Obama responds to CNN's smear: Join In against 'right wing hack attacks'
By John Amato Sunday Feb 24, 2008 5:45pm
Obama responds to the new smear campaign against him quite deftly. CNN and the AP should be ashamed of themselves. I didn't know lapel pins were so important to national security. Glenn Greenwald explains how easy it was for Obama to handle this nonsense:
Far more notable is Barack Obama's response to these depressingly familiar attacks. In response, he's not scurrying around slapping flags all over himself or belting out the National Anthem, nor is he apologizing for not wearing lapels, nor is he defensively trying to prove that -- just like his Republican accusers -- he, too, is a patriot, honestly. He's not on the defensive at all. Instead, he's swatting away these slurs with the dismissive contempt they deserve, and then eagerly and aggressively engaging the debate on offense because he's confident, rather than insecure, about his position
"A party that presided over a war in which our troops did not get the body armor they needed, or were sending troops over who were untrained because of poor planning, or are not fulfilling the veterans' benefits that these troops need when they come home, or are undermining our Constitution with warrantless wiretaps that are unnecessary?
"That is a debate I am very happy to have. We'll see what the American people think is the true definition of patriotism."
Jane Hamsher writes:
It's incredible that a news source which purports to be legitimate would embrace and perpetuate this kind of stuff; common sense dictates that it should stay where it was birthed, in the right wing sewer. Nevertheless, we're in a rather fluid time, when the boundaries are being established about what is going to be regarded as acceptable for the rest of the race, so it's time to come down hard and set the limits.
Go over and "Send a letter here. We can't put up with these ridiculous right wing hack attacks by our media against Democratic candidates...
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this guy is good
Excellent strategy on his part. Isn't part of patriotism upholding the founding documents of one's nation?
Oh, man. They are going to get CREAMED in November.
This guy does not make a false step!
Excellent!
Finally a Democrat that knows how to hit back at the traitors that use the flag to wipe thier lying ass's with!
Unlike the other Democrats in DC that would scurry and fall all over themselves to buy and clip on pins.
If the right-wing attacks keep backfiring like this one, I say let 'em keep at it. It just makes them look like fools.
this has really become a battle of the want-alles uber alles vs. a voice of reason.
you can pick your side, cause I know where I'm standing...
I sent in my first contribution to Obama today. If you send a minimum of $25, you get a cool t-shirt. ;-D
Hillary's desperation is showing. First the ridiculous (and hypocritical if you saw Meet the Press yesterday) plagiarism charges and now this cheap shot. I wrote a short article HERE about the emails going around questioning his patriotism (pledge of allegiance and national anthem etiquette). This will only get worse after he beats Hillary and enters the general election. Lots more material for CrooksandLiars is to come.
My political blog
"A pledge pin!!!.....on your uniform???
http://resources.bravenet.com/audio_clips/movies_tv/animal_house_-_a_ple...
this guy IS good.
Sounds like just another conspiracy to me--Republican-leaning media conspiring together to bring down Democratic candidates. Nothing new really.
And I use the term conspiracy on purpose--because it has gotten a very bad rap over the years, and yet, it is the best word to describe much of what happens in politics/government today. Go here for more:
http://theinternetisnotatruck.blogspot.com/
hahahahah pledge pin. thats awesom e dude
GOBAMA!
What an intelligent reply from Obama. He might want to add that the flags truly missing from public view are not those worn on lapels or blouses, but rather those flags neatly draped over coffins being off loaded to an Air Force base in Delaware. Tragic that so many brave Americans returned from a war based on lies, and yet so few cameras were there to memorialize their homecoming.
I saw a picture of Obama and his office in Illinois. He's got a big framed picture of Ali in the ring on the wall. He's doing the rope-a-dope and they haven't figured it out yet. Keep it up wingnuts, the same thing will happen to you.
Obama is certainly attacking the wrong people. It isn't the rightwing smear that is happening. Most of this crap comes from the Clinton camp. Proven. Heck, they have direct ties to Drudge where the smears all start. It's beyond ridiculous. Of course none of them are going to attack McCain or Hillary in the smear campaign, both have the same campaign teams that are interchangeable. As from where I sit, I see only one candidate left for Prez and that's Obama. Hillary and McWitless? Same background people, so same damn policies.
A new CNN type pole. Do you think Wolf Blitzer is a a bad enough lying scumbag to work for Fox News?
