Obama smacks down Michelle 'whitey' video rumor question.

[SurfingAtWork]

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.”

http://www.politico.com/blogs/bensmith/0608/Obama_denies_a_rumor_and_questions_the_question.html


Good for him. He won't let himself be swiftboated.

[VeraAgnes]

1. Good!

Let put these unvalidated rumors to bed.

[AspenRose]

2. Yay!

Smackdown!

Take that, Larry Johnson, you racist scumbag weasel.

[AtomicKitten]

3. Booya.

[alcibiades_mystery]

4. Show and prove, motherfuckers!

Spladow.

So much for "Obambi." Barack's gonna take it to 'em.

[eleny]

5. I like this groove he's in!

[IsItJustMe]

6. KICK THIS THREAD, for all those Yahoo's on DU who are still posting smack about this.

[Mz Pip]

7. What really saddens me about

these rumors is the way so many so called progressives were hoping that they were true and not just hoping but totally convinced that they were true.

How desperate does one have to be to have your hopes riding on the credibility of slime like that? Pathetic.

[polmaven]

42. Somewhat similar to

the number of progressinve who were totally convinced about "These people are s**its & White Ni**ers, etc.

[Mz Pip]

49. I wasn't one of those

I think it's pathetic no matter who does it.

[Mooney]

71. Sadly, I admit that I bought that one, hook, line and sinker.

Not my finest moment. The one saving grace is that at least I wasn't one of the ones who called up media outlets to tell them about it.

Live and learn.

[blogslut]

8. right on

:applause:
GO BA MA

[tekisui]

9. BAM! Suck it Larry.

[Name removed]

12. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[polmaven]

40. A dog has to die for this?

That hardly seems fair! Can't he use a tree branch or something?

[Danger Mouse]

44. Sorry, apologies to dog lovers everwhere.

:P
A tree branch sounds good, but it has to be a spiky one.

[Chulanowa]

53. Poor tree!

Can't we just cram Inhofe's pointy little head up in there or something?

[MattBaggins]

60. Only if it's cedar

[Mooney]

70. Is it OK if the dog says on his driver's license that he's an organ donor?

[motocicleta]

50. You should realize that telling a man to

fuck himself with any type of dick, derogatorily, is homophobia. Homophobia, in turn, is bigotry. Just wanted to flesh that out in case you were short of logic, like most people.

I don't like bigots. I wish you would say that kind of thing in front of me, instead of being an anonymous internet moron. We could have a real discussion if you had the courage to say something like that in public. Instead, you join the Fighting Keyboardists 101st. Congratulations.

[bjnumb9]

62. Wow, I totally disagree that it's homophobic to say that

It's not something I'd ever say, but I don't see it as homophobic. But to everyone their own I suppose.

[Mooney]

72. The post you're referring to cites an instance of interspecies necrophilia.

I wouldn't equate that with homosexuality in a million years. Sorry.

[sui generis]

81. actually its heterophobia

if anything. But, realistically they aren't normally open to that suggestion except maybe after two or three beers tops, or maybe just a voucher for some beer, or even a picture of beer.

:rofl:

lighten up! Most of the time if someone here is hatin' you will know it without having to read between the lines. They are very generous with the snark here, and if you must swim with snarks it is better to be a snark than a drowning drunk man with a beer can up his ass.

:rofl:

[ampad]

10. Kick

:kick:

[Kajsa]

11. The gloves are off!

Obama is not "too nice",

He's Just Right!

:D :woohoo:

[Political Tiger]

13. He gave the perfect answer

Now watch the bigots who have been spreading this dirty rumor twist and distort his words.

[hayu_lol]

14. It is a DVD, not a tape...

it was sold by the church for quite a while.

Obama assures reporter that such a 'tape' doesn't exist.

Obama assures reporter that he didn't know Rezco.

Obama sat through at least 900 Wright sermons and never heard anything like that.

How quickly they forget.

News at 11.

[Buck Rabbit]

15. Is the extra feature of the DVD, Bill Clinton sexcapades

on Air Fuck One?

[KSinTX]

17. Oh, oh - I see a pizza delivery coming

I'm vegetarian so I'll just take shrooms and onions, thanks.

Oooh, just realized you've been around a while. I'd think someone with your tenure would know better.

