

Obama: No warrantless wiretaps if you elect me (2008) - monort
http://www.cnet.com/news/obama-no-warrantless-wiretaps-if-you-elect-me/

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bediger4000
OK, great. It's terribly, terribly disappointing that he changed his mind, or
maybe couldn't get rid of warrantless/dragnet surveillance. He broke a
campaign promise, and made himself into Just Another Politician.

But what can we decide from this info? Do elements of the Deep State actually
dictate policy to the elected leader? Is the temptation of an all-seeing spy
agency just too great? There was clearly some political currency to be had
from the issue, but what made him drop it once in office?

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serf
>But what can we decide from this info?

don't bet on campaign promises, or the idea that a candidate will act
according to the party he ran for?

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hawleyal
Or realize promising things like this is like a student council president
promising everyday is pizza day and no school on Fridays.

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bediger4000
But then why bother? We've all been through election cycles before. We all
know that once elected, a lot of promises don't come true. Why even make this
one? As I wrote, there was some political capital in the issue, even in 2008.
What made Obama change his mind?

