«--Previous Post | Blog Index | Next Post--»

Perspective, Please

Can we get a little perspective here? Yes, Jeremiah Wright's statements (and especially his National Press Club performance) damaged Barack Obama. Yes, Obama is a flawed candidate, and he's connected to some sketchy people. But let's be real: the media's portrayal of Obama as the only candidate with questionable associations is ridiculous.

The GOP knows that Obama is still the favorite to win the Democratic nomination. That's why he's being hit so hard right now while Hillary Clinton is getting relatively fair, issue-based questions and other softballs tossed at her — by Bill O'Reilly of all people. But remember when Clinton was the frontrunner? There wasn't so much of a focus on the skeletons in Obama's closet back then. It was all about Hillary. All the old Right-wing smears were flying: Vince Foster. Whitewater. Cattle Futures. They even made a movie about the Democrat's presumptive nominee. It was named after her, but it wasn't flattering.

It is good and generally-followed rule in American politics that we ignore what our enemies abroad say about our foreign policy — it can be safely assumed that they are operating in bad faith. Democrats would also be wise to ignore their rivals' advice about choosing their leaders. Bill Kristol and Karl Rove are many things, but they are not stupid. They will write and say whatever they think serves their party best. Right now that's attacking Obama, who will almost certainly be the Democrats' nominee. But rest assured that you'd be hearing a totally different tune from the Right and its allies in the media if Hillary Clinton was winning.

(Of course, Democrats do the same thing to Republicans, commenting on and interfering in the GOP's internal politics. Remember that mischief in Michigan?)

Yes, the frontrunner should be subjected to increased scrutiny. But the idea that Barack Obama somehow has vastly more exploitable weaknesses and sketchy associates than Hillary Clinton or John McCain is just silly. In a wonderful column in Politico that I hope will begin to bring some sense of perspective to campaign coverage, Jim VandeHei and John Harris describe what Obama "wishes he could say." (They wrote a similar column, which is also very good, on what Clinton wishes she could say.) From the piece:

In the fantasies of some of his high-level supporters, Obama would peel off the tape to say something like this:

You want to talk hypocrisy? How about piously criticizing me for Jeremiah Wright when you have a trail of associations that includes golden oldies like Webb Hubbell? (‘90s flashback: He was one of Hillary Clinton’s legal partners and closest friends, whom she installed in a top Justice Department job before prosecutors sent him to prison.) It also includes modern hits like Frank Giustra. (In case you missed it: There was a January New York Times story, which did not get the attention the reporting deserved, highlighting how this Canadian tycoon and major Bill Clinton benefactor was using his ties to the ex-president to win business with a ruthless dictatorship in Khazakstan.)

This is not to say that any such accusations are true, or even that they're valid criticisms. It's just to say that every candidate (including, of course, John "Keating 5" McCain) has associations that can be portrayed as sketchy, old acquaintances that can become liability, and sometimes even a bona fide scandal or too. For the media to pretend or insinuate that Barack Obama is uniquely hurt by these kind of problems is totally ridiculous. Hillary Clinton is still Hillary Clinton; if she were the frontrunner, she'd be getting the exact same kind of grief from the Right. But if we can't get the media to ignore these silly, manufactured "outrage issues," can we at least get a sense of balance? Please?

Comments

The news should highlight HILLARY HAS LOST THE ENTIRE BLACK VOTE....FOREVER !!!
This is the message currently being sent by blacks to the DNC in great numbers (and the superdelegates). There is no way Hillary will defeat McCain without the support of Black America aka the guaranteed Democratic vote. Please read Huffington Posts story on how the Hillary Camp has been feeding Obama attacks TO THE GOP !!!!! What a traitor to the Democratic Party !!!!!!!! Hillary started out with 82% of the black support. But as Blacks learned more about her (Goldwater Girl...Against Civil Rights Act '64....It was LBJ...Not MLK....etc) combined with Bill's (...fairy tale....Jessie Won S.C. too...etc.)...blacks were shocked beyond repair. (remember....we luved Bill so much we called him 'The First Black President')....but never again....WHERE'S THAT STORY. And if the DNC thinks.....'ohhhhhh....the blacks will be angry at first...but they'll come around'.....then they don't know the severity of what the Clinton's have done....This has nothing to do with Obama !!!! We (blacks) have awakened to the truth about the Clintons......and with more exposure like today's Huff story re: Hill's feeding the GOP Obama smears...our friends of ALL races will awaken soon !!!!!!!!!...THAT'S THE REAL STORY !!!!
Greg Jones
www.Blacks4Barack.org
(A Multi-Racial, Grassroots Org...Dedicated To Truth)
p.s. Blacks4Barack.org was started in Feb. 2007 (by Greg Jones) because of the fact that hardly ANY blacks were for Obama at that time.....they were ALL for Hillary !!!!! We knew that Obama was the best person to run our country and bring our troops home and that is why we started our grassroots organization with a mission to increase black voter registration and to invigorate support for Obama. (Not because he's black...but because he's most qualified) The more black voters learned about Obama...the more they liked him....and the more they learned about the Clintons....the angrier they got !!!!!!!!!!!!!! We are appreciative of our friends of ALL races....who are working together....for the very best candidate....to put America on the right track.....Barack Obama ! THANK YOU !

