Barack Quote by Alex Gibney
“The Barack Obama Administration has prosecuted more whistleblowers than all previous administrations combined. That's a staggering record. And it comes from a president who said that he's going to have one of the most transparent administrations ever.”
About This Quote
Source Documentary: The Whistleblower Paradox, 2020
The administration's record shows a contradiction between promised transparency and prosecuting whistleblowers.
In simple terms: Transparency claims clash with whistleblower prosecutions.
Key Takeaway
Demand accountability for true openness.
Themes
government
transparency
whistleblowing
accountability
politics
Mood
critical
concerned
inquisitive
Type
analysis
explanatory
cautionary
When to use this quote
- policy review
- legal reform
- media scrutiny
- civil society advocacy
Key Concepts
legal ethics
power dynamics
public trust
Questions to Reflect On
- Why do governments target whistleblowers despite transparency pledges?
- What mechanisms can protect truth‑tellers?
A Different Perspective
Legal reforms may be slow and face political resistance.
![“I just don't want the fear from the right to be used by the [Barack] Obama administration to silence critics. We have to be willing to tell the truth because we're trying to speak about conditions that are being rendered invisible in our prisons and schools in the hood and so forth and so on.” quote by Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/95c/cornel-west-708_administration_i-just-don-t-want-the-fear-from-the-righ_780814.jpg)
![“We have 23 million people unemployed. They're America's forgotten people. It's the damndest thing that this much collateral damage is acceptable to this [Barack Obama] administration.” quote by Lou Dobbs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/d9e/lou-dobbs-26019_acceptable_we-have-23-million-people-unemployed-the_751658.jpg)
![“This [Barack Obama] administration has failed America's inner cities. Remember, it has failed America's inner cities. It's failed them on education. It's failed them on jobs. It's failed them on crime. It's failed them in every way and on every single level. When I am president, I will work to…” quote by Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/1d8/donald-trump-18_administration_this-barack-obama-administration-has-fai_716188.jpg)
![“[Barack] Obama administration, the [George W.]Bush administration have done nothing. And as China has manipulated its currency, we've lost trillions of dollars of wealth and millions of good-paying jobs.” quote by Charles Schumer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/555/charles-schumer-10224_administration_barack-obama-administration-the-george-w_662250.jpg)
![“Remember we had two Democratic houses of Congress along with the [Barack] Obama administration that laid out those policies before they lost Congress because people were very disappointed in what the Obama administration did - bailing out Wall Street instead of bailing out Main Street. So as…” quote by Jill Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/1df/jill-stein-660_absolutes_remember-we-had-two-democratic-houses-of_418651.jpg)
![“You can use the [Barack] Obama administration as a recent example. For seven years they've been unopposed. The Republican Party's not trying to stop 'em on a single thing. Much of Obama's agenda has been a success. He has been able to attack various traditions, institutions, and taken over the…” quote by Rush Limbaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/283/rush-limbaugh-28_able_you-can-use-the-barack-obama-administrat_397837.jpg)
![“Look at the [Bill] Clinton Administration and now the [Barack] Obama administration more recently. What we believe is that we implement policies that help people reach the middle class which is the cornerstone of our economy.” quote by Debbie Wasserman Schultz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/3b2/debbie-wasserman-schultz-11199_administration_look-at-the-bill-clinton-administration_283908.jpg)
![“I was naming the five warriors of our generation who have experience, four out of five I would argue were retired early out of the [Barack] Obama administration because they said things the Obama administration didn't particularly want to hear.” quote by Carly Fiorina](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/ded/carly-fiorina-1077_administration_i-was-naming-the-five-warriors-of-our-ge_256332.jpg)
![“That was an exception within the [Barack] Obama administration's economic policy, a crisis that he inherited from the previous administration, and felt it was essential to carry through on.” quote by Judy Woodruff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/114/judy-woodruff-4310_administration_that-was-an-exception-within-the-barack_219060.jpg)
![“I can't imagine that I would be asked that by the president-elect [Donald Trump], or then-president [Barack Obama]. But it's - I'm very clear. I voted for the change that put the Army Field Manual in place as a member of Congress. I understand that law very, very quickly and am also deeply aware…” quote by James Mattis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/761/james-mattis-9515_army_i-can-t-imagine-that-i-would-be-asked-th_3990.jpg)
![“The president [Barack Obama] asked for a commitment of, I think, 100,000 jobs for veterans and military spouses over the next couple of years. And we announced during the tour last week that we have gotten more than 60,000 jobs, and we're well on our way to just crashing that goal out of the…” quote by Michelle Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/83d/michelle-obama-518_barack_the-president-barack-obama-asked-for-a-c_15651.jpg)
![“I think the president's [Barack Obama] position has been very clear on Syria. He wants more aggressive, he's put the Special Ops on the ground, in fact one of the Republican criticisms is he's got thousands of Americans there. We just don't call them troops on the ground, we don't admit to it. But…” quote by Juan Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/f9c/juan-williams-7909_aggressive_i-think-the-president-s-barack-obama-pos_17086.jpg)
![“It cannot be an American fight. And I think what the president [Barack Obama] has consistently said - which I agree with - is that we will support those who take the fight to ISIS. That is why we have troops in Iraq that are helping to train and build back up the Iraqi military, why we have…” quote by Hillary Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/f1e/hillary-clinton-51_agree_it-cannot-be-an-american-fight-and-i-thi_19737.jpg)
![“It wasn't [Barack] Obama per se; it was the feeling on the ground; it was seeing an old black woman in a wheelchair being wheeled by her son waving a big American flag, and then seeing a guy with his baby in his arms saying, "I didn't want her to miss tonight! I wanted to be able to tell her!" And…” quote by Bill Ayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/806/bill-ayers-1848_able_it-wasn-t-barack-obama-per-se-it-was-the_20409.jpg)
