Hobgoblins and little statesmen
One of the first episodes of Obama’s pretend intellect was the 2001 NPR interview. Barack spoke of his expertise regarding the Constitution, then proceeded to demonstrate he was not an “expert” at all. It was subtle yet real.
In the interview, he said, "The Constitution is a charter of negative liberties." He went on to explain that what he meant by negative liberties is that the "Constitution says what the States 'can't do' to you, says what the Federal Government 'can't do to you'; it doesn’t mention what the State or Federal government must do on your behalf."
To reveal Mr. Obama’s "Constitutional Lawyer" expertise, let us turn to the definition of "negative liberties" as provided by the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy.
Negative liberty is the absence of obstacles, barriers or constraints. One has negative liberty to the extent that actions are available to one in this negative sense.
Mr. Obama clearly misuses the "negative liberty" term. Constitutional experts know negative and positive liberties. This "expert" didn't.
A few days ago, Obama displayed, once again, his cursory, puddle-deep off-teleprompter intellect. In referring to the Israeli position on Iran, President Obama took another intellectual stab, but he missed.
The President said, "Consistency is the hobgoblin of narrow minds."
A blantantly blown misquote. (Imagine if Dan Quayle or George W. Bush had made such a blunder, not only misquoting, but not footnoting.)
The calculated partial presentation of something to alter the true meaning seems to be this man's forte. For the real Ralph Waldo Emerson quote reads very differently. The key word omission is glaring.
A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds, adored by little statesmen and philosophers and divines.
One might ask who exactly is the "little statesman."