MSNBC's Contessa Brewer Helps Spread False Rumor That Obama Gave 'the Finger'
By Bill W. Saturday Apr 19, 2008 1:30pm
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Contessa Brewer: On the campaign trail in Raleigh North Carolina yesterday Obama made an unfortunate gesture. [...] Some think it looks like a flip off.
There really is no excuse for anything posing as a news network to claim that 'the blogs are buzzing about this one" and promote it so when any cursory search on the internets would have found numerous examples of just how specious a charge it was -- like the video shot from the side here. As John Cole put it: "Notice something problematic? Like a few extra fingers? What a total joke."
As Media Matters notes, this is a story that made the rounds on sites like RedState and FoxNews.com but had already been thoroughly debunked before Contessa gave new life to the ridiculous lie. Speaking of offensive fingers, did I just miss the time any of the major news networks gave any attention at all to the only presidential candidate I can ever recall that actually gave anyone the finger with the video rolling?
The liberal media, indeed.
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lol i love that bush video. that is certainly a person i would have a beer with.
obama should flip the bird sometime. i think it can be quite classily strong when used in the appropriate context.
Watch Jeremy Scahill goes to rural Pennsylvania from RealTime.
Also watch Bill Maher finish out his show with a discussion of bitterness and elitism.
It's just surreal how Obama's tiniest actions are being transformed into "scandals" by our corporate media. To see this in the environment of a McCain nomination-- a figure the media wouldn't ever criticize even *before* he was the Republican nominee, only makes their behavior stand out even more.
We've all seen the corporate media outlets play this game before, but I don't think I've ever seen it done so intensely or shamelessly.
Bush not only gave us the finger. He gave us the shaft.
whaaa???
she left out THE BEST PART!
http://youtube.com/watch?v=kzXcNgCr0nk
I love the comparison that is no comparison.
Wow, 6 frames... half a second of scratching his face, is flipping someone off?
I was going to do my 10 page paper on Barack's racism speech and the reactions to it, but I'm quickly being convinced that the lack of substance in current news will be the subject. How sad.
All I can think is that the news organizations are so afraid of Obama and Hillary's policies that they'll do anything to prevent any kind of weakening of their corporate structure by continuously making silly claims.
I don't think the media is Liberal or Conservative at all. They are absolutely CAPITALIST though, which means they will throw support behind the candidate that gives them the best option to make money.
The only way I can see for the news to be free from this cycle is to somehow make news programs non-profit. Of course, I don't know how.
I love how right before he was talking about the media reporting on unimportant things. It shows that the media is not even listening to what Obama is saying.
Sachem @ 2:
I was going to mention those - I do think that most people are more attuned to Obama's message than the media wants us to be. (Bill Maher is so courageously honest, I wonder how much longer he'll last on corporate media.)
The MSM wouldn't pay attention to video footage of George W. Bush pulling down his pants and taking a dump on the side of the road... and they surely haven't cared about him taking a dump all over democracy.
It's a good thing Barack Obama is already follower of Jesus, because with all this unwarranted scrutiny he's under, his ability to turn the other cheek comes in handy.
Another non-story we must spend the week discussing because MSM does not want to discuss real issues.
This "story" isn't even worth the time it takes to print it, say it, or read it.
I love how she says, "They don't call it the silly season for nothing."
If it's so silly -- and it is -- why the fuck are you wasting air time with it?
"Contessa" is apparently a seriously goofy wingnut bitch.
Here we go with the straw man again. Some think, some people say and some are saying. These are straw man tactics. Yeah, some people say, think or whatever because the people in the media are saying or thinking it.
Ahh, your liberal media at it again....
I really just hope this is a sign of how scared and desperate the right-wing machine is...
Pathetic. These aren't even mccain's people pointing out these desperate falsehoods, the 'librul' media is doing the job for them.
The race to the gutter is on.
Did you notice Ms. Brewer swallowing hard at the end of her story?
What was she swallowing? Does it explain how she got her job at CNN? What do you think?
They don't say "the media sucks" for nothing.
dear Contessa and MSNBC;
How do hacks like you get to keep your jobs? This shit is beneath contempt. You are like a bunch of kids on the junior high school paper who got snubbed by the kids on the yearbook staff.
Give me a f*cking break. Is the media going to pick up on this "non story" now for the next three months??
What about the lapel pin thing? God, that was treasonous. And now he's even got mcbush and george-the-ass-kisser running around without pins.
Our media is f*cked beyond hope.
xoites defends Constitution @ 4:
Daytime MSNBC is filled with distractions....much more than usual.