Hello Pilgrims ................ don't ya just love these flag waving ,
lapel pin patriots ?
Any time one of them gets on their soapbox , ask them what branch of the military they served in ?
The last place for a coward to hide ............. patriotism !
Nevada Bob
Anything goes and nothing matters.
The New Fair and Blanced America
Thank you, Mr. Obama, for showing so much grace under fire. You must be one of the smartest and coolest guys in the 21st century.
Off topic, but more Bush corporate nuttiness to chew on:
Please read the following paragraphs about how the Bush regime plans to do aerial pesticide spraying on cities in the San Francisco Bay Area this summer. Then decide if the Bush regime is (a) Insane, (b) Stupid, (c) Evil, or (d) All of the above.
(E)-11-Tetradecen-1-yl acetate, (E,E)-9,11-Tetradecadien-1-yl-acetate, cross-linked polyurea polymer, butylated hydroxyltoluene, polyvinyl alcohol, tricaprylyl methyl ammonium chloride, sodium phosphate, ammonium phosphate, 1,2-benzisothiozolin-3-one, 2-hydroxyl-4--n-octtyloxy-benzophenone.* These are some of the ingredients in CheckMate LBAM-F, which the U. S. Dept. of Agriculture (USDA) and the California Dept. of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) are planning to use in a massive aerial pesticide spraying over San Francisco Bay Area cities this summer to sexually harass a small moth, specifically, the Light Brown Apple Moth (LBAM) (Epiphyas postvittana).
This proposed aerial pesticide spraying of whole cities in the San Francisco Bay Area is a hysterial over-reaction by the incompetent Bush regime to a hypothetical problem. The Light Brown Apple Moth (LBAM) (Epiphyas postvittana), a native of Australia, has been present in New Zealand, New Caledonia, Hawai'i and England for many years. The residents and the farmers of these regions have been able to co-exist with this moth without having to resort to massive aerial pesticide spraying of whole cities and towns.
So far, not a single apple growing in commercial orchards in Northern California has been found to be visited by this moth. Over six hundred residents of the Santa Cruz and Monterey areas have reported new health problems after the aerial spraying of the Checkmate brand pesticide over their towns last year.
Just say no to proposed aerial pesticide spraying over cities in the San Francisco Bay Area against this small moth scheduled for this summer. We need to work on low-key biological controls for the Light Brown Apple Moth (LBAM) (Epiphyas postvittana) instead. There is no legitimate reason for the government to put the health of millions of people at risk with pesticide spraying of the air we breathe.
Visit web sites such as www.lbamspray.com, www.stopthespray.org and www.hopefortruth.com for more detailed information and suggestion on how to protest this absurd plan.
Very truly yours,
James K. Sayre
* Listed in the column of Richard Fagerlund, aka, Ask the Bugman, in the Home & Garden Section, San Francisco Chronicle, 23 February 2008.
See? That wasn't so hard, now, was it?
Why waste energy on nonsense?
Used their lame-assed attack to launch a devastating counter-attack. That's some fine political judo.
Every time I turn on the television I end up pissed off. CNN, ugh!
ConcernedCanuck @ 16:
I'd have to say you have this exactly wrong. It is irrelevant where the smears come from (and it is hardly proven that it is the Clinton camp). By ignoring them or least exclusively blaming the Republicans it will make a post convention reconciliation much easier. Uniting the party behind the chosen candidate will be a necessary condition of victory.Minimizing reasons for sour grapes makes sense.
Obama takes the high road because he IS the high road. He's got more real patriotism and soul in his pinky toe than the entire cadre of criminals inhabiting the white house. He doesn't have to do a thing but engage in legitimate debate on the issues which will swamp the GOP faster than the sinking of the Titanic.
Obama's new theme song: "Can't touch it". And they can't.
I'm impressed. This is the way you take it on. You don't go on the defensive, you go on the offensive. My boss got an email forward a while back alleging the "Obama is not patriotic" shit. It came from Republicans that listen to the horse shit from Limpbaugh and Inshannity.
It's irrelevant where these attacks originated; he's not going there because he doesn't have to. No one can touch this man with anything they've got.
Hey! Where's his goddamned lapel pin?
I didn't start out an Obama supporter but I've become one. VERY impressed. Thank god he doesn't go on the defensive like so many others.
