If you follow politics closely, there is a distinct media bias in this country that is evidenced almost on a daily basis. In this current political season regarding Barack Obama, it is more observable than ever.
Never in my life have I witnessed one politician “misspeak” so many times in such a short period and have it utterly ignored my the main stream media. Most candidates are crucified for gaffes. Can you remember what happened with Dan Quayle spelled potatoe? Or when John Kerry said he voted for the $87 billion before he voted against it?
Michelle Malkin compiled a list of gaffes made by Barack Obama in just the last year.
– Last May, he claimed that tornadoes in Kansas killed a whopping 10,000 people: “In case you missed it, this week, there was a tragedy in Kansas. Ten thousand people died — an entire town destroyed.” The actual death toll: 12.
– Earlier this month in Oregon, he redrew the map of the United States: “Over the last 15 months, we’ve traveled to every corner of the United States. I’ve now been in 57 states? I think one left to go.”
– Last week, in front of a roaring Sioux Falls, S.D., audience, Obama exulted: “Thank you, Sioux City. … I said it wrong. I’ve been in Iowa for too long. I’m sorry.”
– Explaining last week why he was trailing Hillary Clinton in Kentucky, Obama again botched basic geography: “Sen. Clinton, I think, is much better known, coming from a nearby state of Arkansas. So it’s not surprising that she would have an advantage in some of those states in the middle.” On what map is Arkansas closer to Kentucky than Illinois?
– Obama has as much trouble with numbers as he has with maps. Last March, on the anniversary of the Bloody Sunday march in Selma, Ala., he claimed his parents united as a direct result of the civil rights movement:
“There was something stirring across the country because of what happened in Selma, Ala., because some folks are willing to march across a bridge. So they got together and Barack Obama Jr. was born.”
Obama was born in 1961. The Selma march took place in 1965. His spokesman, Bill Burton, later explained that Obama was “speaking metaphorically about the civil rights movement as a whole.”
– Earlier this month in Cape Girardeau, Mo., Obama showed off his knowledge of the war in Afghanistan by homing in on a lack of translators: “We only have a certain number of them, and if they are all in Iraq, then it’s harder for us to use them in Afghanistan.” The real reason it’s “harder for us to use them” in Afghanistan: Iraqis speak Arabic or Kurdish. The Afghanis speak Pashto, Farsi or other non-Arabic languages.
– Over the weekend in Oregon, Obama pleaded ignorance of the decades-old, multi-billion-dollar massive Hanford nuclear waste cleanup:
“Here’s something that you will rarely hear from a politician, and that is that I’m not familiar with the Hanford, uuuuhh, site, so I don’t know exactly what’s going on there. (Applause.) Now, having said that, I promise you I’ll learn about it by the time I leave here on the ride back to the airport.”
I assume on that ride, a staffer reminded him that he’s voted on at least one defense authorization bill that addressed the “costs, schedules, and technical issues” dealing with the nation’s most contaminated nuclear waste site.
– Last March, the Chicago Tribune reported this little-noticed nugget about a fake autobiographical detail in Obama’s “Dreams from My Father”:
“Then, there’s the copy of Life magazine that Obama presents as his racial awakening at age 9. In it, he wrote, was an article and two accompanying photographs of an African-American man physically and mentally scarred by his efforts to lighten his skin. In fact, the Life article and the photographs don’t exist, say the magazine’s own historians.”
– And in perhaps the most seriously troubling set of gaffes of them all, Obama told a Portland crowd over the weekend that Iran doesn’t “pose a serious threat to us” — cluelessly arguing that “tiny countries” with small defense budgets can’t do us harm — and then promptly flip-flopped the next day, claiming, “I’ve made it clear for years that the threat from Iran is grave
People are going to eventually catch onto this. If he claims Arabic is spoken in Afghanistan or that there he’s been to 57 states during one of the debates with McCain, Obama will be in real trouble. The media won’t be able to hide that one anymore. Right now, he’s got the entire national media in his back pocket, so no one hears about the gaffes that he makes in Podunk City, Indiana.
The media and money machine that is Barack Obama will continue to roll through November unless:
1. The Republicans figure out a message (and a conservative one at that)
2. The public realizes out how clueless Obama is
3. Hillary figures out a way to steal the nomination. Don’t think it’s out of the question yet.
4. That “kill whitey” video of Michelle Obama surfaces (I’ve heard that one does exist)
I’m not too optimistic, but I’m hoping that at least #1 happens before 2012.
I am a physician currently working as a flight surgeon. I have been happily married for almost 5 years and I have two beautiful daughters. We currently live in northern Florida. I am a self-described political/talk radio junkie with too much time on my hands (especially after being used to working 80+ hrs/week for the past few years).
I am a libertarian-leaning conservative who believes in less government, fewer taxes, and protecting what has always been unique about America to the rest of the world–Freedom. Many Americans desire to have our freedoms limited through government regulations and higher taxes. There is a distinct move towards socialism in this country on multiple levels including health care, welfare, and education. I hope this website/blog will inform and entertain while encouraging each of us to battle this “progressive” move towards socialist principles which will only degrade what has made America great for the last 200+ years.
on May 23rd, 2008 at 7:33 pm
Conservemus–
Thanks, you’ve summed it up very nicely. I think a lot hinges on who McCain’s VP is. The GOP, in my mind, desperately needs someone young and inspiring on the ticket. McCain creaks with age. In fact, the “Grand Old Party” feels a little too grand, and a little too old these days.
