Washington (AFP) - As if Barack Obama didn't have enough problems to deal with already, his administration now is being asked to weigh in on the grave matter of Justin Bieber's bad behavior.
By midday Wednesday (1700 GMT), a petition on the White
House website calling for the deportation of the Canadian-born teen idol had
garnered 103,000 names -- easily surpassing the threshold of 100,000 signatures
required for presidential consideration.
"We the people of the United
States feel that we are being wrongly represented in the
world of pop culture," says the petition, created by one "J.A."
in Detroit on January 23, the day Bieber was
busted in Miami Beach
for impaired driving and illegal drag racing in a flashy Italian sports car.
"We would like to see the dangerous, reckless,
destructive and drug-abusing Justin Bieber deported and his green card revoked.
He is not only threatening the safety of our people but he is also a terrible
influence on our nation's youth. We the people would like to remove Justin
Bieber from our society."
The White House website hosts citizens' petitions on
other, more heady issues such as the legalization of marijuana and a pardon for
National Security Agency whistleblower Edward Snowden.
"Every petition that crosses the threshold will be
reviewed by the appropriate staff and receive a response," assistant White
House spokesman Matt Lehrich said.
But State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki cautioned that
the petition program "doesn't always determine a step will be taken, it's
more of another opportunity for the voices of the American people to be
heard."
There was no comment from Bieber himself, who according
to gossip websites was back in Los Angeles on
Wednesday after a weekend beach break in Panama .