Michelle Obama rumor- October surprise

[AGDee]

UGAAlum: Here's an article our CEO sent us this morning.. talking about the state of healthcare in Los Angeles:

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/05/us...c0T11j+3Ou59CA

MysticCat: My generalized statements about legislating morality refers to things that do not infringe on the civil rights of others (gay marriage, polygamy, prostitution, etc) not things like murder, which clearly destroys that person's right to "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness". I should not have used abortion as one of the examples because it is so complex an issue on so many levels and I didn't want this to turn into an abortion thread. I'm sure I've spouted my opinion on that one plenty of times on GC already!

[jon1856]

Getting back to the OP-The following was just posted on AOL News:
Obama: 'Whitey' Video Rumor is Crap
You may have seen the link floating around in our comment section. It leads you to one of many a breathless story, or perhaps a Fox News video clip, where the urgent topic is when we'll be seeing the YouTube file showing Michelle Obama on-stage with Louis Farrakhan lambasting Caucasian America with the term "whitey."

The story goes that tape has been kept under wraps, out of view, for use as the ultimate October surprise, sure to kill Barack's chances faster than Hillary Clinton can say "I told you so." The problem? As with so many slurs against Obama, there's no there there. There is no tape. From Politico:.................
http://news.aol.com/political-machin...875x1200410134

Obama denies a rumor and questions the question
Sen. Barack Obama on Thursday batted down rumors circulating on the Internet and mentioned on some cable news shows of the existence of a video of his wife using a derogatory term for white people, and criticized a reporter for asking him about the rumor, which has not a shred of evidence to support it.

“We have seen this before. There is dirt and lies that are circulated in e-mails and they pump them out long enough until finally you, a mainstream reporter, asks me about it,” Obama said to the McClatchy reporter during a press conference aboard his campaign plane. “That gives legs to the story. If somebody has evidence that myself or Michelle or anybody has said something inappropriate, let them do it.”

Asked whether he knew it not to be true, Obama said he had answered the question.

“Frankly, my hope is people don’t play this game,” Obama said. “It is a destructive aspect of our politics. Simply because something appears in an e-mail, that should lend it no more credence than if you heard it on the corner. Presumably the job of the press is to not to go around and spread scurrilous rumors like this until there is actually anything, an iota, of substance or evidence that would substantiate it.”..................
http://www.politico.com/blogs/bensmi..._question.html

Everything's Gonna Be All White
On Monday I blogged about the rumors of a video that shows Michelle Obama making hateful comments about "whitey." I'm now convinced that Larry Johnson, the blogger who's done the most to make the rumors public, is spreading misinformation. At the least, he's been unable to stick to his story...............
http://www.reason.com/blog/show/126883.html
More Debunking of the Obama "Tape" Hoax
Jim Lindgren, the Chicago-based lawblogger, has done what the Larry Johnsons of the blogosphere have not on this Michelle Obama smear. He looked for evidence. Lindgren drove over to Rainbow/PUSH headquarters to ask if the organization had a tape of the event Obama appeared at during their 2004 convention, the event that's become the focus of the story since the first few versions collapsed........
http://www.reason.com/blog/show/126905.html


Interesting YouTube "show"
Obama rumors dispelled! Is it true about Obama?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KTgqQ2_KQkc

So, unless something some how does show up, I will end with this:
http://www.26nc.org/History/Rebel-Ye...ebelYell_l.wav
And NO, it is not Howard Dean

[shinerbock]

Those links posted by Jon may be entirely accurate, but I got a kick out of the person who "debunked" the theory by going to Rainbow Push.

Blogger: "Do you have a tape of Michelle Obama railing against whites?"

Rainbow Push: "Sure, here's the tape you're talking about. The one that will destroy our ideological allies and hand the election to a party we openly hate, that's the one you're looking for, right?"

[DeltAlum]

The cool thing about blogs is that anybody can post pretty much anything without any kind of support.

And rational people actually believe them.

I'd rather be a little more honest.

See signature below.

[jon1856]

Originally Posted by shinerbock

Those links posted by Jon may be entirely accurate, but I got a kick out of the person who "debunked" the theory by going to Rainbow Push.

Blogger: "Do you have a tape of Michelle Obama railing against whites?"