I agree. Keep the eye on the ball - if they originated in the McClinton camp, he nevertheless ought to focus solely on McCain. Let Hillary sink into oblivion; he might as well jump-start the primaries by ignoring her.
Peter G @ 24:
Peter, it has been proven and admitted to where the smears all come from. Straight from the Clinton mouth:
Clinton Finds Way to Play Along With Drudge http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/22/us/politics/22drudge.html?_r=1&pagewan...
So much for the Great Loyalty Pin Crusade. As Major_____De Coverley said: Give everybody eat!
I'm feeling a lot better about Obama after that one. Imagine: A Democrat who fights back. Yay.
Kumbaya my Lord...
C'mon....start our own rumors. We're due.
"John McCain wasn't tortured when he was captured by the Viet Cong. He was in one of those country club prison camps where they would macrame and watch international soccer games. We located some of his captors and they tell a completely different story about his service"
It's like that Somali picture on Drudge today; the media has spent the whole day pondering why Hillary took sooooo long to make a denial, but not one bobble head examined the idea that Drudge is a Republican WHORE, that this picture is much more in line with the GOP.
ConcernedCanuck @ 16:
Yeah, you're right....but its Obama and Clinton that have the "same background people" and the "same (nearly identical) damn policies".
So its come down to a half-assed karaoke/congeniality contest between misogyny vs. racism.
What a FUBAR'd disaster this primary has become!
Par for the Democratic party course. Urrrp.
This is an excellent reply. So refreshing rather than a typical counter-attack laced with equally shrill and useless rhetoric. Obama is acting like an adult.
What really gets me is why the average registered republican isn't totally embarrassed by the sandbox antics of their elected representatives. I mean, as much as I rail and wail, when I slow down and gather my breath I find it hard to believe that the larger part of the repub constituents across the land can't see this crap for what it is. And if they can...they MUST be embarrassed, right? No? I dunno.....
Interesting strategy. Hmmm...focus on the important issues and dismiss all talk of flag lapels and pantsuits as being distractions. Hmmm. It just MIGHT WORK! Get Frank Luntz on the phone! We've got a new gimmick!
Still, will the voters fall for Obama's blatant attempt to reframe the war debate around effectiveness when we all know in our hearts that what's really relevant is what kind of bling you bring to the debate?
Don't know. It's a stretch.
Johnny2Bad @ 36:
Actually Johnny, no. McCain's camp and Hillary's camp all have close ties. Right down to Penn and McCain's campaign manager working for the same lobby company. Do a search and you'll see it. A vote for Hillary is a vote for McCain.
This is a good man. He's proving himself more and more - I think he accomplishes without really trying because he focuses on what's real and not the rubbish that's thrown at him. If he wins the nomination (and then the presidency) - what a win that will be! How amazing and against the odds it will be! Wonderful beyond words.
ConcernedCanuck @ 16:
Oh please, Canuck. Why in the world wouls A CLINTON STAFFER who ADMITS TO BEING A CLINTON STAFFER give anything to Drudge! You DO know the Drudge/Clinton connection don't you? Please, dude.
ConcernedCanuck @ 31:
Since when does touting your own fundraising prowess constitute a smear against Senator Obama.This source cites no one at the Drudge report as to who their contact might be within the Clinton campaign or even if such a person exists. It is not much more than a smear in its' own right. More importantly it proves nothing and even if it did would not undermine my argument for post convention reconciliation.
Who you gonna call? Ghost Busters? Nah!
We're calling Obama - the RepubliCON Scum Buster!
Pickler was promoted to cover national political issues for the AP in December 2002, and was the lead reporter covering Democrats in the 2004 United States Presidential Election. In her coverage of the 2004 presidential race, Pickler drew criticism for her treatment of Democratic candidates, including Howard Dean [8] and John Kerry. [9]
Pickler worked as a White House correspondent until September 2006, leaving to cover national politics, including the 2008 United States Presidential Election. [10]
In covering the 2008 election, Pickler again came under scrutiny for her coverage of the Democratic candidates, particularly Barack Obama. A March 27, 2007 article written by Pickler entitled "Is Obama All Style and Little Substance?" was attacked for its claim that Obama had "delivered no policy speeches and provided few details about how he would lead the country" in his campaign up to that point.[11] The liberal media watchdog group Media Matters for America countered by pointing out that Obama had given numerous policy speeches on Iraq[12], Israel[13], health care[14], and other topics.[15] In February 2008, Pickler again came under criticism after she wrote an article in which she detailed Republican charges that Barack Obama is unpatriotic. Her only source was Roger Stone, a notorious Republican consultant[16]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nedra_Pickler
RueMorgue @ 30:
.
