenship (a never explained Connecticut Social Security number, absence of hospital records, a birth certificate forensically analyzed as a forgery, and a timeline inconsistent with the known places and dates of Obama’s mother Ms. Stanley Ann Dunham), followed by undisclosed academic records, undisclosed health records, undisclosed travel history and covered up associations with the likes of convicted felon Tony Rezko, “Reverend” Jerimiha (“God DAMN AMERICA!”) Wright, CONVICTED terrorist Bill Ayers and others. Then, AFTER being elected, he continued this habit of frequent lying leading up to his “signature” lie: “If you’re happy with your insurance, you can KEEP your insurance. Period.” Obama, in fact, has the dubious distinction of being accused of lying, TWICE, while addressing joint sessions of Congress! The first was by South Carolina Congressman Joe Wilson on September 9, 2009, when Wilson shouted “You lie”! The second was SUPREME COURT JUSTICE Samuel Alito on Jan 28, 2010 when he said “SIMPLY NOT TRUE” to Obama’s comments on a recent court decision.
Every American, whether for or against Obama, is familiar with all of the above. But there are other Obama lies of a much more “stealthy” nature. These become evident only when looked at in light of subsequent history, but because they are so stealthy, they are worth bringing to light, so I’ll list a couple of examples here.
The first outstanding example of Obama’s stealth deceit goes back to the Benghazi attack on September 11, 2012. During a press conference the following day, Obama said the the United States “condemns in the strongest terms this outrageous attack.” He then says, “make no mistake, we will work with the Libyan Government to bring to justice the killers who attacked our people”. Strong words of resolve, we’d all agree. But in the five and a half years since those statements (four of the years being during the Obama administration) how many of the hundred or so attackers have been “brought to justice”? The astonishing answer to that question is, sadly, ONE! That’s right: ONE! Four dead Americans. Ambassador Stevens BEATEN TO DEATH (AND SODOMIZED WITH A KNIFE) and just ONE person has been brought to trial. And, shockingly, the perpetrator, Ahmed Abu Khattala was convicted only of two counts of terrorism and was ACQUITTED OF MURDER. He was sentenced to a mere 10 years in prison! Some “justice” indeed.
The second involves the IRS scandal, whereby the IRS was found to have deliberately targeted conservative groups for scrutiny, delay and harassment. When a Congressional watchdog group in 2013 uncovered undeniable evidence that this was the case, Obama called a press conference on May 15, 2013. During that conference he professed anger at the injustice, and then said that the misconduct was, verbatim, “inexcusable”, and that “what’s been reported is an OUTRAGE.” He then went on to say that “we’re going to hold those responsible accountable”. Well, ladies and gentlemen, it’s now been five years since those statements, and NOT ONE IRS official has been held “accountable” for ANYTHING. In the three years of his administration that followed this righteous press conference, NO ONE, including the IRS director during that era, Lois Lerner, has been convicted, indicted or even charged in connection with this gross partisan abuse of power. Some “outrage” indeed.
And, as a coda to all of the above, Obama has claimed, on numerous occasions, that his administration has had no scandals on his watch. This, of course, is another lie, as scandals involving the IRS, and Benghazi, as discussed above, join a number of other scandals, such as the “Fast and Furious” gun running scandal, the Attorney General Loretta Lynch’s highly illegal secret meeting with Bill Clinton concerning Hillary’s private server scandal, the “pay to play” Hillary scandal (when she was Obama’s Secretary Of State), the clandestine deals involving hundreds of millions of dollars with Iran, and many others would attest.
And, topping all of the above during the Obama administration, is the FBI surveillance of the Trump campaign. Obama is on record as saying “I never would have condoned such surveillance.” However, recently uncovered emails from FBI agent Peter Stzrok refer clearly to Trump surveillance, and state, verbatim, that “POTUS (short for President Of The United States) wants to be kept closely informed”. No scandals? I don’t think so.
Stealth deceit of the highest order.