Rainbow Push: "Sure, here's the tape you're talking about. The one that will destroy our ideological allies and hand the election to a party we openly hate, that's the one you're looking for, right?"

Shinerbock-Not sure if you read the entire posting of/for that link.
For it goes well beyond what you posted.
And I have yet to see anyone, including the original Blogger, debunk the debunkers.
And the people I spoke to a few weeks ago still say that it NEVER happened and thus NEVER existed.
And what say yours?

[shinerbock]

Originally Posted by jon1856

Shinerbock-Not sure if you read the entire posting of/for that link.
For it goes well beyond what you posted.
And I have yet to see anyone, including the original Blogger, debunk the debunkers.
And the people I spoke to a few weeks ago still say that it NEVER happened and thus NEVER existed.
And what say yours?

They're McCain and senior GOP people, and they're about half and half.

If this tape is real, I'm not sure how you would debunk the "debunkers." After all, the debunking bloggers are merely drawing inferences like everyone else (though they may be strong inferences).

My point was solely that Rainbow Push is not an organization which stays out of partisan politics, and thus they're biased just like everyone else.

[jon1856]

Originally Posted by shinerbock

They're McCain and senior GOP people, and they're about half and half.

If this tape is real, I'm not sure how you would debunk the "debunkers." After all, the debunking bloggers are merely drawing inferences like everyone else (though they may be strong inferences).

My point was solely that Rainbow Push is not an organization which stays out of partisan politics, and thus they're biased just like everyone else.

"If this tape is real"-Shiinerbock, if it is real the best way to debunk the debunkers is to show it. And it has not shown up anywhere.
NO ONE, that I know, in three different "camps" believe it ever happened or existed.
But as I posted before, this is not the first time ever that people have said falsehoods about others just to have them out there to be "heard" and remembered. Very few will bother to follow-up to see what proof exists.
In some ways this is like what happened with USDS and the six Fraternities involved the the drug busts. Six were said to have been involved in the very first PR's.
SAE National had a press release within 48 hours showing that NO active Brothers or Pledges were involved. Yet it took school over two weeks to correct/update their information on SAE and two others. And I never saw correction in any of the mass media.

And, I fear and believe, that this is only the opening shot of what we all will see until November. And even Fox News said, just yesterday, that even with the two candidates saying that they will "play nice" that it still will be politics as what is now the norm.

[shinerbock]

Originally Posted by jon1856

"If this tape is real"-Shiinerbock, if it is real the best way to debunk the debunkers is to show it. And it has not shown up anywhere.
NO ONE, that I know, in three different "camps" believe it ever happened or existed.
But as I posted before, this is not the first time ever that people have said falsehoods about others just to have them out there to be "heard" and remembered. Very few will bother to follow-up to see what proof exists.
In some ways this is like what happened with USDS and the six Fraternities involved the the drug busts. Six were said to have been involved in the very first PR's.
SAE National had a press release within 48 hours showing that NO active Brothers or Pledges were involved. Yet it took school over two weeks to correct/update their information on SAE and two others. And I never saw correction in any of the mass media.

And, I fear and believe, that this is only the opening shot of what we all will see until November. And even Fox News said, just yesterday, that even with the two candidates saying that they will "play nice" that it still will be politics as what is now the norm.

A) I agree, it'll be a dirty election cycle. I'm actually looking forward to it.

B) You're right that the best way to prove the naysayers wrong would be to prove it, but consider the reality here. If it is real, and if some political entity has it, what benefit would they gain from showing it now? They could simply wait for the hype to blow over, allow people to conclude that it was fake, and spring it at an inopportune time (which is what my people have said: That if real, it is being held).

C) What I heard weeks ago when it broke was that about half the contacts I know believe, for whatever reason, it was real, and about half didn't. If real, I highly doubt that many have first hand knowledge, as I'm positive the McCain campaign doesn't have it (though they would certainly be able to exercise some persuasion over usage) and the GOP proper doesn't have it.

D) There will be more stuff like this. I think so because I strongly believe there is stuff "like" this out there (Obama has been pitched softballs, true vetting will continue in coming months) and because the GOP is far superior than the left when it comes to pure political strategy. Further, as we agree, it will be dirty and I expect these types of rumors to continue, on both sides, throughout the cycle.