I bet this "story" was followed by a high-speed chase in L.A. or a Hanna Montana report.
hee hee hee
they flew the bird
hee hee hee
I'm in the 3rd grade
hey contessa....i have an itch that needs to be scratched
liberal media my ass
good thing that cronkite aint dead yet, he would be spinning in his grave right about now
If you listed to watch and listen to her subtile comments, she always repeating, Palin, hannity and Limbaugh's ideological talking points. Today, she's been running the socialist propaganda; While all seriuos journalists and experienced political analysts including Republican agreed that Powell's endorsement is a highly positive for Obama, Contessa actually argues that this will push the so-called Bradley effect. Contessa, you should go sub for Limbaugh on right wing radio. If you think Obama is socialit, you must have to call Buffet, Gate, Bill and Hilary Clinton; John, Caroline and Ted Kennedy; Powell, Madona, Kieth Oberman, Chris Matthew, etc. Contessa, racists are not hiding anything, they are chanting "kill him" at Palin rallies! Why haven't you brought up the fact the Palins have taken memebership in the Alaska's independent party? Her abuse of power at Alaska's State house, her association with witchcrafts from Kenya? How about McCain SNL scandal; What about McCain's sister in-law who is voting for Obama? Is she socialist? On the tax issues, have you asked McCain how he will continue to pay for 10 Billion a month for wars and continue subsidies for AIG, Lehman's Executives and XOM, etc? Why are we in this mess if the politics of greed is the right policy? didn't we have all the tax breaks, WS greed, deregulation, you want under Bush? Imagine if all Social Security accounts of all Americans have been given to Wall Street?
xoites, i didn't mean to respond to your comment...obviously it doesnt make sense.
On a less serious note, Obama will fix your computer - and more! See http://obamawill.com
Ronnyg,
Right on brother...that's exactly how she got/keeps her job.....
ronnyg @ 17:
I was watching when Contessa talked about this. My husband and I were flabbergasted. I feel like MSM is back in eighth grade during this election cycle...
"Ooo, did you see what he did.?" Then there's flag pins, the finger, asking about a parent's sex life....".
Too much air time to fill.
Contessa Brewer: What do you think?
I think you're an idiot and an embarrassment to your profession
If you are wondering about how these news "anchors" are chosen, it is my understanding that, because these networks want their broadcasts on in the waiting areas of airports, hospitals, etc., they chose these news readers based on whether they are nice looking or not.
I guess shallowness doesn't even surprise me anymore. When the media person who told me this explained it, I didn't even blink.
Anyone wonder why these pretty faces ask such stupid questions?
slow news day.
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.
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Drop your cable T.V., America. Now!
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Corporate News Nonsense Worker1: Oh, those blogs. They have no journalistic integrity. They'll report anything!
Corporate News Nonsense Worker2: No kidding! They're not real news!
CNN Worker1: And they make it hard for us to disseminate the real stories.
CNN Worker2: Heh, look what they're just buzzing about now! That Obama's scratching his face might have been flipping the bird to Clinton!
CNN Worker1: Ooh! Let's report that one!
CNN Worker2: Yeah! But let's let the people make their own call on it.
CNN Worker1: Of course! What do you think we are? A blog?
It's called scraping the bottom of the barrel so hard that you break right through. Now if you'll excuse me, TMZ's on, and it looks like John Mayer just got a parking ticket. Scandalous!
When I was in my teens, I would be apalled when my father used his middle finger rather than the index to point something out on the page. For many people, it is more natural to use the longer digit to point or to scratch. It's obvious Obama is wiping something from his eye. Good Grief!!
whaaa???
she left out THE BEST PART!
http://youtube.com/watch?v=kzXcNgCr0nk
Actually the best part is at 2.50 of this one.
whaaa???
she left out THE BEST PART!
http://youtube.com/watch?v=kzXcNgCr0nk
And all the while the MSM is wondering why more and more people are getting their news from alternative sources. Go figure.
question , and this has been bugging me for some time , why do people refer to the news as liberal ? . Does that make billo a liberal , sorry billo does not report news bad example , does that make rupert m a liberial ? .
This is all they can come up with???? Well, it's not like he is a current Supreme Court Justice, who actually made an insulting gesture....right?
Maybe he was just booger flipping.
Ron @ 14:
Exactly. "Some people" are saying just about anything you can imagine. The story is that "some people" report it.
bravo! i applaud you MSMNBC, for not turning in the status quo, but stopping at nothig short of world-class journalism. it's broadcasts like this that make me truly proud to be an american.
Sure-- ya gonna believe the obama apologists or your lying eyes? I seen this countless times in high schools, so let flip you off with plausible deniability. Meanwhile, I'll brush birdshit opponents off my shoulders and be all cool for the in crowd that thinks i'm gonna legalize weed.
I tell ya, if Hillary would make the same subtle gesture and then hold for the pregnant pause like Obama did, leaving everybody guessing, she just might win the thing then.
Even I might consider voting for her if she did that.
Where do they find these utterly useless "talking heads" like Brewer?
