How to Swift Boat Barack Obama?

by Sheldon Rampton — March 19, 2008 - 10:08am
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Republican strategists are salivating over the "inflammatory sermons by Obama's pastor" Jeremiah Wright. They believe that Wright's sermons "offer the party a pathway to victory if Obama emerges as the Democratic nominee. Not only will the video clips enable some elements of the party to define him as unpatriotic, they will also serve as a powerful motivating force for the conservative base." Notwithstanding Obama's highly praised speech on race yesterday, the videos of Wright's sermons have "convinced some that, after months of praying for Hillary Clinton and the automatic enmity which she arouses, that they may actually have easier prey." According to Micah Sifry, "Obama's speech is a great test of the following question: Are we still living in the age of sound-bite politics, where the sharp attack line, even taken out of context, can become the 'truth' of an event or a person thanks to the amplifying and distorting effects of broadcast media? Or are we entering the age of sound-blast politics, where a 37-minute speech can actually be watched, read, and digested by millions of people (a million views already on YouTube!) using the abundant spaces of the internet -- and the themes and meanings they encounter and absorb will be not about the 'politics' of a speech, but its actual content? In other words, are we entering an age when politicians can be judged not by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character?"

Main Source: 
Politico.com, March 19, 2008

Comments

A Clinton supporter organized the Wright conference

Submitted by stephane mot on April 30, 2008 - 8:11pm.

Barbara Reynolds declared her flame to Hillary's candidacy earlier this year on her blog.

She also set up the Rev. Jeremiah Wright's latest controversial conference, the one that led media to wonder whether the man was in favor of Obama or against him.

Now we know, thanks to NY Daily News' Errol Louis (http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/2008/04/29/2008-04-29_is_jeremiah_wright_a_colossal_disaster_f-2.html).

Reynolds claims the didn't have anything in mind of that sort*. As if a former editorial board member of USA Today didn't know anything about the power of such a mediatic rally.

Did she have something in mind when she deleted the Feb. 14 entry of her blog where she declared her preference for Clinton over Obama (http://www.buzzflash.com/articles/alerts/349 ) ?

To me, this set up is the actual pastorgate.

* http://blog.washingtonpost.com/the-trail/2008/04/29/reynolds_claims_no_ulterior_mo.html

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Stephane MOT -
blogules and other Weapons of Mass Disinformation

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Doves and Roves

Submitted by stephane mot on March 21, 2008 - 7:41am.

Hillary will either win ugly or lose ugly.

On a pro-Clinton channel (Limbaugh's Fox), this interview of Karl Rove on "Karl Rove on Barack Obama's Pastor Problem" : http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,339893,00.html.

Note Turd Blossom's praise of BHO's speech, followed by a big BUT.

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Stephane MOT -
blogules and other Weapons of Mass Disinformation

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Black Commentator on the speech

Submitted by Diane Farsetta on March 20, 2008 - 12:10pm.

[http://www.blackcommentator.com/269/269_cover_obama_race_speech_analysis_ed_bd.html A critique] from Black progressives, including Bill Fletcher Jr:

Senator Obama offered a brilliant and inspiring address which was, nevertheless, a bit problematic. On the one hand, he spoke to the people of the United States about race in a manner that has only occasionally taken place (such as during the Jesse Jackson campaigns). He spoke as someone from both inside and outside the African American experience and was completely unapologetic about the rage that we feel, as a people, for the injustices that we have suffered over the centuries.

Yet Senator Obama, at one and the same time, attributes much of the anger of Rev. Wright to the past, as if Rev. Wright is stuck in a time warp, rather than the fact that Rev. Wright's anger about the domestic and foreign policies of the USA are well rooted--and documented--in the current reality of the USA.

Past of hate is no future.

Submitted by Zulu on March 20, 2008 - 12:56pm.

"as a people", still sounds like Black people
aren't coming together but talking & reliving yesterday.
Obama's judgement on 2 hate preachers & now the
black panthers.show us the real Obama, not words but his actions show.He surrounded himself with "bad judgement"
he wants to unite yet his friends do nothing but divide,
I think it's time all black folks( well not all) STOP blaming white folks, stop blaming the government,to BUILD your OWN communities with love not hate & excuses towards why some- some don't succed.How about those who have moved on.they don't look back because they are to busy moving forward.
Jesse, Sharpton,Wright are those who keep black people down keep them in hate, anger,the past.
You are talking to young kids.
We all have history,Jews,Polish,Irish,Italian,ete:
You think they haven't had history.
This is no different then skinhead talk against the Jews.
THIS HAS TO STOP. If all races can't come together then it weakens America.Just what our enemies want.
Please look forward with love not hate.
If your soul is chained to the past then your
future will be effected.
I do not trust Obama his judgement shows me
more then his well spoken "words"
God Bless us all--ALL