Family Ties: Obama Speechwriter And Fox News Exec Are Brothers

[Universitario]

Huffington Post
February 11, 2008 02:50 PM

Relations between Sen. Barack Obama and Fox News Channel haven't exactly been warm since the Illinois Democrat began his presidential campaign.

A year ago, the cable-news leader pounced on a scurrilous report (since debunked) that Obama attended a radical Islamist madrassa as a child. Later he joined fellow Democrats in boycotting a Fox-sponsored debate.

Since then, a thaw seems to have set in. Obama has appeared on Fox News several times since the madrassa flap. And while he declined an invitation to debate Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.) on Feb. 11, his demure probably had more to do with strategy than partisanship.

As it turns out Fox News and the Obama campaign are bound by blood.

David Rhodes, Fox News' senior VP of newsgathering, is the older brother of Ben Rhodes, one of the speechwriters responsible for Obama's orotund oratory.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/02/11/family-ties-obama-speech_n_86071.html

[The_Casual_Observer]

1. Speechwriter? Obama doesn't do all that himself?

[rcole11]

2. I read that he has a 26 year old head speechwriter from Massachusetts, there was a piece on him in

the NY Times. Jon Favreau is his name.

[mrreowwr_kittty]

3. Same name as the actor? nt

[bananas]

4. Is that the same guy who called Florida for Bush in 2000? nt

[Bongo Prophet]

5. and Obama's cousin is Dick cheney! Oh noes!

I have a right wing brother.
I have a distant cousin of a cousin to Jimmy Swaggart.
not proud of that, nor shamed, it just is.

Related by marriage to Paul simon too, and I can't play guitar for shit.
Dammit!

[nvmojo.risin]

6. we can't control who we are related to!

[fasttense]

7. My brothers are right wing idiots too but nobody holds it against me. n/t