It's The Constitution, Stupid!

President Barack Obama's speech at National Defense University – full text | World news | guardian.co.uk:

[extracted: direct quote from the speech]

The Justice Department's investigation of national security leaks offers a recent example of the challenges involved in striking the right balance between our security and our open society. As Commander-in Chief, I believe we must keep information secret that protects our operations and our people in the field. To do so, we must enforce consequences for those who break the law and breach their commitment to protect classified information. But a free press is also essential for our democracy. I am troubled by the possibility that leak investigations may chill the investigative journalism that holds government accountable. 

Journalists should not be at legal risk for doing their jobs. Our focus must be on those who break the law. That is why I have called on Congress to pass a media shield law to guard against government over-reach. I have raised these issues with the Attorney General, who shares my concern. So he has agreed to review existing Department of Justice guidelines governing investigations that involve reporters, and will convene a group of media organizations to hear their concerns as part of that review. And I have directed the Attorney General to report back to me by July 12th.

The title chosen for this "essay" is seems provocative, inflammatory, and insulting in that it seems to call the POTUS "stupid".   It was chosen, of course, for the obvious reference to the expression "It's the Economy, Stupid!"   Since this catch-phrase has been used for political purposes by both major parties since Clinton's campaign for the presidency (through the 2012 presidential campaigns), it seems fair to protect its use based on the defense that it isn't intended to reflect on the mental acuity of the obvious target.

I'm not saying that President Obama is stupid.

I am saying he is treating the American People as if he thinks that we are stupid.

My goodness, do we really need a "Media Shield Law" to protect reporters ... from predation by the Federal Government?   Do we really need POTUS, to boldly go where no man has gone before?

The First Amendment of the Constitution of the United States of America protects reporters.   If they can't depend on their constitutional rights .... no, let's turn this around:

If our government won't respect the First Amendment, why should we expect it to respect a law?

As an analogy, if congress would pass a "Firearms Owner's Shield Law" permitting you and I to possess and carry firearms,  how many hundreds  of pages would be required to define the limits of that law?   Given the propensity of the Obama Administration to convolute and obfuscate the issues in the issuance of laws (is the reference to ObamaCare too subtle here?) isn't it reasonable to expect that such a law would have more hidden implications which would permit governmental limitation on media freedoms, than protections for the media?

Oh dear, it sounds as if I'm now suggesting that the President is duplicitous, doesn't it?

According to a May 27, 2013 TOWNHALL report by Michael Barone, referring to Obama's use of the Espionage Act of 1917:

Barack Obama and his Justice Department ... have used the Espionage Act of 1917 six times to bring cases against government officials for leaks to the media -- twice as many as all their predecessors combined.

Let's review recent history:  Because the current administration feared that "governmental" representatives may have "leaked" potentially dangerous information to "media" representatives, he (The President) directed that the business and personal phone records of hundreds  of "media" representatives be examined to find the leak.

Now he [finger quote] feels bad [end finger quote] about that, and to demonstrate that he is sincerely contrite, he wants you and me to believe that he has " ... called on Congress to pass a media shield law to guard against government over-reach ... ".

 In the words of a former First Lady (FLOTUS), can't he "Just Say No"?


Tomorrow's headline: 
"Geek Blogger Calls On Congress To Pass a 'Presidential Shield Law' To Guard Against Blogger Over-reach".

Does this headline make my ass look big?