Marathon Pundit: Once again, the Obama administration is picking and choosing the laws it enforces

A real leader

We have a president who is capricious about the laws he enforces. Last summer, President Obama's selection to run Immigration and Customs Enforcement, John Morton, said that his agency won't necessarily process illegal immigrants turned over to his agency by Arizona officials.

Last week Eric Holder, Obama's attorney general, says the Justice Department will no longer enforce the Clinton-era Defense of Marriage Act--because a federal judge ruled part of it unconstitutional.

Odd, but didn't another federal judge rule all of ObamaCare unconstitutional?

A true leader doesn't pick and choose the laws he enforces. As I wrote last year, while heading the New York City Police, Theodore Roosevelt vigorously executed its unpopular blue laws. Why? Because it was his job.

Courtesy of Edmund Morris' The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt, here is TR's statement about his blue law zeal:

I do not deal with public sentiment. I deal with the law. How I might act as a legislator, or what kind of legislation I would advise, has no bearing on my conduct as an executive officer charged with administrating the law.

Brilliant.

Moving on to public sentiment, when he was running for president, Obama said he was against gay marriage. Since he hasn't to my knowledge reversed his stance, that means he still opposes same-sex marriage, but he won't enforce the Defense of Marriage Act.

Real clear, right?

Are you ready for more confusion? In his first state Senate run, in 1996, Obama declared, "I favor legalizing same-sex marriage, and would fight efforts to prohibit such marriages."

As for Roosevelt, I believe he was too ardent with his progressive-aggressiveness, but while president, people knew where he stood on an issue.

Currently we have a president in the White House who appears to be not a flip-flopper, but a flip-flop-flipper.

Related post:

Obama administration: Picking and choosing the laws it enforces

UPDATE 5:20pm CST: Teri O'Brien brought this up on her BlogTalk Radio show just now--the Obama administration has been held in contempt of court for reimposing his Gulf of Mexico drilling ban.

Picking and choosing...

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