After watching her campaign from last week through today, it appears she's adopted a scorched Earth strategy, or as the Chinese say: jiao tu. If she keeps this up much longer, she'll badly hurt the Democratic chances in November. Makes one wonder seriously whether or not at this point she's actually competing with Lieberman to be McCain's pick as VP.
Good response. A guy who can punch this crap square in the face and send it home crying to mommy and poppy crap.
broadsword @ 35:
Here's the original. Which has been circulating the Right Wing Sites long before this Hillary Did It Scam that showed up the past day.
http://hotimg2.fotki.com/b/75_85/224_153/o-bob.jpg
strawberrybitch @ 41:
Read the link. THEY ADMIT IT.
FUCK THE MEDIA. So sick of this shit!!!!
Peter G @ 42:
"Tracy Sefl, a former Democratic National Committee official, who has established a friendly working relationship with Mr. Drudge — and through whom Mrs. Clinton’s campaign often worked quietly to open a line of communication."
There is the name.
L.A. Confidential @ 47:
L.A. Thanks for the links. I swear I'm this close to sitting out this general because democrats are proving to be as stupid as republicans are sneaky and cruel.
Rico @ 45:
Let her do it. Don't forget that part of a scorched Earth strategy is destroying one's own foothold to deny it to the enemy. Frankly, Clinton doesn't have enough of a foothold she can afford to burn.
L.A. Confidential @ 47:
Hillary's staff admits to giving it to Drudge. They "share" info with him since last spring LA.
Thank you FireDogLake and Jane Hamsher for providing an incentive and opportunity for us to use our writing skills and put them to use in newspapers across the country. That is the way we are going to fight back and reach new audiences. I appreciate the effort.
Ivan @ 7:
I got the same thing. :)
Nice!
ConcernedCanuck @ 53:
According to Rawstory, they are denying it and if you have proof you should pass it along. They're asking for it.
CalGeorge @ 3:
Not sure how anyone can make such a prediction, given the recent history of US politics.
If one thing's for sure, the US voter can be fooled, scammed and bamboozled time and time again - because the US voter is f***ing stupid.
Canuknotusa @ 57:
Yes, yes we are. Thanks for rubbing it in.
Obama continues to show the maturity, poise, and common sense, that I for one want to see in our POTUS. Cheap attacks against him just end up shining light on his detractors and expose them for the dull witted desperadoes they are. I mean, the guy isn't perfect, but really, is that all you got?
his middle name?
no lapel flag?
African garb?
hand not on heart picture?
talks too pretty?
teenage drug use?
so called "plagiarism"?
weak sauce
ConcernedCanuck @ 50:
Which still doesn't answer how this constitutes a smear campaign. If they manage to get Drudge to say something not entirely toxic about Hillary how does this make them responsible for what crap Drudge throws at anyone else. You are making some mighty large assumptions here.
Mrs. Clinton is learning to play nice with the Drudge Report, and the powerful, elusive and conservative-leaning man behind it. That man, Matt Drudge . . .
LOL how can anyone take this seriously?
Thats 1 for Obama, 0 for the Crappy News Network!
strawberrybitch @ 41:
Strawberry,
Did you even read this article?
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/22/us/politics/22drudge.html?_r=2&pagewan...
namaste @ 27:
Word!
Remember when the self proclaimed "Party That Best Defends America (Republiscum) didn't prove how easy to defeat the US military was?"
Remember when the self proclaimed "Party of Law and Order (Republiscum)" tried to impeach the President of the United States (Bill Clinton) for trying to keep his extramarital affair secret?
Those demanding Clinton's scalp included:
Republican Congressman Randy "Duke" Cunningham, now serving an 8 year sentence in the California State Penitentiary for corruption.
Republican Congressman John McCain whose extramarital affairs weren't forced into the light of day until recently.
Republican Congressman Mark Foley whose email pedophilia led to his resignation in disgrace and claims he was abused by Catholic Priests as a child. It's a travesty of justice to think that an abused child becomes an abuser himself. They despise child abusers.
