MainStreamMedia: Distortion and Exaggeration

The media, with hyperbole and media distortions has set out to get the imagination of as many people as they can to shape people's mind in an effort to stop Hillary Clinton. They have come a long way in succeeding. They do so not because some other individual is more qualified for a position but simply because they dislike Hillary Clinton with a passion and some of them simply do not think a woman should be running for or be elected president of this country.

Europeans underscored the mentality of some people in this country as being idiots. The problem with all of that is that all of us must pay for the agenda of the mainstream media. All of us have to pay for it.

These are the same people who we didn't hear a peep out of during the run up to and the initiation of the Iraq occupation which has seen millions of people displaced, hundreds of thousands of people killed including thousands of coalition forces who were killed or maimed.

Now they wear the flags on their lapels and support, get morphed into the Bush Administration.

This morning we watched Kosovo declare independence from Serbia and MSNBC came out with an exageration of how the Serbian people did so much to the U.S. embassy when it was not that serious. They never said what happened to the military or security at the embassy but there was never anything that happened to the extent of what MSNBC tried to describe.

McCaskill gets a Softball from Chris Matthews

Chris Matthews gives Claire McCaskill plenty of time to gather herself so she can answer the question that Senator Kirk Watson could not answer about Barack Obama's accomplishments in the Senate. Even leading up to the interview Chris Matthews seemed to stall to allow Senator McCaskill to form her answer (Let's not even point out that her only reason for showing up was to give this response). She came up with four answers:

Earmark Reform:

She said that Senator Barack Obama created legislation related to earmark reform. Porkbusters.com gives Senator Obama a 25 out of a possible 100. It rates Senators based on their support for earmark reform on 12 votes between 2005 and 2007. Senator Clinton had a rating of 16.66.

“Wounded Warriors” of Walter Reed:

Senator McCaskill introduced a bill along with Senator Obama to fix Walter Reed hospital. I enter a quote from the Washington Post below:

Seizing on an investigative report by The Washington Post's Dana Priest and Anne Hull, Sens. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) and Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) will introduce legislation next week to require more frequent inspections of hospitals providing treatment to active-duty military personnel.

Co-partison proposal on finding Nukes:

McCaskall nearly makes a misstatement when she says that Barack Obama, along with Senator Richard Lugar of Indiana proposed an amendment to expand the Cooperative Threat Reduction Program to include conventional weapons along with finding and dismantalling nuclear weapons in former Soviet blocks. The Nunn-Lugar act of 1991 had already created the CTRP with one of the goals being dismantalling nuclear weapons well before Barack Obama ever entered the United States Senate. McCaskall made it sound as if Obama had proposed the law that was already in place. The most credit that could be given with regard to nuclear weapons is that the new proposal made the program interdict weapons of mass destruction shipped by sea.
I consider it to be an exaggeration when Obama and Lugar said shoulder-fired missiles, abandoned land mines and other weapons could be as dangerous as a nuclear threat.

Cohort Spending

I'm either too tired or too ignorant to know what she was talking about here. I know Obama did a lot of work on ethics reform and I wonder if it has something to do with nepotism in Washington, but I'll have to get back to it if I ever figure it out.

I hope I can get a video of McCaskill's appearance on Hardball today so I can go over what she said.

Chris Matthews, ugh

On Hardball, Chris Matthews tore into Hillary Clinton under the guise of the question “How can Clinton win”. The rest of the characters on his show at the time began saying how it is impossible, then correcting themselves and saying it is improbable for her to pull off a victory. Matthews introduces an Obama clip that is followed by a Clinton clip of much shorter length. Chris follows the Clinton clip by saying that both candidates looked tired. (favorable words before Barack Obama, unfavorable after Hillary Clinton).

Shortly after they talk about how Hillary Clinton is losing everywhere in the poll. They criticize Clinton for criticizing Barack Obama’s campaign for being a campaign about a campaign. I agree with Clinton's assessment.

The media should not manipulate the voters. Texas, Ohio, Rhode Island, Vermont, Pennsylvania, Oregon and the rest of the United States do not need to be manipulated. Listen to the debates and the words of the candidates instead. Compare their stance using their websites and writings and compare the candidates’ voice to that instead of listening to Chris Matthews.

