Empty Promises: Obama’s Pledge Prior to His Election as the 44th President of the United States to Formally Abstain From Extended Furloughs That Would Invariably Conflict With His Duties as an Elected Official

 

The following 2 minute, 21 second cinematic excerpt is a condensed version of the original where 2008 Presidential Candidate Barack Obama discusses his life, beliefs and current events in this insightful interview conducted at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library. Here Obama touches on what he feels is a national need for a new kind of leadership, and offers solutions for such issues as the War in Iraq, the gridlock in partisan politics and the unfocused leadership in the Democratic Party.

 

US Senator Barack Obama (D-IL) discusses his new book, The Audacity of Hope, and his views on American politics with New York Times Columnist Bob Herbert.

This serves as yet another example illustrating the duplicitous nature of the current political administration, namely the acting President (Illinois Senatorial Representative and a 2008 Presidential Candidate at the time of this public speaking engagement), who, during the course of an interview with New York Times Columnist Bob Herbert makes several references to the profound level of commitment and dedication associated with the Executive Branch, the context of which, in its entirety, can be found below:

Illinois Senatorial Representative and 2008 Presidential Candidate Barack Hussein Obama -
“You have to understand… uh, that if you seek that office you have to be prepared to give your life to it. That your (pause)… Essentially the bargain that any president, I think, strikes with the American people is um… you-you give me this office and in turn my (pause)… fears, doubts, insecurities, foibles, need for sleep… uh… family life, vacations, leisure (pause)… is gone… I-I-I’m giving myself to you and the American people should have no patience for whatever’s going through your head because you’ve got a job to do (pause)… and-and so uh… how I think about it is, um (pause)… that you don’t make that decision unless you are prepared to-to make that sacrifice… uh… that tradeoff, that bargain… uh… and I think that what’s difficult and important for somebody like myself who has a… uh… a wonderful… a forbearing wife and two gorgeous young children is that they end up having to make some of those sacrifices with you… uh… and-and that’s a profound decision that-that you don’t make lightly… um… you-you…uh… um… but I-I think (pause)… tho-those who make mistakes I suspect in the president’s office make it because they haven’t fully thought through the dimensions of that (pause)… that choice.”

New York Times Columnist Bob Herbert - “Can you imagine yourself, at some point, making that kind of commitment?”

Illinois Senatorial Representative and 2008 Presidential Candidate Barack Hussein Obama -
“Sure. I-I-I-I didn’t say I had (applause from the audience)… I just said I could imagine myself doing it.”

LINKED ARTICLE OF REFERENCE:

A Conversation With Barack Obama