What was the president thinking?
I can understand his gaffes in other countries, such as the kowtowing and bowing to foreign heads of state. But when in Congress to deliver the State of the Union address to the nation?
What. An. Idiot. Sorry, there’s no other way to spin this:
The president told a joint session of Congress on Jan. 27, 2010, that “it’s time to put strict limits on the contributions that lobbyists give to candidates for federal office. Last week the Supreme Court reversed a century of law that I believe will open the floodgates for special interests –- including foreign corporations –- to spend without limit in our elections. Well I don’t think American elections should be bankrolled by America’s most powerful interests, and worse, by foreign entities. They should be decided by the American people, and that’s why I’m urging Democrats and Republicans to pass a bill that helps to right this wrong.”
PolitiFact has some opinions from its own research and interviews from experts. In its conclusion:
So, if anything, uncertainties about how foreign-owned U.S. subsidiaries would be treated only further muddies the question. Based on our reading of the court’s opinion and interviews with campaign law experts, we find that Obama has overstated the ruling’s immediate impact on foreign companies’ ability to spend unlimited money in U.S. political campaigns. While such an outcome may be possible, the majority opinion specifically said it wasn’t addressing that point, and only further litigation would settle the matter once and for all. So we find Obama’s claim to be Barely True.
At any rate, it’s extremely poor taste for the U.S. president to target the Supreme Court like that in a Congressional address. More fear mongering from President Obama.