Posted by: Greg Jones on 05/02/08 at 11:33 AM Respond

Greg, good post about how all the racists are supporting your candidate Barack. But your candidate will lose because he is a hatemonger and a divider, not a uniter, just like your group. Your organization is about as multi-racial as the KKK. Senator Clinton appeals to all groups, most especially, the largest minority, the Hispanics. The Latino minority is the future of America. Look at the millions that came out May 1st in all the major cities. We hold the power now.

Posted by: Whites4Clinton on 05/02/08 at 1:07 PM Respond

People who drop the KKK card in reference to Barack or his supporters have zero credibility in my opinion (who the hell is the mulatto guy gonna hate I mean really?). I tend to agree with a hypothesis I recently heard on Wright, he came back and repayed the loyalty of an old member of his congregation with an attack because he was threatened by the possibility that A black man actually could become president. That is an idea that truly does undermine much of the fiery rhetoric that used to make Wrights more crazy ideas seem so relevant to some of his followers.

Posted by: Michael Z. on 05/02/08 at 5:07 PM Respond

MY FELLOW "BITTER", STUPID, WORKING CLASS PEOPLE :-)

If you think like Barack Obama, that WORKING CLASS PEOPLE are just a bunch of "BITTER"!, STUPID, PEASANTS, Cash COWS!, and CANNON FODDER. :-(

You Might Be An Idiot! :-)

If you think Barack Obama with little or no experience would be better than Hillary Clinton with 35 years experience.

You Might Be An Idiot! :-)

If you think that Obama with no experience can fix an economy on the verge of collapse better than Hillary Clinton. Whose ;-) husband (Bill Clinton) led the greatest economic expansion, and prosperity in American history.

You Might Be An Idiot! :-)

If you think that Obama with no experience fighting for universal health care can get it for you better than Hillary Clinton. Who anticipated this current health care crisis back in 1993, and fought a pitched battle against overwhelming odds to get universal health care for all the American people.

You Might Be An Idiot! :-)

If you think that Obama with no experience can manage, and get us out of two wars better than Hillary Clinton. Whose ;-) husband (Bill Clinton) went to war only when he was convinced that he absolutely had to. Then completed the mission in record time against a nuclear power. AND DID NOT LOSE THE LIFE OF A SINGLE AMERICAN SOLDIER. NOT ONE!

You Might Be An Idiot! :-)

If you think that Obama with no experience saving the environment is better than Hillary Clinton. Whose ;-) husband (Bill Clinton) left office with the greatest amount of environmental cleanup, and protections in American history.

You Might Be An Idiot! :-)

If you think that Obama with little or no education experience is better than Hillary Clinton. Whose ;-) husband (Bill Clinton) made higher education affordable for every American. And created higher job demand and starting salary’s than they had ever been before or since.

You Might Be An Idiot! :-)

If you think that Obama with no experience will be better than Hillary Clinton who spent 8 years at the right hand of President Bill Clinton. Who is already on record as one of the greatest Presidents in American history.

You Might Be An Idiot! :-)

If you think that you can change the way Washington works with pretty speeches from Obama, rather than with the experience, and political expertise of two master politicians ON YOUR SIDE like Hillary and Bill Clinton..