Who's afraid of the stupid bitch, the stupid bitch, the stupid bitch?
Who's afraid of the stupid bitch, the stupid bitch hoorah!
Is this a Clintonian tactic or did this particular pathetic excuse for a media venue come up with it all on their own? Send in a drone please!
david N @ 36:
It was masterful memetic engineering. The Republicans started repeating "liberal media" decades ago, and it stuck. They then "played the ref" at every opportunity. Whenever the media questioned them on something, they argued that the question was simply biased against them, because the press has a liberal bias. Now, the press goes out of its way to avoid being labeled as liberal -- like a referee who wants to be liked by the players he's supposed to be holding to the rules.
14 Ron Says: Here we go with the straw man again. Some think, some people say and some are saying. These are straw man tactics. Yeah, some people say, think or whatever because the people in the media are saying or thinking it.
This isn't a straw man tactic (Argumetum Ad Reductio), but an Argumentum Ad Nauseum.
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TIRED? MAD? DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT.
42 dennis
The way people keep voting for candidates they want to have some drinks with, Hillary should win hands down, after downing a shot of whiskey in one gulp.
I guess we can say Hillary swallows, whereas Monica doesn't.
The media elitists had to smear Obama and the 35,000 in Philadelphia
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QORZY11IHMo
People have been following this "professional"...
http://mediamatters.org/issues_topics/search_results?qstring=%22Contessa...
Ms. Brewer also was right there in action at the site of the collapse of the I-35W Mississippi River Bridge
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Contessa_Brewer
This is such a huge non story. If you want to get a real "bird", go to your nearest Target and ask an employee to point to something. Most of the time you will get the middle finger. Obama just knows how to scratch an itch.
He flipped her off--how cute, how smart. What a woos.
In just the latest sad chapter in the decline and fall of the American media, press outlets are claiming that Barack Obama gave Hillary Clinton the finger during a recent campaign event. Despite the obvious video evidence that Obama was inadvertently scratching his cheek as he spoke, Fox News, the LA Times, the Chicago Tribune and the Washington Post (just to name a few) all ran with stories raising the specter of Fingergate. Sadly, back in 1998, one of the presidential candidates did in fact figuratively flip the Clintons the bird. And John McCain is still paying no price for it.
For the details, see:
"Media Hype Faux Fingergate, Ignore McCain Flipping Off Clintons."
Contessa, another lying, Reslug whore, would love to sit on his finger.
Obama had better not blink, or they'll accuse him of winking at a pretty girl in the audience!
Why does Contessa hate America?
ysbaddaden@49
I guess we can say Hillary swallows, whereas Monica doesn’t.
If only she had, ysby. If only.
That one decision by her changed the course of history.
55 rewinn Says: Obama had better not blink, or they’ll accuse him of winking at a pretty girl in the audience!
That just might get my vote.
He's already copying so much of Bill's style.
Bullshit:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=UoOFp-RDpvM
The intellectual dishonesty is pathetic.
Oh to have a president who can multi-task again,
Get a hummer while taking important calls,
Instead of one who needs a penis shaker after he's done his dooty.
Yeah, reich-wingers really have the pulse of American: flag pins, middle names, middle fingers, cigarette smoking....
getalife @ 59:
At least you admit to your pathetic intellectual dishonesty. Congrats.
"At least you admit to your pathetic intellectual dishonesty. Congrats."
Yeah, don't believe your lying eyes and ears.
Geez.
Hey, Bush flipped us off more than once. Puleeze.
By the way, any truth to the rumor that once Obama wins his real persona will take effect and he will turn into a Muslim terrerista that will turn this country into a theocracy? Just a joke for those without a sense of humor. It's basically what the media is saying without using the words.
Oh, Contessa! I still remember you hysterically squawking on and on about how you thought your marriage was more elegant than that of "Tom and Katie." Well you're a half-witted, witch-faced, invidious hag and your marriage photos (which you showed us all to prove your point) look like a placeholder in a photo frame on sale at Walmart.
Ahh, what journalism.
Go home and revel in the grandiose 70s soap opera squalor that is your married life.
Dr. Biitter Hussein Matt @ 62:
I wouldn't get my hopes up. I honestly doubt that the troll knows what the term "intellectual dishonesty" means...
Now if he was to follow his handle name and get a life himself...
Has anyone considered his "finger" may've been a tactile mnemonic device to keep place in his speech?
getalife@59
Bullshit:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=UoOFp-RDpvM
The intellectual dishonesty is pathetic.
Just accept it for what it is, getalife. Try asking Dr. Intellectual Honesty just above that if John McCain had made the same gesture, then held the pregnant pause so the crowd could appreciate it, if not every left-wing blog wouldn't be cackling like crazy over it the next day.