Republican Congressman Richard Renzi was indicted for corruption on 35 counts including conspiracy.
Republican New York Police Commissioner and Bush Administration Cabinet nominee Bernard Kerik was indicted for corruption (he is currently facing a maximum of 142 years in prison).
Republican Congressman Larry Craig plead guilty to soliciting homosexual sex in a public restroom with an undercover police officer. Craig still represents the GOP in Idaho.
[Deleted. Still off topic. For the millionth time: Find an open thread for this story. I'll give you credit, you actually stayed on topic a bit longer than you do normally, but still. You're very close to getting a time out. Site Monitor]
L.A. Confidential @ 61:
It's kind of hard not to, given the connections Mr. Penn has to the McCain campaign.
However, I personally don't believe that Clinton issued it. My point is that it doesn't matter. Even if she were involved, it would be best for Obama to nail McCain with it, given his connections to Penn, and completely ignore Clinton. Thus he'll help to begin heal the schism she inflicted upon the party ranks.
Peter G @ 60:
No I'm not making assumptions at all. I didn't believe it either until I read it, then reread it...
How did he get that?
And that my friend, makes total sense.
ConcernedCanuck @ 39:
Oh, God...."CC" You're drinkin the Koolaide. And so a vote for Obama is a vote for Jesus Robert F. Luther King?
Good Grief. Give me a break.
The back-bacon has slipped off your touq.
Get used to it. These are the friendly attacks. What are you going to do when you do not have Hillary to blame? The election is already lost.
ConcernedCanuck @ 16:
No, you're delusional. The Corporate Media, and Nedra Pickler in particular, have a long history of attacking, smearing and promoting right wing propaganda against any and every Democratic politician. Since you don't really seem to understand the media system in the US, I'll try and explain it to you. As corporations with vested financial interests in which party controls the Presidency, and thus the FCC or Federal Communications Commission, the Corporate Media are not politically neutral, nor do they support any Democratic politician. They favor the Republican's policy of corporate deregulation. Currently the head of the FCC, Republican Kevin Martin, is engaged in pushing through deregulation of media ownership rules that determine how many outlets one company can control in a given area. He is doing this in spite of massive public outcry, opposition from the two Democrats on the board and Democrats in Congress. You won't hear anything about this from any Corporate Media outlet, and not by coincidence. The Corporate Media, like most business interests, is not politically neutral and has a financial stake in which party controls the relevant regulatory agency. They do not want to risk having Democrats in control at the FCC who will regulate their industry and determine how our valuable public property, the broadcast spectrum, is used to serve the public interest. These media ownership restriction effect newspapers as well. The lifting of these regulations means that soon, all avenues of communication, be it newspapers, your internet provider, and your local radio and TV stations could all be controlled by one company.
This, in a nutshell, explains the behavior of the Corporate Media and why they have and continue to smear and debase any and every Democratic politician.
ConcernedCanuck @ 65:
And even if every word of that were true not one example cited constitutes any sort of smear campaign against Senator Obama.
the Obama campaign certainly doesn't need my help, but here it is, the Script for Obama's 1st general election ad, i call it The Pre-emptive Strike
Hi! I am Barack Obama & I am running for president because I believe We as a Country need to make some pretty big changes.
I know for some folks change can be a pretty scary thing, and you'll probably hear some pretty (zany/silly/goofy) things this election season.
That being said, I am not now or have I ever been a member of the Communist Party.
As president I will not be taking my orders from the Vatican, Salt Lake City or anywhere but you, the American people.
Keep that in mind during the silly season of this election.
Johnny2Bad @ 67:
God dammit, I am fucking sick and tired of this shit. Let's have it out now.
You call us 'cultists'. Is it inconceivable that we've studied the positions of the respective nominees and have made our own conclusions? Is it wholly impossible that we've chosen who we regard as the more electable candidate in the general election? And yet the Clinton camp insists on continuing with petty namecalling, while at the same time leveling at us the charge that we're splitting the party.
I don't have a problem with Clinton's supporters, so long as they don't have a problem with debating the facts. But I've absolutely had it with ad hominem attacks. What's more 'cultish'? Supporting a popular candidate, or going down with the ship?
RueMorgue @ 65:
I concur. See comment @24.
Johnny2Bad @ 67:
Oh come on Johnny. Her head of her entire campaign, also works with the head of McCain's campaign. You don't