Worst. Journalism. Ever.
By Steve Benen Wednesday Nov 28, 2007 7:28amSome Barack Obama critics have made up a bunch of lies about him being a secret Muslim. The stories are bogus, and have been debunked repeatedly.
But that didn't stop the Washington Post from running an inexplicable front-page story.
Despite his denials, rumors and e-mails circulating on the Internet continue to allege that Obama (D-Ill.) is a Muslim, a "Muslim plant" in a conspiracy against America, and that, if elected president, he would take the oath of office using a Koran, rather than a Bible, as did Rep. Keith Ellison (D-Minn.), the only Muslim in Congress, when he was sworn in earlier this year.
Despite his "denials"? What about "despite reality"? The words "lie" and "deception" were conveniently left out of the lengthy piece.
BarbinMD has a great post on this: "[A] front page story about rumors. Actually, calling them rumors gives them too much credence. It would be more accurate to call them blatant lies, yet the Washington Post has decided to give them a national platform. The only thing missing from this story is the siren at the top of the page."
To borrow a line from Prof. DeLong, "Why oh why can't we have a better press corps?"
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this is worse than the run up to the war??? and the MsM fueling the fires?
this is worse than the CONSTANT manufacture of consent and opinion??
I guess Mr. Obama is starting to ruffle some feathers of the elite. This isn't reporting, it's a hit job. And newspapers think it's because of the net.
So much wrong here. Ellison did not "take his oath with a Koran," he held a Koran while all of the new Congressmen were sworn in together.
Why dont people start suing?
They may not be able to win because they are public figures, but at least it would bring the lies to the front.
Freedom of speech should not mean that u can lie all u want without consequences , the press should have a higher standard
Why the fu*k would they play into this bs? They aren't "rumors" they are "lies". Big hunking difference in those two words. And they are breathing life into a dead story. What's the point in doing that?
Damn the reporter and editor who printed this tripe.
To be fair, if you read the entire article, it does assert in various ways that Obama is Christian.
I don't know why religion has to have *any* part in this, and as long as we allow it to, it continues to cloud the issues. We should demand the separation of church and state and ignore the religion altogether.
If more people were willing to write letters or op-eds taking religion off the table, maybe the idiot press corp would get the message. Or, maybe not.
It's all true. The story was corroborated by a Nigerian prince who needs help with a bank transaction.
Cause it is not journalism. These are for profit companies, with employees who work for salaries and status. They manufacture a product for public consumption and the public does not want the truth.
I expect this sort of stuff from Fox, but I expect much better from the Wash. Post.
Are they becoming so lazy that they stoop to using this sort of thing as "news" for their front page?
I'm just glad to see the Post is keeping an eye on things like secret Muslims, 'cause those are the ones that scare me the mostest.
Stay Classy, Washington Post, and STAY ALERT!
“Why oh why can’t we have a better press corps?”.....because that implies that the press isn't doing their job, and in fact, they actually are. It's just that the truth doesn't have anything to do with it.
They're also still claiming that Obama attended a radical school ... HARVARD!
Now that Obama is gaining on Clinton, people are panicking. Obama should sue.
If he was muslim and he tricked us to vote for him under the impression he was a Christian would it really matter? We elect him and he goes "Boo, I am a muslim!!!!" nothing really changes. It isn't like Osama bin Laden will become our vice-president because we have cultural diversity. I am an atheist, but it is not like I won't vote for the best candidate and if that is a muslim then I am going to vote for him. If Mitt Romney ran as an atheist with the same anti-gay marriage and pro-life platform I wouldn't vote for him. Religion is such an unimportant issue that these reports of "conspiracies to elect muslims" isn't just far-fetched, but also funny.
Although didn't a South Carolina Senator say once that if we didn't solve illegal immigration we will have more muslim Senators. Not even he could imagine a *gasp* muslim president!
Yes, because we know the American sheeple would just suddenly whip out their prayer rugs, Britney and Paris would don burqas, and we'd have Shari'a In Your Neighborhood!
