125
votes
Accepted
Why won't President Obama apologize for the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki?
It is hard to explain why conventional bombing of a city is principally better, morally, than a nuclear bombing of a city. If Obama apologized for the nuclear bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, he ...
- 1,539
121
votes
Accepted
Is there a difference between how Cambridge Analytica and the Obama Campaign got Facebook users' data?
did both sides basically do the same thing (using data without the users consent)
No, according to your link
The people signing up for ["Obama for America"] knew the data they were handing ...
- 9,041
57
votes
Accepted
Why didn't Barack Obama try to force the Senate to hold hearings on SCOTUS nominee Merrick Garland?
In short: separation of (coequal) powers means the President can't order any such thing of Congress. Congress does as it wills, and the constitution has very little to say about whether it does its ...
- 16.5k
56
votes
Accepted
How did George W. Bush make torture legal and what did Obama undo?
The Bush administration asserted that "enhanced interrogation" techniques like waterboarding were not torture and not illegal. The Obama administration asserted that they were torture and were ...
- 89.2k
51
votes
Why didn't Barack Obama try to force the Senate to hold hearings on SCOTUS nominee Merrick Garland?
It's worth noting that Obama actually did attempt an end-run around Congress in declaring that pro-forma Senate sessions were, in fact, a "recess" as defined by the Constitution. As such, he made some ...
- 44k
44
votes
Is there a difference between how Cambridge Analytica and the Obama Campaign got Facebook users' data?
According to Facebook, Cambridge Analytica obtained the data from a third party, a Cambridge university researcher, which was in violation of Facebook policy. The Obama campaign got their data openly,...
- 946
42
votes
Accepted
Could Snowden (in theory) be pardoned by the US president?
Yes, the constitution allows pardoning people who haven't been charged.
Reduction of a sentence is not technically considered pardoning. A President can pardon someone who hasn't be charged. Pardons ...
- 46.5k
35
votes
Why won't President Obama apologize for the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki?
Other than the fact that apologizing is political suicide there are a few good reasons.
No country really ever apologizes for acts of war, they may be sorry for starting a war, but its very rare that ...
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35
votes
What reason would the Obama Administration have for releasing $221M to Palestine, right before leaving office?
In all likelihood, the disbursement of the funds to the Palestinians happened when it did because of politics. Many Democrats and Republicans hold Israel's status in the region as sacrosanct, ...
- 15.7k
32
votes
Accepted
What reason would the Obama Administration have for releasing $221M to Palestine, right before leaving office?
Basically, it's related to the US abstinent on UN Vote on Israeli Settlements (United Nations Security Council 2334).
As quoted, then Secretary of State John Kerry said on the reason for abstaining:
“...
- 46.5k
31
votes
Accepted
What's the explanation behind Obama's joke about Bernie Sanders?
The joke is referencing Sanders fundraising strategy.
His campaign targeted small donors, and managed to raise an unprecedented amount from online contributions. 27$ is a reference to the average ...
- 9,591
26
votes
Did Obama notify Congress (the Intelligence committees in particular) that the bin Laden raid was ongoing?
Well, Congress was notified of the impending raid, but by the CIA, and apparently without White House permission. The DOJ for example (including the AG) was not notified until after the fact. Four ...
- 133k
20
votes
Why won't President Obama apologize for the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki?
Because the Japanese government doesn't want him to!
source (german)
Dennoch betonten sowohl die Bürgermeister der bombardierten Städte als auch Japans Außenminister Fumio Kishida, eine ...
- 309
17
votes
Accepted
On what grounds can President Obama run for a third time?
The 22nd amendment is the only law preventing him from running for a third term.
In theory, they could amend the constitution to allow him to run for a third term. There are a couple problems ...
- 89.2k
17
votes
Has power been stripped away from the US Constitution, during the Obama Administration?
Barack Obama used executive discretion in ways that previous presidents had not. For example, he created a visa program that allowed undocumented immigrants to live and work in the United States. He ...
- 89.2k
16
votes
Could Snowden (in theory) be pardoned by the US president?
As far as I am aware, pardoning means to reduce a sentence.
That's commutation. While that's part of the pardon power in the United States, that's not actually a pardon.
As per Wikipedia:
...
- 89.2k
16
votes
Accepted
Did anyone associated with Nobel Peace Prize comment later on Barack Obama being awarded one?
Yes, former director of the Nobel Institute, Geil Lundestad
Mr. Lundestad's memoir, Secretary of Peace: 25 years with the Nobel Prize, published in September 2015, revealed that the committee under ...
- 7,637
16
votes
Is there a "double-standard" in the SCOTUS June 2020 ruling on DACA?
[A substantial edit to reflect OP's comments clarifying the question]
The OP seems to assume "notice and comment" was a basis for overturning the recission of DACA but not for the creation ...
- 5,096
14
votes
Accepted
Who runs the USA when the presidents are switching?
There is a website for presidential transitions, which says:
Inauguration Day marks the official end of the current Administration. In past transitions, the President has requested all non-termed ...
- 89.2k
14
votes
Why didn't Barack Obama try to force the Senate to hold hearings on SCOTUS nominee Merrick Garland?
Each House in Congress can arrange its own affairs:
Each House may determine the Rules of its Proceedings ...
So "How" and "When" the Senate chooses to give or withhold its consent is a matter for ...
- 113k
13
votes
How did George W. Bush make torture legal and what did Obama undo?
John Yoo's famous (or infamous) "Torture Memorandum" on enhanced interrogation is the justifying document which should be referred to.
In it, he asserts the word "torture" is ill-defined by existing ...
- 163
13
votes
Accepted
What did the 2012 Obama campaign election app ask of its users vs. what did it actually do?
What information did the app ask of me?
It asked if it was OK to use specific information from your facebook profile in support of the Obama campaign.
Betsy Hoover, the online organizing director ...
- 9,041
12
votes
Is there a "double-standard" in the SCOTUS June 2020 ruling on DACA?
The Supreme Court stated that ending DACA was, in itself, legal: (page 9)
The dispute before the Court is not whether DHS may rescind DACA. All parties agree that it may. The dispute is instead ...
- 27.8k
11
votes
The US Congress has passed a restoration of sanctions on Iran; can the President veto it?
In short, President Obama doesn't have any tools against a congressional override.
If a bill is passed with such an overwhelming number of votes, 99:0 in the Senate and 419:1 in the House of ...
- 1,766
11
votes
Accepted
Has Trump done more for Taiwan than Obama has during their respective terms in office?
While any answer is going to involve some share of opinion, I think Trump’s popularity on this issue comes more from a general sense that he’s willing to stand up to China, rather than any of his ...
- 25.9k
10
votes
How did George W. Bush make torture legal and what did Obama undo?
On the policy level, by aggressive use of obligatory euphemisms as propaganda.
Giving unbiased subordinates commands which sound criminal, even to a layperson, (e.g. "I order you to torture the ...
- 12.8k
10
votes
When is the authority to launch a nuclear strike transitioned?
The Twentieth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution specifies that
The terms of the President and Vice President shall end at noon on the 20th day of January
This is approximately the time that the ...
- 203
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