Message Hillary Clinton

Hillary Clinton needs to know that she has your support as she attempts to gain the Democratic nomination to be a presidential candidate. Join me and tell Senator Clinton that she has your support. It's easy to send a message on her website here

Obama Plagiarizes Patrick

It amazes me when the media and many Barack Obama supporters circle the wagons around the junior Illinois Senator to protect him from being scarred by the discovery of his plagiarism of Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick. Many either dismiss the action entirely or say it is OK, rationalizing that other politicians do it too. Barack Obama said that he and Deval Patrick share ideas all the time and even said his own words have been used by Hillary Clinton before.

It will take digging to find out if this statement is disingenuous. Lou Dobb's asked today what ideas Governor Deval Patrick has taken from Barack Obama. Naturally, it will take investigation to answer that question. Though Dobbs did not ask this question, the next would be "What has Hillary Clinton taken from Barack Obama?"

One blogger uses New Republic's Noam Scheiber to call Hillary Clinton the thief for using phrases similar to those used by John Edwards or even John McCain. The comparison is disingenuous. Every example is a sentence, or rather less than a sentence, as a phrase that is common to the Democratic Party. They are generalized statements and so far I have only seen Barack Obama and those on the media try to use generalized statements to defend Obama.

No one will make the distinction between the long uncommon words of Barack Obama (or rather Deval Patrick) and the short, generalized statements of Clinton. Barack Obama needs to take responsibility for what he did and all of his supporters need to stop defending his action.

Senator Obama's refusal to take responsibility for what he did is an awful flaw in his character. His failure to publicly and forcefully articulate his stances and offer solutions make it more difficult to hold him accountable. Third, Senator Obama is refusing to take responsibility for what he did. He should apologize and move on. His failure to apologize is indicative of a flaw in his character. Especially dangerous is how he hardly articulates his stances publicly (at least not vocally) and how it will be more difficult to hold him accountable when you have to search through vote records and written papers to see what the man is actually thinking.

Obama's generic rhetoric has been made worse by his derivative language. If this is his behavior it shows how much his "change" is actually worth.

A second issue that must be brought up is that both Patrick and Obama are belittling the history of the United States by saying what they said. It took Lou Dobbs to fully articulate this for me and what is important to note is that a lot of blood shed happened to make those words have as much substance as they did. Today Barack Obama talks in relatively quiet times. The media, political members, and publics' comparisons between Iraq and Vietnam, the references to the World Wars and comparisons between the illegal immigrant situation and the Civil Rights era are all belittling the incredible atmosphere of many pasts.

Obama Can Steal With Immunity

Barack Obama plagiarized Massechusetts Governor Deval Patrick last Saturday, February 16, 2008, and said it is not a big deal. Obama said that he and Governor Patrick share ideas all the time. As Lou Dobbs asked today, what exactly has Deval Patrick lifted from Obama?

The answer as we know it now is absolutely nothing. There are those such as Brian Maloney of The Radio Equalizer who claim that Deval Patrick used "Obama like language" when Patrick called 9/11 a "failure of human understanding" but hindsight is 20/20 and Maloney didn't even mention Barack Obama last year when Patrick made the statement.

But the statements are all that people can find. Really short statements. No one can find a whole paragraph like the one that Barack Obama lifted from Governor Patrick. Sentences revolving around basic Democratic principles are flying around blogs in an attempt to heal the wounded Barack Obama but the truth is that Barack Obama plagiarized. Obama should just apologize and move on instead of letting all the starry eyed Obama lovers circle the wagons.

Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama Close As They Vie for the Democratic Nomination

The latest examination by CNN shows Clinton with a narrow lead in the delegate count when superdelegates are factored in.

A string of recent victories and endorsements from key party insiders have Democratic presidential hopefuls Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton running neck-and-neck in the increasingly important battle for delegates.

Clinton holds a narrow delegate lead over Obama, 1,157 to 1,145, down from her lead of more than 100 delegates a month ago, according to CNN's estimate.

Associated Press has Obama ahead by 26 delegates. Both counts give slim margins in a race that requires 2025 delegates to make an official victory.

David Plouffe, Barack Obama's campaign Manager said in a letter to Obama supporters that it "will demand energy and resources on an unprecedented scale" to keep the victories going in the upcoming contests in Wisconsin, Texas, Ohio, and Pennsylvania.