[maxsolomon]

19. that's a pretty confident denial if such a thing exists.

let's see it & get it over with.

i'm never running for president, so: WHITEY!WHITEY!WHITEY!WHITEY!WHITEY!WHITEY!WHITEY!WHITEY!WHITEY!WHITEY!WHITEY!WHITEY!WHITEY!WHITEY!WHITEY!WHITEY!WHITEY!WHITEY!WHITEY!WHITEY!WHITEY!

[KSinTX]

25. Love it!! I've always wondered why we didn't spend the primary

doing exactly that with his middle name.

[maxsolomon]

29. i just realized

that i named my first 2G ipod "whitey". my current 4G is, drumroll, "whitey 2".

[tblue37]

61. On _The Group News Blog_,

the successor to the late Steve Gilliard's <i>The News Blog</i>, many of the regular posters have inserted "Hussein" into their internet monikers to show solidarity with Ombama, in an "I am Spartacus" sort of way:

the littlest hussein gator
Myrtle Hussein June
preznit hussein give me pretzels

etc.

I think it is very cool.

[noiretextatique]

63. LOL...and so what if michelle obama said "whitey?"

i wonder how many politicians have uttered the n word?

[book_worm]

21. how long are you going to be here?

[Melinda]

24. Where to begin with all the lies about Obama you've just posted...

Let's begin with the first:

Read the article:

"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..."

No where in the article does Obama make any reference to a "Tape".

No where in the article is reference made to the church or length of sale.

No where in the article does Obama "assure" a reporter obout anything.
He criticizes one, however:

"...and criticized a reporter for asking him about the rumor

Your assertion:

"Obama sat through at least 900 Wright sermons and never heard anything like that."

Prove that Obama sat through any Wright sermons that you or your fellow right-wingers find distasteful. Show us time, date, and proof that Obama was in attendance.

Prove that Obama has ever stated he doesn't or didn't know Rezko. Provide direct links to verified Obama statements that he doesn't and/or didn't know Rezko.

[last1standing]

31. Trash pickup is on June 11th. Have a nice trip to the landfill.

n/t

[NOLALady]

32. Have you seen this DVD?

[Political Tiger]

33. "it was sold by the church for quite a while."

If "it was sold by the church for quite a while" then simple common sense should tell you that if it really exists, it would have been on YouTube months ago!

[LiveLiberally]

36. With all due respect.... this is B.S.

If the church had the tape, it would have been revealed with all the other Wright clips which numerous media organizations (and various public institutions including universities) purchased and poured over in late 2007 and early 2008. The story that broke was all about Reverend Wright and not a peep about Michelle, even though she had already been eviscerated for the "proud" comment.

ERGO, the Trinity Church has no video, DVD, CD, audio or reel-to-reel of Michelle Obama.

[asthmaticeog]

65. I can't help but notice that you didn't say anything about whether they had it on 8-Track tape!

THAT PROVES IT EXISTS!

*jumps up and down and points while breathing heavily through mouth*

[Occam Bandage]

38. If it exists, and if it was so readily available, then why can't anyone produce it?

And if they're trying to keep it as an "october surprise," then why did they leak the content of it now?

[trumad]

39. Moran

[Canuckistanian]

47. My sources say it was a 78 RPM record

Although some argue that it was a wax cylinder.

[mrreowwr_kittty]

52. At least he never fantasized that he'd been shot at by snipers. nt

[ExPatLeftist]

58. Please go away with your RW FUX News talking points. n/t

[Mooney]

74. I also hear he's a secret Muslim double agent.

You need some new material very, very badly.

[pnorman]

16. Here's a recent DU thread on just that rumor.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x6286511

Not the "source" of it, as well as the fact that it's all insinuation and NO substance.

pnorman

[SoxFan]

20. "You are ignoring the author of this thread"

Wow, now there's a surprise...

[pnorman]

28. There was nothing in the profile of the author of that thread, to ring any alarm.

But if you read the entire thread, you'll see that the "source" quoted is at the Freek Republic level of reliability. Here it is: http://atlasshrugs2000.typepad.com/atlas_shrugs/2008/06/michelles-venom.html

Quoting from it: "The "tape" is a DVD that Trinity United sold on its website, and possibly offered free for download up until March 2008 when Trinity's site was scrubbed and the DVDs were no longer offered for sale."