You Might Be An Idiot! :-)

If you think all those Republicans voting for Obama in the Democratic primaries, and caucuses are doing so because they think he is a stronger Democratic candidate than Hillary Clinton. :-)

Best regards

jacksmith... Working Class :-)

p.s. You Might Be An Idiot! :-)

If you don't know that the huge amounts of money funding the Obama campaign to try and defeat Hillary Clinton is coming in from the insurance, and medical industry, that has been ripping you off, and killing you and your children. And denying you, and your loved ones the life saving medical care you needed. All just so they can make more huge immoral profits for them-selves off of your suffering...

You see, back in 1993 Hillary Clinton had the audacity, and nerve to try and get quality, affordable universal health care for everyone to prevent the suffering and needless deaths of hundreds of thousands of you each year. :-)

Approx. 100,000 of you die each year from medical accidents from a rush to profit by the insurance, and medical industry. Another 120,000 of you die each year from treatable illness that people in other developed countries don’t die from. And I could go on, and on...

OBAMA AIDE: "WORKING-CLASS VOTERS NOT KEY FOR DEMOCRATS" :o

DEBATE! DEBATE!! DEBATE!!!...

Posted by: jacksmith on 05/02/08 at 10:38 PM Respond

DEBATE! DEBATE!! DEBATE!!!

It's time for everyone to face the truth. Barack Obama has no real chance of winning the national election in November at this time. His crushing defeat in Pennsylvania makes that fact crystal clear. His best, and only real chance of winning in November is on a ticket with Hillary Clinton as her VP.

Hillary Clinton seemed almost somber at her Pennsylvania victory speech. As if part of her was hoping Obama could have proved he had some chance of winning against the republican attack machine, and their unlimited money, and resources.

But it is absolutely essential that the democrats take back the Whitehouse in November. America, and the American people are in a very desperate condition now. And the whole World has been doing all that they can to help keep us propped up.

Hillary Clinton say's that the heat, and decisions in the Whitehouse are much tougher than the ones on the campaign trail. But I think Mr. Obama faces a test of whether he has what it takes to be a commander and chief by facing the difficult facts, and the truth before him. And by doing what is best for the American people by dropping out of the race, and offering his whole hearted assistance to Hillary Clinton to help her take back the Whitehouse for the American people, and the World.

Mr. Obama is a great speaker. And I am confident he can explain to the American people the need, and wisdom of such a personal sacrifice for them. It should be clear to everyone by now that Hillary Clinton is fighting her heart out for the American people. She has known for a long time that Mr. Obama can not win this November. You have to remember that the Clinton's have won the Whitehouse twice before. They know what it takes.

If Mr. Obama fails his test of commander and chief we can only hope that Hillary Clinton can continue her heroic fight for the American people. And that she prevails. She will need all the continual support and help we can give her. She may fight like a superhuman. But she is only human.

Sen. Hillary Clinton: "You know, more people have now voted for me than have voted for my opponent. In fact, I now have more votes than anybody has ever had in a primary contest for a nomination. And it's also clear that we've got nine more important contests to go."

Sincerely

Jacksmith... Working Class :-)

Posted by: jacksmith on 05/02/08 at 10:39 PM Respond

Michael Z, you don't diss a Black religious leader and get away with it. They have an ego as big as any politician. Obama made a mistake to hang out with this big ego for over 20 years. If you are going to run for president, you don't want to hang with David Duke PHD for 20 years.

Posted by: Pastor Leroy Jackson on 05/03/08 at 7:04 AM Respond

jacksmith: you are an idiot

Posted by: jackasssmith on 05/03/08 at 9:29 AM Respond

Obama rallies all the Black racists that hate Euro Americans. The almost simultaneous murders of White co-eds at two different, prominent universities, Auburn and University of North Carolina, should bring attention to an epidemic of brutal African-American crimes against White women in the United States.

The murder of Eve Carson, Student Body President of UNC has shocked her campus and its surrounding community to its core. Ms. Carson was found murdered in the middle of an intersection just outside downtown Chapel Hill on Wednesday, March 5th. Her body … which had two gunshot wounds, including one to the head, laid just a mile away from her SUV, which was left abandoned. Bank ATM video revealed that the murderer-carjacker, an African American, apparently attempted to get cash from Carson’s stolen ATM card shortly after the crime. Vote for Senator Clinton to put a stop to such crimes.

Posted by: Shannon Christian on 05/03/08 at 2:09 PM Respond

Oh Shannon, you just might be an idiot ...