Plouffe recognizes that the eight straight victories since Super Tuesday should not let the Obama camp take the following states for granted.

But the race for the Democratic nomination remains close. It's going to be a fight for every vote and every delegate in the remaining 18 contests.

The fight for the Democratic Nomination is likely to continue past March 4 primaries especially considering the delegate distribution system of the Democratic National Committee. In addition to the narrow margins the independent nature of the superdelegates prevents the possibility of having a clear and disisive leader, possibly until the Democratic National Convention convenes.

For the first time, polls show Obama leading in popular opinion in Wisconsin. Public POlicy POlling produced a poll on 2/11/2008 that showed Obama ahead 11 points (50-39%). Ten percent called themselves unsure and with Clinton's history of garnering more of the last minute voters if the numbers the state could end up dividing delegates pretty evenly.

Texas still fails to show any polls newer than the IRV poll that shows Clinton ahead, 48-38%. It was last taken on January 31, 2008.

In Ohio, Hillary Clinton continues to carry the state with double digits according to Survey USA. Barack Obama was behind by fewer than 20 points for the first time in any poll but there were few undecided and even with the margin of error Obama is still behind by more than a dozen points in the best scenario. Former Ohio Senator and astronaut John Glenn announced his endorsement of Hillary today which can only strengthen her standing in the state. Obama's only hope is that his wins in Maryland, Washingtin D.C. and Virginia impress future voters.

Pennsylvania also lacks a recent poll. The Franklin & Marshall College/Philadelphia Daily News/WGAL TV, et al, Keystone Poll shows Clinton ahead 20 points.

If numbers continue to look as they are Hillary Clinton will likely shore up her pledged delegate base and continue to show superior numbers with the help of the superdelegate endorsements. Obama must close the gap in the coming weeks to prevent the Clinton push. It will be enteresting to see if the "Omentum" of Barack Obama continues past March 4, 2008.

The More Things Change The More They Stay The Same

A citizen of New Orleans responding to comments that were responding to an article about President Bill Clinton visiting Dillard's Lawless Memorial Chapel in New Orleans.

Posted by Lovenola81 on 02/08/08
at 3:16PM

If you're looking for change in 2008, voting for Barak Obama will only bring more constancy.

His charismatic speeches and smooth attitude have been attracting and catching the American public's attention. His sudden rise as a
leading presidential democratic candidate can be credited to the mass media. The
Obama frenzy we see on television lets us know only a few things about him: He's
black, not a Republican and against the war in Iraq.

In his non-fiction book, "The Audacity of Hope," Obama promotes the
idea that the U.S. has the duty to "help make the world more secure."
This rhetoric was used by the Bush administration to justify the invasion of Iraq in
the first place. This imperialist view of foreign policy and function as the
world police has gotten America into a deeper hole of worldwide resentment. The
junior senator from Illinois' lack of a track record has been touted as one of
his best assets.

But the few things he has done look pretty ominous, like his vote in
favor of re-enacting the Patriot Act.

A man who claims to stand for civil liberties and the rights granted by
the constitution approved a bill that is infamous for its disregard of
constitutional law.

Obama opposed an amendment called the Bankruptcy Act that would have
capped credit card interest rates at 30 percent, relieving millions of Americans
in debt. He also opposed the introduction of the Canadian-style, single-payer
national health insurance that would guarantee all Americans their right to
health care.

In "Hope," Obama joins victim-blaming Republicans by saying that poor
blacks' "cultural" issues are the cause of concentrated black poverty. He
doesn't recognize the many well-documented, interconnected structures, practices
and consequences of imposed white supremacy and corporate-state
capitalism.

His childhood went something like this: He was raised by his white
grandparents, attended an elite private school and lived in tropical
Hawaii.
In his book, Obama claims blacks have joined the "socioeconomic mainstream." This statement must have been made without any real research on the subject. According to economist Jennifer Weary in her report "The Future Middle Class: African Americans, Latinos and Economic Opportunity," the median black household net worth falls to less than eight cents.

We should not vote on shallow information from mass media. Americans need do their own research to find the best candidate, not that of the corporate elite.