Ask him if HE wouldn't be cackling like a mother hen, seeing as how the video of the Bush finger-gesture was on the front of his blog because he was so offended by it. Or would the fuzzy sequential still photos be proof enough for him to make him pause before jumping to conclusions.
That's a tough one.
Its all over the internet and Media Matters is the only one with these pictures.
They gave him this pass but most know it bs.
I'm not exactly politically-correct, but all these declarations that Obama didn't give Hillary the finger are disappointing. I wish he had. It's the least of what she deserves for her nasty campaigning.
that, contessa, was a special message to you-from all of us. ain't communication great?!
I can't stand Don Imus but every single word he said about Contessa Brewer is true. She is a moron... dumber than a box of rocks. MSNBC daytime has gone to hell... because of the anchors.... I can't watch it, I have to pick and choose when I do. Contessa Brewer and Alex Witt
or is that wittless should both be FIRED!
ysby@67
Has anyone considered his “finger” may’ve been a tactile mnemonic device to keep place in his speech?
George Bush's gesture? Gee, I don't know, ysby. Maybe.
We'd need to see a side view to know for sure. If we wanted to be intellectually honest, that is.
Hey I'll show Contessa what it looks like to be flipped off for real... really! Then she won't ever mistake it again, the idiotic witch!
Nothing wrong with giving the finger to MSNBC. But for some reason, this reminds me of that Seinfeld nose-picking episode.
getalife @ 69:
Get a life indeed....
Giving someone the finger is like hitting on a joint
Going through the motion's not enough, you have to hold it for awhile.
Obama's fingers??!!! Jesus Christ! Most of these mainstream media retards wouldn't even qualify for a gig with any reputable high school newspaper.
Anyone candidate with the balls to give Clinton the finger to her face gets my vote.
here's a version with BOTH "the finger" and the "brush off"...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=87cDt00k63E&NR=1
i didn't realize the two were so close together... no wonder they don't show
the "brush off" though... 'cause THAT was a classic!
and, this just may be adding fuel to the fire... but let's see...
i just can't stop grinning though...
is there a problem site mon.?
78 Gary Says: Anyone candidate with the balls to give Clinton the finger to her face gets my vote.
Shouldn't that be boosh's face?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XR0Qhxgy85I&feature=related
what's the problem, site mon.?
I don't understand why people aren't outraged by the 'pinky' a minute before the 'finger' and the vile left handed 'index finger' a minute and change after. This deserves MASSIVE media coverage!
Seriously though, it's unreal that in a week where idiotic media was a main topic of conversation, this nonsense can get on air. They have no shame.
good thing Obie didn't scratch his nuts.
Concerned American @ 43:
They look for still-lost-in-Junior-high-school drama queens who auditioned for the part of one of the Heathers.
He gave her the finger. He gave me the finger. I'm a woman and I vote.
He can take his finger and Dick Cheney himself.
bitter hussein katy @ 82:
well, don't i look silly... please excuse...
for some reason (is that you, NSA?) my computer (mac on safari/or firefox) is
running horribly slow... the page wasn't refeshing on another tab... i didn't see
my comments showing up...
movin' on...
I realize wingnuts don't do the reading thing very well, but one would think they could at the least understand pictures.
But apparently some can't even understand that two or three (fingers) is not equal to one.
All right - they can have a field day with this one.
Yes - you need to be careful what you do with your fingers in public.
Not only are there numerous pictures available of Bush actually doing this (whereas Obama clearly is NOT) --- but there pictures AND VIDEO of George Bush picking his nose in public.
I hope someone puts together a montage for a television ad RIGHT AWAY - and they need to include the one of Dumbya picking his nose " ... and here's GW NOT giving anyone the finger for a change ..."
*
Otay @ 85:
Forgot to add that famous disclaimer:
Trittydi @ 89:
You mean this one?
Yet more distraction from the best infotainment cheerleaders corporate money can buy. "If ya got an itch, I guess ya gotta scratch it". That line is damn near every bit as eloquent as anything spoken by George W while in office. Amazing.
I've pushed my glasses up with my middle finger before, not flipping anyone off. However, combined with what he had just said about Hillary and then the reaction of the crowd and his reaction to them, I have little doubt what it meant. I called my wife over to see the video and without telling her what was up she saw it plain as day. As a person who is finding it harder and harder to want to support the democratic nominee, whoever it is, I find it especially discouraging that Obama can take the high road, then lie about Clinton's healthcare plan, take the high road then call the Clinton's racists, take the high road and vote present 180 times.
The more he talks the more I sense a con.
All of the other "gotcha" hit pieces on Obama have been irritating...this one is downright revolting.
Now in America you can't scratch your face without in-depth analysis of which finger you used and who you may have been subconsciously giving an obscene gesture to. Anyone who watches this video and sincerely thinks Obama was "flipping a bird" is either retarded or insane.