Snowden has said that in the 2008 presidential election,
he voted for a third-party candidate.
He has stated that he had been planning to comment on NSA surveillance programs at the time,
but he decided to wait because he "believed in Obama's promises".
He was later disappointed with President Barack Obama,
saying the latter's policies were a continuation of those espoused by George W.
Bush. The creation of the United States Department of Homeland Security, to some, was anything but,
and President Barack Obama had done practically nothing
to quell the debate as to who qualified as American enough to feel safe anywhere.
A subject of controversy,
Snowden has been variously called a hero, a whistleblower, a dissident, a patriot, and a traitor.
His disclosures have fueled debates over mass surveillance,
government secrecy, and the balance between national security and information privacy.