Now, under whose Administration did we try selling our ports to an Arab nation without the proper review? Under whose Administration is Citigroup getting bought up by Arab investors while we're being told 'the economy is just fine'? Under whose Administration is the dollar so weak that a play by Venezuela and Iran to have OPEC back the Euro actually a credible threat?
Oh, yeah, it's the BUSH Administration.
The fourth column will suicide eventually, replaced by the net. That's why they are trying to commandeer the net before it gets too real.
This just shows what i have always thought: Some people are going to go apeshit if a someone who is non white, non male or non christian ever becomes president. The rumor that the Washington Post is a Liberal newspaper was debunked decades ago.
Ah! The spirit of Karl Rove survives the 2006 election. Let the swiftboating begin
pardon me, too sick and tired to make sense.
My reply to those that say, "But isn't he a Muslim?" is to say, "Actually, he is a Christian, and you know, that worries me. I have heard some scary things about those Christians!"
What's next WaPO? Bluto was right--the Germans DID bomb Pearl Harbor? Elvis was abducted by aliens? JFK is alive and living in the West Wing of the White House?
I guess journalistic integrity means nothing to these selfish, sociopathic bastards. What a joke of a newspaper.
Joementum @ 7:
Indeed! I sent that prince ALL my banking info, SS#, the works! Did my good deed for the day, lol! Uhhhh BTW, anybody got a 20 spot they can loan me?
This is going to change the closer we get to the primaries they harder and slimer the republicans are going to post trash against the candidates.
First Hillary had an affair and killed Vince Foster. Then she had an affair with the PM of Pakistan. Now she is having a Lesbian affair with one of your campaign members.
I guess Hillary is used to the hate post. And if Obama is going to continue to run he better slam them and get on with it, cause it is going to continue. The republicans know no other way to campaign other than lie and steal and cheat. They know they can't win, so they cheat.
Read the rest of the article. The "Madrassa schooling" lie is also treated as a rumor merely denied by Obama, as opposed to an actual, literal falsehood exposed by real reporting:
"An early rumor about Obama's faith came from Insight, a conservative online magazine. The Insight article said Obama had "spent at least four years in a so-called madrassa, or Muslim seminary, in Indonesia." It attributed this detail to background information the Clinton campaign had been collecting.
After Obama denied the rumor, Jeffrey Kuhner, Insight's editor, said Obama's "concealment and deception was to be the issue, not so much his Muslim heritage," and he suggested that the source of the madrassa rumor was the Clinton campaign. The Clinton campaign denied the charge. "
Question Blog @ 1:
The run up to the war, etc., represent the whole enormous school of piranha that has been savaging the truth with increasing frenzy since 2000. This attack on Obama -- and it is an attack, unquestionably -- is just one of the piranha in the MSM river, but it's we've caught and brought to light in all its repugnant ugliness.
Obama should call the Post out on it. If I were he, I'd be totally outraged and want to let the world know my outrage: first of all, I'm not a Muslim, but if I were I'd be damned proud to tell you I was; second of all, if the Post thinks -- as it apparently does -- that being a Muslim is somehow diminishing to a person's patriotism, then the Post should be ashamed of itself; third, Representative Ellison did not swear his oath of office on the Koran -- but neither did any other Representative swear it on a bible. That the Post -- supposedly a respectable paper -- would deliberately dissemble and indicate otherwise when it knows it's not true, is disgraceful and disgusting.
Dammit, Barack, call the s.o.b.s out on this and don't stop until they cry "uncle"!
lorelei @ 6:
To be fair my ass. The article hit all the buttons the nutjob 24%ers will see. "Muslim plant" oh my! "Koran" oh dear! "A conspiracy against America" mommmmmmie! To put this LIE on the front page was reprehensible.
Journalism is only as good as the corporate masters want it to be.
Oops -- I meant to say "It's one we've caught" My point: this one story isn't worse than the totality of smears, rumors, lies, and misconstrusions the MSM has fostered and/or acquiesced to over the last 7 years. It is just one ugly, graphic example of how low the MSM is willing to stoop.