Posted by: DaveD on 05/04/08 at 4:55 PM Respond

The recent murders of two White coeds at major universities by Black predators underscore a racial reality that the mass media in America hides from the public: the tens of millions of White victims of Black criminality in America. Over the past four decades since the “civil rights” movement, crime figures show that millions of crimes have been committed by Blacks and other non-White predators against White people. The crimes include robbery, assault, rape and murder.

The racial component of crime in America has been largely ignored. It took a major newspaper outside of America to address the shocking epidemic Black crime in America. ( See The Race War of Black Against White by Paul Sheehan from the Sydney Morning Herald. Black crime rates against White people are many times greater than White crimes against Blacks. You wouldn’t know it by reading or listening to America’s mass media. Saturation national and international news coverage is given to the very few White cross-race crimes against Blacks such as the James Byrd dragging case in Texas, as well as the media-hyped Tawana Brawley case in New Jersey and the alleged rape of a Black stripper by White lacrosse team members at Duke University. Both of those latter cases, after months of front-page, sensationalized coverage decrying “White racism,” turned out to be complete hoaxes.

There is an incredible disproportionate rate of Black crimes against Whites in contrast to White crimes against Blacks. Per capita Black cross racial crimes of 50 or even 100 percent greater than Whites would be bad enough, but the Black crime rates against Whites are actually many times greater than White on Black crimes. Blacks are an estimated 57 (that is 5,700 percent!) times more likely to commit violent crime against a white than vice versa, and 136 times (13,600 percent!) more likely to commit robbery. (see the color of crime report published by the New Century Foundation – an analysis of crime figures taken from official Justice Department crime reports) http://www.nc-f.org/

Vote for Senator Clinton. She understands.

Posted by: Shannon Christian on 05/04/08 at 5:42 PM Respond

ok Shannon, you've convinced me. I rescind the "might".

Posted by: DaveD on 05/05/08 at 4:54 AM Respond

Shannon Christian? Sounds like a troll name to me.
In any event, I think it's funny that jacksmith said Hillary seemed somber, as though disappointed that the REPUBLICAN attack machine had an effect on Barack in PA. Barack's most unethical and rabid assailant in this campaign thus far has been the Clinton machine, doing all they could to help the Republicans squelch Obama's chances.
In any event, I still plan to vote for Barack and think it's sad that, while he's still ahead, the media is trying to shade things to make it seem his defeat is inevitable. Once they convince you of this, once they play the despair music, they start to kill an idea, a dream or a movement. People, resist!

Posted by: Paul Miller on 05/05/08 at 6:56 AM Respond

Your commentary about Frank Giustra’s relationship to former President Clinton and his philanthropic activities is inaccurate. It appears to rely on recycled commentaries that appear to have relied upon misinformation. This inaccurate data is replete with tired and discredited errors of fact and innuendoes about Frank Giustra that stem from, among other agendas, highly politically motivated personal attack against the Clintons.

There is ample corrective information available in the public domain to have enabled you to avoid spreading this virus of misinformation.

That readily available public corrective information would have made you clearly aware that the dated allegations you have repeated about the mining agreements Frank Giustra’s company reached in Kazakhstan had nothing to do with his relationship with President Clinton. These mining agreements were concluded after many months of negotiations with private companies - not the Kazakhstan government - and involved market value payment for the assets involved.

Additionally, there is ample information in the public domain that demonstrates Frank Giustra’s 25 year track record of highly successful international business transactions was accomplished long before he ever met Bill Clinton.

Frank Giustra’s relationship with Bill Clinton is based solely on their shared global philanthropic interests, nothing more and nothing less. His longstanding philanthropic interests, and everything that he has contributed towards shared charitable causes with Bill Clinton, including details of what they are undertaking together under the Clinton Giustra Sustainable Growth Initiative, have already been communicated, with detailed specificity, to the public over the past several months.

Frank Giustra is a private Canadian citizen with no interest in US politics. Through the spreading of misinformation of which you are now a part, a fictionalized Frank Giustra is being created, and that fictionalized character has become a political pawn during this highly politically charged period of time in the United States.

Norm Stowe
Vancouver, Canada

Posted by: Norman Stowe on 05/05/08 at 9:33 AM Respond

Norman, sounds like a case of libel, for the attorneys. The misinformation is probably being spread like a fungus from the Obama camp.

Posted by: Brown on 05/05/08 at 2:09 PM Respond