We need someone vibrant to shake things up again. You know a young conservative is likely to have substance to lay even more contrast to Obama’s lack thereof….
on May 24th, 2008 at 2:34 am
From what I’ve heard, the top 3 candidates for the VP slot are Romney, Crist, and Jindal. The fear by some is that a candidate too young (Jindal) would highlight McCain’s age even more than now. Plus, Jindal is as inexperienced in foreign policy stuff as Obama.
That leaves Crist and Romney. To me, Romney would be the better pick overall, but Crist could deliver Florida for McCain. Plus, currently Crist is more of a liberal Republican and is a populist. These views tend to line up with McCain more than Romney’s do.
I’m hoping it will be Romney before Crist, but I’d be more happy with a guy like J.C. Watts.
on May 24th, 2008 at 3:47 am
I don’t know. I like Jindal. Having less experience foreign-policy-wise as VP is not as big of a deal. In fact, it’s the perfect job to learn a great deal of foreign policy on your way to becoming President. Sure, Cheney had experience and then some, but Jindal has charisma and brains, and could be just what the ticket needs.
Regarding whether it would highlight McCain’s age more–I’m not sure that’s such an issue. People are already pretty aware of his age. It’s hard not to be….
Good thoughts, though. Thanks.
on May 24th, 2008 at 2:05 pm
I was wishing well for macain presidency, until the dreaded thought of Jindal vice presidency came in. Jindal is an opportunist. As all of us know, he didn’t meet Jesus christ in his dreams or hearts or things like that. All that he did is to smell opportunity and power in conversion - Just the way Obama found opportunity in Chicago black politics. Jindal is Obama-II. He could be insensitive to some people, just as Obama can’t feel sensitivity of a lot of people.
on May 24th, 2008 at 6:29 pm
Any of my fellow Democrats supporting McCain over Obama in the General Election, please join me here…
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/mccaindemocrats/
on May 24th, 2008 at 7:16 pm
At least we have one thing to thank Obama for–I’m a lifelong liberal about to turn conservative. Not simply out of spite because Clinton was so disrespected by his campaign, but because Obama really made me reevaluate liberalism. If he is representing liberals, then I need to adjust my core philosophy.
on May 24th, 2008 at 10:11 pm
The media and the Obama campaign continue to take remarks by Hillary out of
context and fan the flames of hostility. I think by doing this they are
energizing Hillary’s base because we just see it as another attempt to bury her
candidacy. The RFK comment is no different than the comment that she made
several months ago regarding the fact, “MLK was a visionary leader for civil
rights yet it took a President [to pull the legislative lever] to make civil
rights a reality.” This is fact, and like it or not and there is nothing
inflammatory about it. This is when the race baiting began by the Obama
campaign in conjunction with people like James E. Clyburn, Al Sharpton and
others (basic Obama surrogates). What is ironic is how they don’t come out and
condemn the blatant sexism that has existed in this race! David Schuster of MSM
stating that, “Hillary has pimped out her daughter Chelsea!” If this had been
said about Obama’s daughters there would have been outrage by the media in
denouncing this irresponsible remark. But this did not happen, instead it was
treated casually by the media as no big deal. The deafening silence regarding
the issue of sexism and the resistance by the media to discuss this serious
issue in this campaign has been numbing. I saw a number of women journalist and
pundits that tried to bring it up several months ago and CNN would conveniently
cut to a commercial. One would have to be blind not to recognize the sexism
that has existed in this campaign. But just in case you don’t “see” it, let me
give you some further examples, 1) MSM commentators discounting Hillary’s win in
Florida making fun of her going down Florida to say “thank you” to those who
voted for her. (This was nothing short of locker room chortle.) and an insult
to the voters of Florida. They joked and laughed and said it was nothing short
of a “Beauty Contest.” The reference by Chris Matthews that the reason she got
voted into the senate was because her husband slept around and continual
references to her pant suits! And overall, the unadulterated discounting for
the past year of the positive events of her campaign while glorifying every move
of Obama. And most telling of all that sexism big ugly head is out there is the
fact that there has been a large “cry” from the media and Democratic party
elders for her to drop out of the race when she is on the verge of taking the
lead in the popular vote no matter which way you count it!
Hillary supporters are smart enough to realize that the liberal press meets the
demographic profile of a Obama supporter and that is fine becuase no matter how
much they prop him up and give him unwarranted positive press coverage while
pouncing on every word Mrs. Clinton makes in order to make her look bad, it does
not effect how we will vote.
on May 24th, 2008 at 10:26 pm
The MSM’s Obama bias is clear by now to most Americans and if anything, they have lost even more respect because instead of doing their job of objectively reporting and exposing candidate weaknesses, they protect and coddle their darling candidate, which is Obama.
As for the VP slot, I like Jindal but he is very young and needs more experience. Otherwise, he could cancel out Republican claims that Obama is also inexperienced. How could McCain say that about Obama and not about Jindal. Jindal has a future but it’s not as VP right now. Crist is A-OK, but I also second J.C. Watts. He is young, experienced, a role model for youths, and an outstanding gentleman of color who will outshine Obama.
on May 25th, 2008 at 2:15 am
Good article! McCain can beat Obama. But a combination of Obama-Hillary in some order is hard to beat! McCain needs to pick his VP carefully! My favorite person is Ms. Rice!
The longer Hillary stays in the race, the more I see that she can stand on her own and has the quality of a president.
About Bill Clinton, the main stream media went way out to defend him some 9 years ago. The same media now kicks him and his wife around for the new darling, Obama.
on May 25th, 2008 at 4:25 am
I like Rice also, but I think she is simply too divisive at this point. It’s a tricky question to be sure. Jindal is an opportunist? I guess I have to look into that some more. Honestly, I haven’t focused much on the VP choice much lately, and Jindal struck me as a good choice. I will have to dig a little deeper, I’m afraid….