I really do hope that Obama calls the Post out on this -- and not just in some obscure comment in one of his speeches, either. he needs to make this the big issue that it really is: the Post crafted a hatchet job and should acknowledge its error and apologize to Obama and the American Muslim community -- and Christian, Jewish, and all American communities -- for its thinly veiled attack on a religious belief and faith, and it's blatant attempt to re-paint a presidential candidate with the tar of "questionable loyalty" to his Country.
I don't think the problem with the article in WaPo is bad press. I think the article was written to start war against Barack Obama because it it now obvious that he cannot be ignored or minimized. He is competitive with every other candidate in the race and that cannot be tolerated. The message of the article was to inflame the readers hatred of Muslims and African Americans. They wouldn't go there if they had a lot of other baggage and scandals with which to hang him. He is a formidable opponent. They had to get down and dirty quickly before this situations get out of hand. Imagine what the rest of the world thinks of Americans when they read these articles from "reputable" newspapers. There is much for Americans to be ashamed of right now.
Until traditional media "journalists?", editors, celebrity pundits, multimillion dollar news readers are held accountable for their lies, deception and outright propoganda this will continue. America's traditional media is the best propoganda machine the world has seen since the 3rd Reich or the Soviet Union. America's traditional 4th estate is a disgrace to democracy.
I suppose we're just supposed to shut up and shop at Wal-Mart.
I heard a rumor that Trent Lott is resigning over an affair he had with Rudy Giuliani.
if he has any presidential inspirations at all...he will have to go on the attack,and rightfully so.
Isaac @ 32:
The rumor I heard was Larry Craig. Whoever it was the rumor is out their and it must be investigated by our 4th Estate lap dogs, I mean watch dogs.
Please post the video from Olbermann's show last night about Rudy's ties to muslim terrorists. It was the lead story last night.
Obama's neck and neck with Hillary going into the Iowa primaries and her camp is getting nervous.
And finding out that the gay ex-general asking a question about gays in the military being one of her camp members (a plant at the Debates) are not helping her at all. It's the second time she's been caught planting her staff at these debates, or press conferences, and it doesn't make her look smart, but desperate.
"Secret Muslim"? A Manchurian Candidate? How nutty is this? What always gets me is that these very same people, if they possessed an iota of insight, would just replace 'Muslim' with, I don't know...'Christian', or whatever religion they happen to be, then they would perhaps see how silly this whole thing is.
That's not to say that I dispute such a thing as a Manchurian Candidate can exist. We see them every election cycle. These are the people that during their campaigns claim that they are going to support the rule of law, respect the Constitution, and bridge divisions.
Instead we get George Bush, who breaks or ignores any law he finds inconvenient, keeps the Constitution handy to wipe his arse with, and whose day is just not complete if he isn't pitting one group against another.
So there are definitely Manchurian Candidates out there, though this flap over Obama is not only silly in a very juvenile kind of way, it smacks of desperation.
It's not journalism. that stopped during the clinton Administration, so it must be Clinton's fault.
who is this perry asshole anyway? and what the fuck has he written?
methinks adam nagourney has a twin in the capital city.
Janet @ 26:
That's why it's so evil. The Wash Post can insist: "Oh, we didn't accuse Barack of being a Muslim. We just pointed out, on our front page, that many people have raised the question before, as they have about his apparent refusal to place his hand over his heart during the Anthem because he's a disloyal -- no, no, we're not saying it, but others have -- that he's a disloyal son of a Muslim terrorist who wants to eat your babies -- a terrible thing to say, and we point out that Barack has denied ever eating babies or planting bombs in school buildings. Terrible accusations, but the candidate has denied them all, yet the accusations continue to be made and we will tell you what they are, on our front page, whenever we feel it necessary to report to you, our readers, something that others are saying about the candidate, Barack Obama, who denies being a Muslim terrorist and baby-eater. We just want to be fair because we are, after all, the Post, a respectable newspaper. We at the Post like to say "We report,you decide."
Or really??
They are "bogus" claims?!
