Justice Department, IRS scandals challenge Obama’s civil liberties credibility
President Obama, a former constitutional law lecturer who came to office pledging renewed respect for civil liberties, is today running an administration at odds with his résuméand preelection promises.
The Justice Department’s collection of journalists’ phone records and the Internal Revenue Service’s targeting of conservative groups have challenged Obama’s credibility as a champion of civil liberties — and as a president who would heal the country from damage done by his predecessor.
For any president, the most cutting political problems emerge when the administration shows signs of faltering in areas where it is supposed to excel. Obama asked to be measured by competence and his commitment to what he called foundational American values — two areas where rights advocates say he has not met the standards he set.
Anthony Romero, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union, said, “The IRS selective enforcement and the surveillance of reporters show a willingness to compromise values in the Obama administration.” He called the practices “enormously troubling.”
“And the tone is set at the top,” Romero said. “While not directly involved, the president bears responsibility for what his government officials can and should do.”
Revelations that Obama’s Justice Department secretly obtained phone records of Associated Press journalists, including home lines and cellphones, have highlighted the administration’s aggressive approach to the media: targeting reporters who have benefited from government leaks and the officials suspected of providing them.
The administration has prosecuted six officials, more than all previous administrations. And although the White House has steered journalists to the Justice Department with specific questions about the AP case, the decision to crack down on public leaks was made early in the West Wing.
full: http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/justice-department-irs-scandals-challenge-obamas-civil-liberties-credibility/2013/05/14/d1bc56bc-bcc7-11e2-9b09-1638acc3942e_singlePage.html
OUCH. Guess what? This is Obama's legacy right here. Not "Change We Can Believe In". Keep that in mind when designing the Obama Presidential Library.
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