Obama; What the media hath created, they can destroy (Iraq, campaign, Afghanistan)

[sanrene]

Obama tries to dial down politics - Politico.com Print View

At a morning background briefing, reporters parried with senior advisers on the characterization of Obama’s speech Thursday in Berlin as a campaign rally. The outdoor speech at the Victory Column could draw thousands of people, similar to the size of Obama events in the United States.

“It is not going to be a political speech,” said a senior foreign policy adviser, who spoke to reporters on background. “When the president of the United States goes and gives a speech, it is not a political speech or a political rally.

“But he is not president of the United States,” a reporter reminded the adviser.

“He is going to talk about the issues as an individual … not as a candidate, but as an individual, as a senator,” the adviser added.

Yep. Looks like the talking point for McCain is taking shape. I would pounce on this and bludgeon obama with this. As I've said before, this could easily backfire on The One, especially if the press plays it up.

[JoeP]

The One - oh you mean Saint McCain who the press always look the other way as Saint McCain demonstrates tragic incompetence in foreign and domestic policy - Saint McCain who doesn't even know the borders of Iraq and that the Soviet Union collapsed years ago?

[Habsburg]

let's just wait until thursday.

[fp1978]

Originally Posted by JoeP

The One - oh you mean Saint McCain who the press always look the other way as Saint McCain demonstrates tragic incompetence in foreign and domestic policy - Saint McCain who doesn't even know the borders of Iraq and that the Soviet Union collapsed years ago?

Yeah, sure, the media is in the tank for McCain. Obama is soooo much smarter yet gets trashed in the press. Obama hasn't gotten treated like royalty by the media



McCain only gets the bulk of the coverage if he, or someone on his staff, makes a mistake while Obama gets coverage around the clock. However when Obama makes a mistake, such as

-telling people that he hasn't been to every state in the country, just 57 of them

-telling people how his grandfather was one of the soldiers who liberated Auschwitz which would have been impossible unless his grandfather was a member of the Soviet army (he wasn't)

-equating having a baby with getting an STD; they are both punishments: "I am going to teach them first about values and morals, but if they make a mistake, I don't want them punished with a baby. I don't want them punished with an STD at age 16"

-lamenting how, because of their being in Iraq, there aren't enough Arabic translators in Afghanistan; "We only have a certain number of them and if they are all in Iraq, then its harder for us to use them in Afghanistan." Arabic is not widely spoken, if at all, in Afghanistan

-lamenting how there aren't enough agricultural specialists in Afghanistan to help the locals develop other crops besides poppies, because they are in Iraq. Iraq doesn't have an agricultural problem and therefore we don't have very many, if any at all, specialists there.

-claiming that a tornado in Kansas killed 10,000 people, when in actually it killed about 10

-apparently forgot what public office he currently holds: "I'm surprised at how finely calibrated every single word was measured. I wasn't saying anything I hadn't said before, that I didn't say a year ago or when I was a United States senator," said Obama, who is still a senator from Illinois.

and on, and on, and on.

Yet nary a peep is said in the mainstream media about any of this. Everytime its Obama it's dismissed by saying that he "misspoke", with McCain it's a "senior moment". If it's Obama and they say anything at all it is a quick little blurb that is quickly forgotten.
Contrast this with the front page news stories and dissection of any and every McCain hiccup and you cannot deny (if you are being honest with yourself) that there is an extreme and overwhelming desire within the media to see to it that Obama is our next president.