Dissecting & debunking the Obama smears

I have to admit, it's pretty hard to listen to the audio (above) from two of the world's biggest liars and not become pretty enraged. But, that's how they play - when the truth doesn't fit their paradigm and ideology (and it often doesn't), then just lie, lie, lie. They must say to themselves, "Hey, if McCain can't get elected on his record (which he can't, in all likelihood, but we'll never find out with jackasses like these two around, among others), then we'll just make shit up, and if we repeat it over and over and over again, then people will soon believe it to be true! Hey, cool!" (See the lie about Al Gore saying he "invented the Internet" for a Hall of Fame reference.)

The right's been doing this for the better part of '08 about Obama - the madrassa smear, the Pledge of Allegiance myth, you name it - the litany of lies keeps coming and coming. It's like Hannity and Limbaugh are two addicts, and lies are their crack. (Oops - sorry Rush, I swear I wasn't referring to your OxyContin addiction, really! Am I the only one who thinks it's funny that a drug addict who used to put down other drug addicts before he got caught is named Rush?!? Just wondering.)

From Media Matters:

From the July 29 edition of Fox News' Hannity & Colmes:

HANNITY: So how did Senator Barack Obama's oversea trip resonate with voters? A brand-new USA Today/Gallup poll shows that only Democrats were impressed, with 53 percent calling the trip positive. Republicans overwhelmingly reject -- overwhelmingly rejected the trip, while 41 percent of independents held no opinion at all. The poll also reveals voters are twice as likely to classify media coverage of Obama as unfairly positive rather than unfairly negative, and in the case of McCain, the opposite is the truth, with many more seeing coverage of him as negative.

Joining us now, nationally syndicated radio talk show host Mike Gallagher, former [House Minority Leader Dick] Gephardt [D-MO] campaign manager Steve Elmendorf, and Washington Times columnist Tony Blankley.

Mike, you and I talk about this often on the radio. No big surprises here, especially in light of him, you know, abandoning the troop visit because the cameras weren't around -- allowed and the campaign wasn't allowed. I think this is a net negative for him in the end. Your thoughts?

GALLAGHER: Oh, it has to be. I mean, it's -- it's stunning that he's not -- doesn't have a commanding lead right now in the polls. But even with the fawning media coverage, the kernels of truth slip out.

From the July 29 edition of MSNBC's Morning Joe:

SCARBOROUGH: You say that he's stunned by the truth. What is the truth as you see it? Why -- are -- are you suggesting that Barack Obama does not value the service of our men and women in uniform?

DAVIS: No, I'm sure he does. And I'm sure that the men and women in our uniform would've valued the -- the visit that he had indicated early on that he was gonna make, you know, when he -- when he arrived in Landstuhl. I don't know what the truth is, because out of the Obama campaign themselves and Mr. Gibbs in particular, there have been probably 11 separate excuses for why they didn't visit the troops. Now, if they don't know why they didn't visit the troops, I'm sure as heck not gonna figure it out.

Above is video from a recent Hannity & Colmes, with Hannity repeating on camera the same lies he said on his radio show.

Where's the proof, you say? How about NBC's Andrea Mitchell, a reporter who historically hasn't always been very friendly to Obama - she was there, with Obama, unlike Limbaugh and Hannity.

Mitchell's take: "There was any intention, let me make this absolutely clear, the press was never going to go on the trip [to visit the troops in Landstuhl Regional Medical Center].

Oops! I certainly hope people remember this, two months from now, when McCain (or, more likely, 527s and other surrogates who are backing McCain, begin repeating the accusation over and over and over, as if it's a fact that Obama wouldn't visit the troops because cameras couldn't come.) It's not a fact, never has been, and never will be.

But, in a way, the McCain camp (with the help of State TV, Faux News) have scored a small victory, because of course this is all that the press is talking about now, not the very successful trip that Obama had overseas.

It's okay though, because McCain is looking more and more desperate as the days wear on.

Again, Media Matters has much more on this latest Obama smear that's patently absurd, and worst of all, completely false.

Obama's "favorable" press endures...

Seriously, just what in the world is wrong with NBC's Andrea Mitchell? Even for her, a blatantly biased reporter in favor of McCain, this one's over the top.

During a discussion yesterday on MSNBC, Mitchell had this to say about Obama's trip to Israel, Europe and Iraq:

But what if he [Obama] is so celebrated in Europe, Mika, that there is criticism back home? That it doesn't play well in parts of the country that are, you know, a little bit more jingoistic, and a little bit more isolationist, which includes, perhaps, parts of the Midwest and Appalachia, and other parts of key battleground states, where seeing him celebrated in Europe might seem to be an implicit criticism of America.

You've to be kidding me. Quite frankly, and I'm reasonably certainly Obama would agree with this, but who in the hell cares about "the parts of the country that are, you know, a little bit more jingoistic"? I seriously doubt that Obama is trying to court their votes anyway.

To even suggest that a favorable reception of Obama in Europe would be viewed as a a "criticism of America" is beyond the pale. In fact, I was so fired up upon listening to this, I sent an e-mail to Phil Griffin, senior vice president of MSNBC News, and Steve Capus, the president of NBC News:

Dear Mr. Griffin & Mr. Capus:
Yesterday's interview with Andrea Mitchell on MSNBC was nothing short of an outrage. During an interview concerning Barack Obama's trip to the Middle East, this is what she said, in part:

"But what if he is so celebrated in Europe, Mika, that there is criticism back home? That it doesn't play well in parts of the country that are, you know, a little bit more jingoistic, and a little bit more isolationist, which includes, perhaps, parts of the Midwest and Appalachia, and other parts of key battleground states, where seeing him celebrated in Europe might seem to be an implicit criticism of America."

Was she reporting, or was she offering commentary? I don't know about either one of you, but I certainly cannot decide. But, in either capacity, saying that if Obama "is celebrated in Europe, it might seem like an implicit criticism of America" is beyond contempt. She should apologize on air immediately for such a despicable comment, period. Either her comments become more restrained, or my viewership of both NBC and MSNBC will end, save for Keith Olbermann's Countdown.

Is she interviewing for a position on Fox News?

I'd like to know precisely what you plan on doing about her comments on your networks, because these sorts of comments cheapen the coverage of our presidential candidates. This is only one in many examples of her implicit cheerleading for John McCain and her overt contempt for Barack Obama. Thanks for your time.

Yours in democracy,
RJ
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

I encourage all of you to write both Steve Capus, president of NBC News, at: steve.capus@nbc.com, and Phil Griffin, senior vice president of MSNBC News, at: phil.griffin@nbc.com.

h/t Media Matters for the video and transcript