I think you haven't checked out OsamaLovesObama.com. I put all my evidence there showing that Barack HUSSEIN Obama (Osama?) is a tool of Al Qaeda, and will stop and nothing to destroy America.
It will be like 5000 9/11s if he is elected!!
Don't you find it strange that he has all this fund raising money, but he won't tell you how much of it comes from Al Qaeda or other terrerists?
And for those of you who think my main site LiberalsMustDie.com is just a joke.... some sad bit of satire to make fun of conservatives, you are DEAD WRONG!! God forbids satire, and I follow the word of God to the letter!
With the election of a Democratic president and increased majorities in the Senate and House it will be time to deny access to all those in the Washington press corps, the celebrity pundits, propogandists and shills that have done the bidding of the Republican Party. Without access their "careers" are over.
bmw 528 @ 21:
good post.........boycott the WaPo...lets start it here.
Liberal Ass Kicker @ 40:
I don't care what they say about you, you're a funny, funny guy! ;-)
The WP has been a tool of the Right Wing since Katharine Graham died.
Great example of what happens when you trust the brand instead of the man (in this case, woman).
A good example is the absorption of the brand "Conservative" by the Republicans. People will trust the brand no matter how far from the original product current management takes the franchise. There is noting "Conservative" about GWB, yet the hypnotized 26% remain loyal to the brand.
Same is true for our flag - the uber-brand of the US - people will follow the flag even when it is used to destroy the Constitution.
Same is true for the cross in Christianity - it can be used to get people to act in direct opposition to the values and moral code it is intended to represent.
Only the weak minded follow a brand.
[Deleted. All caps]
Liberal Ass Kicker @ 40:
Blog whore alert!!!
To my delight, I found a link to email the author of this article. I emailed him to express my disgust with how the media has been instrumental in misleading the American public on so many levels. The media that is supposed to be the watchdog of our democracy is now largely a lapdog and source of constant propaganda. As always, Dennis Kucinich has a plan to help correct his injustice to the American people. But of course the media will never let you know anything about him. He has way too much character for them to stomach. Wake up people.
Kucinich 08 - Americas hope
Liberal Ass Kicker @ 40:
OMFG!!! Can you believe this nut job? LOL. What an ignorant tool.
lorelei @ 6:
The problem is that even reporting it like this, and giving it FRONT PAGE ****ING EXPOSURE does nothing but further the rumor, from those who would not read the whole thing.
It's shoddy reporting about a non-news item, and it takes away attention from real news, like the genuine suspicion that Guiliani misappropriated funds from taxes to put toward a tryst while he was Mayor RIGHT AFTER 'Everything Changes After' 9/11.
Every place else seems to have ignored that story, but at least they didn't do a blatant hit job on a candidate while ignoring a serious potential ethical breach by another.
CoIntelPRo @ 38:
I beg to differ. When Regan was elected, even before he took office he held a meeting with all the major media players and asked them not to criticize his policies until they had a chance to work. They complied and now our country is a pile of shit that the Corporate Media pretends doesn't stink.
Excuse me, i meant Reagan.
......oh wait......
......silly rabbit......
......we already used that one on McCain.....
NOW... WE'RE NOT SAYING IT IS TRUE.... BUT....have you ever noticed:
Obama and Osama each have 5 letters in their name
Saddam was captured in a SPIDER HOLE...OBAMA doesn't like the phrase SPIDER HOLE
Hitler went with someone named Eva... Obama is related to someone named Eva
AND YOU WILL NOTICE... "OBAMA THE CANDIDATE" AND "ATTILA THE HUN" HAVE THE SAME MIDDLE NAME....."the"
MOST CONDEMNING OF ALL... if you check his hands, you will notice that Osama has FINGERPRINTS all over his hands!!!
Now.... I'm not calling him EVIL REINCARNATE THE SON OF THE DEVIL... but you notice that you NEVER EVER see him at the same time as you see CHARLES MANSON...
Any Questions???
OT: HENRY HYDE IS DEAD!
I'll give the rightwing 1 hour before blaming it on Clinton.
