Let's Do It

[H2O Man]

"It has become increasingly clear in my travel, the campaign, that the crowds, the enthusiasm, 200,000 people in Berlin, is not about me at all. It’s about America. I have just become a symbol of the possibility of America returning to our best traditions"
--Barack Obama

The corporate media is attempting to make Barack Obama look "uppity" by focusing on the second sentence in this quote. (Many thanks to DUer FLDem5 for the actual quote.) The actual quote is the exact opposite of what the media is twisting it to mean. Again, I am reminded of Minister Malcolm X’s warning that if we listen to the media, we will be carrying an open umbrella on a sunny day, and getting soaked on a rainy day.

It may be a coincidence that the esteemed journalists are using a tactic associated with Karl Rove: attack your opponent’s strengths. Or it may be that the media is serving their masters by engaging in a coordinated effort to undermine Barack Obama. Either way, our response should be the same.

Let’s take this opportunity to e-mail, write, and/or call the various media sources, and deliver this message:

Dear ___________:

I agree with Senator Barack Obama. The positive response to his presidential campaign is about the United States of America. In the days and weeks after 9/11, the world was expressing its support for our country. But in the years since, the Bush-Cheney administration has behaved in a manner that is in the worst tradition, and for that reason, the United States is no longer respected and supported by many people around the globe.

As a US citizen and as a democrat, I support Barack Obama. I am confident that he will work with the Congress, governors, mayors, and citizens of this country, to repair the damage that this administration has done to the foundation of our Constitutional democracy. Senator Obama is correct that the responses of the crowds in Germany, like those in the United States, represent the hopes of those who are looking for the best traditions of this country to regain control of our domestic and foreign policy.

In order to provide your audience an accurate sense of what Senator Obama said, please use both sentences of his quote. By using only the second sentence out of context, the result can only be to cause misunderstanding. The public deserves better than that.

Sincerely,



We have the opportunity to do this today. It’s something that will not take long, and that we can have some fun doing. I am going to start with MSNBC; here is their e-mail address:

[e-mail] <[e-mail]>

I would appreciate it if other DUers would post the addresses/phone numbers of other sources of misinformation. Let’s use this thread to post any responses that we get, too. Perhaps Skinner will donate a free DU t-shirt to the person who gets the best response.

Thank you,
H2O Man