How do you view Edward Snowden and his actions?

[OmahaBlueDog]

The White House does what it can to make the president seem like a relatable, have-a-beer kind of guy. He visits late-night talk shows—just like your favorite celebrities! He has an adorable dog—just like you! He drops into sports bars and fills out an NCAA bracket—just like that one guy at the office!

But when the topic of Edward Snowden comes up, President Obama talks like he’s at the summit of Olympus, uninterested in mortals. It’s not a very convincing act. In June, he scoffed at the idea of “scrambling jets to get a 29-year-old hacker.” Snowden was actually 30, and within a week a U.S. ally would ground a plane because of a rumor Snowden had boarded it. At Friday’s press conference, at which Obama discussed potential changes to America’s surveillance programs, NBC News’ Chuck Todd asked the president whether Snowden was a “patriot,” and he scoffed again.

“I don't think Mr. Snowden was a patriot,” he said. “I called for a thorough review of our surveillance operations before Mr. Snowden made these leaks. ... Mr. Snowden's been charged with three felonies [and] if in fact he believes that what he did was right, then, like every American citizen, he can come here, appear before the court with a lawyer and make his case.”

More at : http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/politics/2013/08/obama_surveillance_reforms_the_president_dismisses_edward_snowden_from_astride.html

12 votes, 0 passes | Time left: Time expired
	I support what Snowden has done, and might use words like \"whistleblower\" or \"patriot\" to describe him.
	8 (67%)
	I do not support what Edward Snowden has done, and might use words like \"criminal\" or \"traitor\" to describe him.
	4 (33%)
	I support some of what Edward Snowden has done, and oppose other aspects. I might use words like \"patriot\" and \"criminal\" to describe him.
	0 (0%)
	I\'m unsure what Edward Snowden has done, and am unsure how I view him or his actions.
	0 (0%)
	0 DU members did not wish to select any of the options provided.
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[pnwmom]

1. I support some of what he has done and oppose some of what he has done.

I do not support his leaking ANY information about our spying on other countries, but I welcome the debate he has triggered about US internal surveillance.

I think some of what he leaked could fall under the category of "whistle-blowing," but a "patriot" wouldn't have leaked information about our spying on China and Russia.

[OmahaBlueDog]

2. I edited to add that choice

Thanks!

[Egnever]

3. +1

That just about sums up my feelings perfectly.

[pansypoo53219]

4. i think he is a paranoid attention whore.

AND WHERE WAS HE IN 2006 WHEN IT WAS REPORTED GEORGEE WAS DOING THIS WITHOUT A WARRANT??? heck, where was the GNEWS MEDIA???

[FarPoint]

6. Agreed.....

The ball was set into motion then....under *bush. Very difficult to reverse.

[Gravitycollapse]

8. So he's an attention whore because he didn't blow the whistle sooner? What shit...

Seriously, can you guys come up with something that resembles a coherent rebuttal?

"It's not news" is no longer passable. Get over it.

[Oakenshield]

5. I think he's a whistleblower.

Our feelings on him however are rather irrelevant. What matters is the information he shared, and the discussion it has provoked.

[Egalitarian Thug]

7. The opinions of Snowden and his actions are two different things.

Polls have up to 10 options for a reason.

[IncessantPerfidy]

9. Snowden is a hero to all who want to live in a REAL free society

some will disagree and that is ok with me because one can’t tell the players without a scorecard.

[ehcross]

13. Snowden is no hero.

Edward Snowden is well aware of the capacity of the NSA to collect information from the whole world. Snowden himself is supposed to be an expert in such a task, and well knows that the NSA can easily identify threats to the National Security of the United States, thus effectively protecting the country from 9/11-style attacks.

The collective citizen´s reaction to the disclosure was a loud rejection to the "intrusion" on their privacy. But citizens should know that a minor NSA threat detection capability could save many, many lives.

Snowden should have been a firmly active supporter of the NSA program.

[hlthe2b]

10. Other... I'm far more concerned with reigning in the excesses he has revealed...

Snowden is one man, but the potential impacts of a surveillance program that can reach and violate the individual rights of anyone in this country or even across much of the world--sans any REAL checks and balances SHOULD be the ISSUE.

That that has not been the emphasis in this whole saga, only tells me how very much we are being manipulated--by the media, by NSA, by the administration, and yes, whether intentionally or not, by some of our fellow DUers.

[chervilant]

11. Criminal or patriot...

That debate seems to predominate these days. I don't know enough about Snowden to form an opinion about *him* personally. I think, by his actions, that he is a whistleblower, and the heated discussions regarding the NSA and comprehensive surveillance tend to support that moniker.

What I find most distressing is the growing contingent of sanctimonious, authoritarian DUers who character-assassinate Snowden, Greenwald, and anyone herein asking questions about Snowden's actions and the NSA. Dog forbid we should highlight anything that casts a negative light on our 11th dimensional, constitutional law scholar.

[ehcross]

12. How I view Edward Snowden and his actions.

When Americans finally recover from the blow of Edward Snowdens´shameful betrayal, they will realize that they have, without firing a shot, given away to their enemies the most valuable product of American ingenuity, developed and operated by the NSA, which would have protected the American people from any attack, from anywhere in the world, and without leaving their chairs.

The young so-called hero, now on the run, and with nowhere to go, but enjoying the warm hospitality of Vladimir Putin, the devil himself, and probably Fidel Castro himself, and the bunch of supporters that blindly call for comfortable asylum for him in a Caribbean resort, are about to realize just how costly their mistake was.

As Americans recover from their hysteria, and Edward Snowden is, hopefully, settled in his cold Russian dacha, with nothing new to leak, the United States will have learned a few very costly lessons about whom to trust in today´s world.