He won't be missed.
Ah hell, it seems like a balanced story and it needs it be out there so people can see the rumors for what they are. It's not like he had an affair (clinton) or dodged the draft (clinton) where at this time in the campaign you couldn't really prove or disprove they were true (both proven true). Besides
All Hail Queen hillary!
Liberal Ass Kicker @ 40:
First off, your creed and your claims of following "god" are mutually exclusive.
You bear false witness.
You condone violence against your brother.
You seek to take the right of vengeance from your lord.
Secondly, I hope that the religion in which you claim to believe is the one you face on Judgement Day. Jesus will have his whip at the ready (if I were you, I wouldn't be holding a flag when I get there).
Fortunately for you, that whole scenario is bullshit - you have nothing to fear, and you know it.
I'd also like to thank you for serving as a great example of someone using a brand to destroy that which the brand represents.
And, finally, you appear to be a disgusting little person. Please work on improving this situation.
Liberal Ass Kicker @ 40:
terrertsts?WOoooooooooOOOOOOOoooooooOOOOOOOoooooOOOOOOOOOOOoooooooooOOOOOOOOO...
....alright...who left the lid off of the LOONIE BIN?
[Edited for format-Sitemonitor]
I'm not an Obama supporter...but this is wrong. Just disgusting....the facts are so easily proven; what the HELL?
This thread just went into a wide stance.
xoites defends Constitution @ 58:
Is it tapping its feet?
I hope that isn't a fair representation of the fear and paranoia that people are actually feeling in the US toward muslim people.
It's pretty ridiculous.
the god damn lazy Scofield Bible cult at worldnetdaily love the Barack's a Muslim stories to get their rapture bunny readers to buy storable food and other survivalist items
Marcus Aurelius @ 59:
Dunno, my volumn is down.
http://liberalsmustdie.com/
Oh this IS an awesome satire site, LMAO!!!
Liberal Ass Kicker @ 40:
Hey, you should all go check out these web sites. They are a hoot! He has 5 posts, and that includes the ones from him and me. LOL. We should all go tell him what a wonderful (sic) job he is doing. After all, he was nice enough to come here with his comments. Let's go there with ours.
Anytime I hear the whole "Obama is a Muslim" line, I always refer them to the above speech
I is about the role of religion in politcs. It truly is a Martin Luther King/JFK moment.
They always stop their attacks after that. Even some of my religious conservative friends decide to support Obama after seeing it.
You really have to check it out.
Let's apply the Times/WaPo style of Journalism to the WaPo:
They'll do ANYTHING to get Rudy's tax payer sponsored trysts with his mistress and his ties to terrorists off the front page.
Time to send an email around about Rudy.
Here's the comment I left at LiberalsMustDie.com lol
This is THE best political satire site EVER!!! Even the "comments" from the so called rightwingers are funny...excellent!
Joementum @ 7:
ROTFLMAO!!!
Now, that's just dang funny!!!
Good one!
Liberal Ass Kicker @ 40:
Caboosa @ 20:
He's worse! He's a CHRISTIAN!
Some one told me that Guilanni is a Don in the Mafia..I think the post should report asap!!!!
I have also heard whispers that Romney wants to take his oath on the Book of Mormon..and move DC to Utah!!!
Hyatt..Get on it boy!!!!
email your disgust....