Here's Snopes on Trinity United and Obama: http://www.snopes.com/politics/obama/church.asp Later on, I'll do some more Googling on it. In the meantime, let's all here make it a group activity. Google is your FRIEND.

pnorman
On edit: Here one Google 'hit', from a source that appears to associated with a potential running mate of Obama: http://hillbuzz.blogspot.com/2008/05/michelle-obama-caught-on-tape-at.html

[blonndee]

34. And there's another troll going around here saying the same thing. Right here

in this thread, actually. I don't understand why those fucking idiot assholes are still allowed here.

[pnorman]

35. Here's one Google 'hit': "Michelle Obama ‘Whitey’ Video Revealed"

Larry Johnson’s propaganda effort has worked. His promise to produce a “stunning” and “dramatic” video of Michelle Obama ranting about “whitey” has overloaded his servers. The revelatory post is supposedly here; at least that’s headlining memeorandum at the moment. I can’t get to it at the moment.

BooMan claims a transcription will say:

Why’d he cut folks off medicaid?
Why’d he let New Orleans drown?
Why’d he do nothing about Jena?
Why’d he put us in Iraq for no reason?

The antecedent to “he” is supposedly George W. Bush. Purportedly, Michelle Obama pronounces “Why’d he” as “Whitey.” Given that I haven’t heard the slur “Whitey” since the heyday of “The Jeffersons,” this strikes me as quite plausible. I’ll reserve final judgment until I’ve heard the video.
*
*
*

http://www.outsidethebeltway.com/archives/2008/06/michelle_obama_whitey_video_revealed/

So it really bold down to whether the audio from a non-professional video, could UNAMBIGUOUSLY distinguish between "why'd he" and "whitey"???? SHEESH! I like to think that Ms. H had nothing to do with this.

pnorman

[vaberella]

46. dude go to these links-- everything is debunked

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x6292924

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x6287917

[KSinTX]

30. BlueDog, I'm going to join you on that one nt

[Danger Mouse]

45. Same here. My ignore list is small, too

:hi: Must be a REAL jackass then.

[KSinTX]

23. Consider the source of the OP nt

[aaaaaa5a]

18. What has our media come too?

Haven't you heard? Obama is a muslim. (sarcasm!)

[DearAbby]

22. Time to "show and tell" Weasel Johnson

[InAbLuEsTaTe]

26. Finally a Dem candidate with BALLS!

[featherman]

27. Nah... it's the one where they were all discussing the 1956 Yankees

You know - Mickey Mantle, Yogi Berra, and Whitey Ford

[Vattel]

37. great response n/t

[vaberella]

41. There's like 5 threads like this...but thanks for the news again.

[vaberella]

43. Why is everyone naming the Church?! TUCC was omitted on the 5th Modifcation of the story

Now it was a convention funded by Rainbow/Push Coalition and that was debunked.

[Cha]

48. That's our Obama. Smack Down.

Here's hoping that an Obama Prez can get rid of some of that propaganda, gossip, swiftboat shit that permeates our airwaves.

[Douglas Carpenter]

51. Kick and recommended

[still_one]

54. Actually it is good that he responded to it. larry johnson is an assanine fool /nt

[David Zephyr]

55. Obama hits back. The rightwing bullies (cowards) aren't used to this.

Good stuff!

[jcla]

56. Fasten our seatbelts... put on the waders...

We are in for a LOT more of the same... or shame. When will people stop these stupid rumors and lies... Yeah... never... Hp boots on and manure spreader ready!

[madwivoter]

57. It's great to see Obama responding to this so strongly right off the bat

I really like the way he responds to these issues when they come up. He addresses the issue, then addresses how it's not relevant or untrue, he'll then usually give the reporter a bit of a smackdown for asking about it ;)

[Bleacher Creature]

59. I have mixed feelings on this.

I'm glad he hit this straight on and didn't ignore it. That said, why should he have to dignify this crap with a response?

I guarantee you that anyone with enough time, effort and creativity could create an internet rumor out of whole cloth and get it to spread. All you have to do is find an issue that plays into people's preconceived notions based on earlier smears, put together an elaborate story, and be persistent in spreading it.

