According to a report by the Weekly Standard, during a Google Hangout live video chat last Thursday (February 14), President Barack Obama complained that his problems include abiding by the laws of the United States, griping "I'm not the Emperor of the United States."
After being asked why he had not done more about illegal immigration, or stopped a record number of deportations, President Obama said "This is something I’ve struggled with throughout my presidency. The problem is that I’m the president of the United States, I’m not the Emperor of the United States. My job is to execute laws that are passed," he said.
The President then blamed the immigration problem on Congress, saying they had failed to address what he called "a broken immigration system." However, the President has opposed any immigration reform efforts offered by Republicans, including the STEM Act, which had received wide bipartisan support. The Science, Technology, Engineering and Math Act would make visas more available to immigrants that earn advanced technical degrees in U.S. universities. Despite enjoying strong Latino support, Obama has been widely criticized for his aggressive immigration enforcement and deportation rate, which far outpaces previous administrations.
Obama's complaints that he is not Emperor plays into criticisms that he often acts like a non-elected official, ignoring the will of Congress and issuing multiple Presidential executive orders in order to bypass them.
The President's exclamation also reminds many of the Emperor from the Star Wars movies, who started out as a senator in the Galactic Senate before being elected chancellor. He then became a dictator, declaring himself Emperor, ignoring and disbanding the Senate, and establishing the Galactic Empire.
Victor Medina writes for Yahoo News and his political blog WhenLiberalsAttack.com. His other writing credits include The Dallas Morning News and SportsIllustrated.com. He has served as a Dallas County election judge and on the Board of Directors of The Sixth Floor Museum. You can follow him on his blog, VictorMedina.com or on Twitter at @mrvictormedina. He can be reached by email at vic@victormedina.com. To be notified of future stories by Victor Medina, click the SIGN UP or SUBSCRIBE button at the top of this page.
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