NewsAlert@letters.washingtonpost.com, letters@washpost.com, webnews@washingtonpost.com, georgewill@washpost.com, jimhoagland@washpost.com, ombudsman@washpost.com, kurtzh@washpost.com, abramowitz@washpost.com, achenbachj@washpost.com, allenh@washpost.com, allenm@washpost.com, aranam@washpost.com, argetsinger@washpost.com, bakerp@washpost.com, balzd@washpost.com, barrj@washpost.com, barrs@washpost.com, bennettp@washpost.com, benningv@washpost.com, beyersd@washpost.com, bonesteelm@washpost.com, boustanyn@washpost.com, religion@washpost.com, brownw@washpost.com, browar57@aol.com, carlsonp@washpost.com, castanedar@washpost.com, chans@washpost.com, chandlerc@washpost.com, rajiv@washpost.com, cheaterry@washpost.com, chod@washpost.com, claiborneb@washpost.com, clarkp@washpost.com, cohensh@washpost.com, cohnd@washpost.com, coopermana@washpost.com, copelandl@washpost.com, davenportc@washpost.com, davisp@washpost.com, dawsone@washpost.com, dayk@washpost.com, deanec@washpost.com, deaned@washpost.com, deinerj@washpost.com, deyoungk@washpost.com, dirdam@washpost.com, dobbsm@washpost.com, drezenr@washpost.com, duttj@washpost.com, dvorakp@washpost.com, edsallt@washpost.com, eggend@washpost.com, ahrensf@washpost.com, aizenmann@washpost.com, nightwatch@washpost.com, donovanc@washpost.com
I think it was my neighbor that told me Mccain was converted to
communism in Hanoi..and is a Manchurian candidate. Where is the Post on this vital info?
@#6 (Lorelei) ...
It was Richard Nixon who said, "I wouldn't want anyone not to vote for Kennedy because he is a Catholic." a
a perfect example of saying one thing while intending another.
Fair has nothing to do with it. Fairness and good journalism does not include giving equal time to specious data and
disproven claims.
On a more serious note..and institution that interferes with the the American people's
political discourse could be said to be an enemy of American Democracy. A newspaper
that injects outright falsehoods into the American political scene could be said not to
"be with America" and therefore by winger rules " with the terrorists".
It is highly unlikely that band of Terrorists Rag Tags is going to invade the East Coast
and "fight us here" but it is quite likely that American's will again make a poor selection to
the Office of President with the likes of the Post guiding us.
Who really is the bad guy here? Who really is jacking with our Democracy?
In the interests of accuracy, shouldn't the Washington Post story have read:
'Rumors and e-mails circulating on the Washington Post'?
Mary @ 65:
Thanks for sharing this. It reaffirms my hopes about him.
What's the difference if Obama is a Muslim, or not?
Aren't we prejudice-free, religion-blind?
What if he won, and were revealed as a 'Secret Catholic'? Would we restrict all children from entering the White House, and coming within 100 yards of him?
What if he were 'revealed' as a Negro? Would we prevent people from wearing sheets in his presence?
The only thing we need to be concerned about, is that he doesn't profess to speak with 'god'.
We've had enough of that crap.
If it lies, it leads!
Actually, given how docile the majority of Americans have been as thieves walked off with two elections and have
effectively stripped citizens of their Fourth Amendment protections, if there was a secret conspiracy
with a sleeper-agent president, nothing would change ...
Why Can't The Dems Get This Right?
The Washington Post. A kindler, gentler New York Post.
Speaking of bad journalism, did anybody see the Today show and watch Matt Lauer and Tim Russert spend half of the segment talking about whether an audience member asking a question was a plant by Hillary Clinton. Forget the fact that it was a legitimate question. It MIGHT be a PLANT ... FROM HILLARY! Let's change the focus of this debacle from the weak answers by the Republicans to an attack on Hillary!
SWIFTBOATING
It's not just for breakfast, or John Kerry, any more.
As more and more people looking for thoughtful, reasoned information turn to the Internet, weak-willed editors such as can be found at WaPo will find themselves resorting to greater inflammatory nonsense, straddling the line between truth and rumor with a very wide stance, in order that people will pay attention to them. Their agenda is not the truth, their agenda is to promulgate the viewpoint of the power brokers within WaPo. The aura of respectability which envelops WaPo is largely an illusion.
I take everything WaPo "reports" with a very large grain of salt, until its accuracy can be verified with an Internet site I trust.
OT
(A quick edit of comment #56 [mudshark], will fix the horizontal scroll of the the page)
xoites defends Constitution @50
I wasn't blaming clinton for this, though he did sign the death of the 'fairness doctrine'. I was just saying that it became blatant during his era. but you're right; the REAL free passes started with raygun.