It would be VERY easy to do this to McCain.

[vaberella]

64. Maybe you should read this....

Another poster gave a link to this.

http://campaignspot.nationalreview.com/post/?q=Mzc3ZWNhNThmM2JhMzliZDUxMWNmMmU5M2ZiNmM1YTY=



Friday, June 06, 2008



BARACK OBAMA

Why Does the Michelle Obama Tape Rumor Match a 2006 Novel?


Sometimes, this rumor of this alleged tape of Michelle Obama denouncing “whitey” sounds like something out of a clichéd political thriller novel.

Actually, it sounds exactly like something out of a clichéd political thriller novel. Specifically, Stephen Frey’s The Power Broker, published in 2006 by Ballantine Books.

A major plot line of the novel is the presidential campaign of Democrat Jesse Wood, aiming to be the country’s first African American president — “Wood was handsome, smart, charismatic, and being mentioned increasingly often in the press as someone who could unite a twenty-first century America growing more, not less, racially and economically divided.” (p.35)

He’s a U.S. Senator from New York and former senior partner at a prestigious law firm. His backers include “some of the old Black Panthers.” He wants to make Puerto Rico a state, and a recurring figure in his campaign is a controversial minister from Philadelphia called “Jefferson Roundtree.”

And by page 130, his opponents find a videotape that could ruin his candidacy…

The camera focused on Wood, who was standing with Clarence Osgood, Stephanie Childress, and another man.

“Who is that guy?” Johnson asked, taking a sip of soda. He’d known Osgood and Stephanie for a while so they were familiar to him right away. “He looks so damn fa-“ Johnson banged the sofa. “Now I remember. That’s Jefferson Roundtree, that activist minister from Philly.”

“Nut job from Philly is more like it,” Forte said. “We don’t want Jesse anywhere near him now, don’t want Jesse seen with him at all because he scares the crap out of whites. But he served his purpose here,” Forte added quietly.

“Boy, it’s a nice clear shot of Jesse-”

“Shh! Here it is, here it is.” Forte picked up the remote and turned up the volume.

The camera panned in on Wood’s handsome face as he turned to Roundtree. “Yeah, that Jew from CNN was such a pr***,” Wood said, smirking, “asking me about my voting record on civil rights.”

“You got it, brother,” Roundtree agreed heartily. “Like any cracker should have the nerve to ask you about that.”

Osgood and Stephanie nodded.

Then there were a few muffled words, but nothing audible…




“It won’t be necessary believe me,” Forte interrupted again, pointing at the screen. “Keep watching.”

There was more muffled chatter, then Wood held his hands up.

He said, “You know, I had to put up with so much crap from Whitey when I was playing tennis back in the day, it was ridiculous. Real b****** stuff, too. Tennis racquets busted while I was in the shower, no towels, the worst locker, called n***** all the time, even by the help.” He looked over at Osgood. “I’m telling you, Clarence, if I get elected president, I’m gonna act the way I’m supposed to act in front of the camera. Smile and dance like a good black man, do what I’m expected to do like a good boy. But behind the scenes, I’ll f*** Whitey, and I’ll f*** him good, I really will.”

Later the tape is used for blackmail by an ally, and then the real badguy — a Texan who owns a giant oil company named Hewitt (sorry, Hugh) — gets his hands on the tape. The description of the appropriate timing of the release of the videotape on p. 237 will sound familiar to those tracking the rumors of the alleged Michelle Obama tape.

Hewitt thought for a second. “I’m going to let Jesse win the nomination and let the public get used to him as the Democratic candidate. Give the country some time to get to know Jesse Wood, to start to like him. And they will because he’s a very likeable guy. Then I’m going to drop the bomb, after everyone’s started to like him. That way the clip will have maximum effect and people will be as angry as they can be. Whites and blacks. Whites for the obvious reason, blacks because they’ll feel like he let ‘em down.”

Now. Either author Stephen Frey is clairvoyant, writing this book in 2006. Or this is one of the all time amazing coincidences. Or whoever started this rumor got the idea from a novel.

(The tape is kept secret by getting even more incriminating videotape of the badguys and creating a mutually-assured destruction pact. In a subsequent novel, we learn Wood won the election.)

