Montage: 15 Times Obama Talked Down America in Cuba and Argentina
The U.S. ‘must have the courage to acknowledge’ its role in human-rights abuses
Lest you thought Obama spent all of his time abroad this week acting like a tourist -- sightseeing, taking in a ballgame, tangoing with Argentine beauties -- be reassured, he still found plenty of time to point out the many flaws he sees in America.
Between his stays in Havana and Buenos Aires, we counted at least 15 times Obama talked down his employer, The United States of America.
Specifically, he said ...
- America must have the "courage to acknowledge" its role in Argentina's human-rights abuses
- America can't be slow talking about human-rights violations, as we've done in Argentina
- The Constitution's separation of powers makes it hard for America to adapt to the changing times
- America must do more to promote equality
- America needs to reduce discrimination
- America suffers from "political polarization"
- America was built by slaves
- America has too much money in politics
- America has a problem with racially-biased criminal justice system, a racially-biased society, and a legacy of slavery & segregation
- Many American states would have forbidden his biracial parents to marry -- had they tried
- Many American schools in the south were segregated when he was young
- American democracy is imperfect
- America's political process is not pretty, as evidenced by the current 2016 race
- Cuba's Castro’s more readily sharing his thoughts on where America is “falling short” will help us improve
- He "doesn't disagree" with Castro's view that America should provide "free" health care, education, and social security to all
UPDATE: It appears we've montaged too early. Here are three more criticisms he leveled on his homeland:
- At a townhall in Buenos Aires, said one area Americans need to improve is developing "a greater awareness of the world outside of the United States."
- At the same townhall, Obama said the Republican Party is no longer a "mainstream" political party, and that it's become far more right-wing as a result of its opposition to him.
- Finally, he critiqued the tendency in American politics to focus so much on "sound bites," which he attributed to skepticism of global warming.
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