A good president isn't based on charisma alone. If Obama is going to
have a chance, he needs to first prove himself to win over voters.

JJ from NOLA

Clinton is Destroying Them!

I just heard j***a** Wolf Blitzer mention that the delegates are not winner take all after he was forced to report that Hillary Clinton has been projected to take California. The polls were wrong just like the game line was wrong about the Giants.

All the polls, all the pundits, all the idiots are being destroyed today by the Clinton machine and I am proud because Clinton is the real front runner that is falsely labeled by the media as a lame duck. Clinton is destroying them. She is destroying them!

Retraction: Obama wins Missouri

I called Missouri for Clinton the day of and then relegated this post to a draft in order to hide it from the world. I just can't delete it because I wrote it and I'm a writing packrat. Obama went on to win Missouri by one percent when Clinton had been ahead in the count the whole day.

The original title of this post was "Hillary wins Missouri. You heard it hear first." because I wanted to call it before any major news network. Looks like I pulled a Fox. Then again, the AP apparently called it for Clinton too. I guess we can all make mistakes...(must start a conspiracy theory that says Obama stole Missouri).

Here is the original post:

I just realized I can call Missouri for Clinton before any of the major networks do. Correct me if I am wrong.

With 94% of the vote in and Obama needing two to one to come back in what looks like a 50/50 cut of the rest of the votes I can faithfully call Missouri for Hillary Clinton.

edit: It looks like AP called it 30 minutes ago. I should have tried to call it earlier. I just kept wondering why MSNBC didn't put that fancy yellow check there.

Then again they are claiming that Clinton and Obama hate each other. The only candidate hated in this race is Mitt Romney. We all know that.

I wonder

I see an America where we failed to get health care when we owned both the
WH and Congress...

I see an America where we failed to sign Kyoto while controlling both the
WH and Congress...

I see an America ravaged by joblessness and homelessness thanks to your
refusal to reverse Reaganomics by passing NAFTA, etc..."

Elias 02.05.08 - 11:04 pm #

But in the meantime, it would be nice to see the Democrats wipe out the Republicans so we can get one step closer to debunking those statements.

For my own humility

Nothing political. Just a mistake I made typing in the comment box on Atrios. I also type throught instead of "through" without fail. I guess my mind doesn't work quite right, eh? "Vince Foster" caught it so I give him a point and a cookie.

What Clinton dead was insignificant compared to all the crap the Republicans have pulled. Not funny.Vince Foster 02.05.08 - 1:39 am

I think Clinton is doing better than the media said

I think I see Hillary Clinton kicking a** right now. She just took Massachusetts and she took it clean. I'm happy. All the polls appear to be pure BS,

CNN show's her cleaning up. I think she's taking the west, the northeast, and cutting through the center of the midwest.

Second place is also called losing

A few hours ago, Dan Abram was on MSNBC saying the media is going to frame today (or tomorrow for us pacific coasters) in a good light for Obama if he wins or comes close, whether he comes close by number of states or delegates.

Basically, Obama gets about 3 chances where Clinton only gets one. Clinton has to get a clear wipeout victory in order to stomp the media’s Barack Fire. Based on current polls, the media has a good chance off framing Barack Obama as the winner even if he loses like Romney.

So I naively believed that Dan Abram was condemning the media for their behavior. But as soon as 10 o clock pacific time came around I saw Dan preeching the same "Obama is closing" crap about New York because Clinton's double digit lead was not large enough.

Oh, By The Way, I'm White

Sharon Marquez, editor of the Chillicoth Gazette, a newspaper from the newspaper network of Central Ohio, wrote an article about a Klansman who was riding in the back of a pickup truck with a "trashy sign" that would speed away whenever someone tried to approach him.

I appreciate the article. I really do. But the last sentence of the article was "By the way, I am not a person of color. I am white." I think it was odd that she felt she needed to qualify the article as if her words were not powerful enough. It is as if she expects her audience to only believe that an African-American or some other hyphen-American would be willing to write those words.

It really does show how pitiful people must be if we expect them to act like that. How much bigotry is there in the United States where people do not recognize that there has been and always will be a section of White America that acts against injustice. It has been there since the Atlantic slave trade and continues to this day. But the expectation in America appears to be White neglect of race related issues.