This unimaginable coincidence, coupled with Larry Johnson's unnecessarily profane and unresponsive answer to David Weigel when he asked about contradictions in the description of what's on the tape, ought to drive a stake into the heart of this rumor.

Why is a conservative blogger putting this much effort into dispelling a rumor that, on paper at least, would hurt Obama? Because those who prefer a president besides Obama should not go through the summer and fall convinced that a magic-bullet devastating tape is going to appear as an October surprise to save the day.

Also, there are a lot of good reasons to vote against Barack Obama; but what people claim Michelle Obama says on a tape that no one can produce and no one has seen isn't one of them.

[Bleacher Creature]

68. Zoinks!!! The people who spread this rumor need to crawl back into their hole and stay there. nt

[TacticalPeek]

73. Why is a conservative blogger putting this much effort into dispelling a rumor

"Why is a conservative blogger putting this much effort into dispelling a rumor that, on paper at least, would hurt Obama? Because those who prefer a president besides Obama should not go through the summer and fall convinced that a magic-bullet devastating tape is going to appear as an October surprise to save the day."



Eminently reasonable, rare in this thread imo. Thanks for the clip, vaberella.

Enlightened self-interest sometimes requires that a light be turned on.


:dem:

[vaberella]

82. De Nada ^_^ I appreciated it as well. Campaignpost and Reason are writers who do search for the

facts alongside my peeps at Volokh Conspiracy.

[Political Tiger]

80. The people spreading this rumor...

...should be ashamed of themselves and should make a public apology for being so damn foolish!

[Jefferson23]

66. Obama's been responding all presidential like since Tuesday, not that

he wasn't before, just more pronounced now, imo. Some of these fools like Hannity will make up some dumb excuse why the video won't surface now..lol

[wowimthere]

67. Of course the reporter couldn't do his homework. OF COURSE!

[Mooney]

69. See? How hard was that?

Calmly, rationally dismantle the entire method of smear at the same time as you debunk the smear itself.

Good on him. He's obviously been taking notes the last few years.

[Javaman]

75. He's no bullshit and hits back hard if not twice as hard. This is what

I think we all have been waiting for in a candidate.

[gordianot]

76. My daughter had a lengthy discussion about this in High School government class.

As she related to me the objections the last week of school in her "all white" honors Government class concerning Obama were as follows:

1. He is really a Muslim and may have been brainwashed.
2. He attends a radical church.
3. He will be weak on Terrorism since he wants to withdraw from Iraq.
4. And his wife Michelle Obama uses the term "whitey".

My daughter was labeled early in her 17 years of life as mouthy (which she has talent Speech, theater, and debate), pushy (she backs away from no one), and a rabid Democrat (her threat at rebellion at home is someday she may become a Republican). Apparently her teacher let her debate about a dozen students in her class. Her responses as she told me were as follows:

1. Barack Obama did attend a school where most of the students were Muslim, he respected their religion and apparently they respected his. Barack Obama declares himself as a Christian and no Muslim would ever do that, she went on to explain the Koran honors Jesus Christ they can look it up. As to being brainwashed that idea come from the Manchurian Candidate concerning a former POW and the story is fiction.

2. At least Barack Obama's church does not bomb abortion clinics, and that she thought the Constitution allowed people to express their beliefs and freedom of speech.

3. The invasion of Iraq had nothing to do with terrorism or the attacks on 9-11. Why doesn't the United States military pursue Al-Quida in Pakistan, Saudi Arabia etc. Barack Obama did not fall for the Bush administration lies.

4. No one has seen the infamous tape, it is most likely a campaign smear along the lines that McCain fathered a half black child.

Unfortunately she will not be able to vote in November, she has worked 3 times in the last year as a volunteer at the polls. Twice this year she has been sent to the office for expressing opinions in this class. Once when she argued with her teacher about the war in Iraq, and in a class ethics discussion regarding Carl Rove. In both instances she stood up herself and we were never called about these incidents.

I am truly glad that Mr. Obama has addressed this issue.

[mrs_p]

77. your daughter rocks!

[krispos42]

78. You mean the "why'd he..." video?

:rofl:

[BayjanDem]

79. It's good to see

Obama's nasty side. He's from the Chi, and we know Chicago politicians don't play that.