Marc Ambinder: Kristol Bungles Key Fact In Anti-Obama Column

[Pirate Smile]

Kristol Bungles Key Fact In Anti-Obama Column
17 Mar 2008 07:11 am

Bill Kristol's New York Times column about Barack Obama this morning contains a major, prejudicial error.

Paragraph five:

But Ronald Kessler, a journalist who has written about Wright’s ministry, claims that Obama was in fact in the pews at Trinity last July 22. That’s when Wright blamed the “arrogance” of the “United States of White America” for much of the world’s suffering, especially the oppression of blacks. In any case, given the apparent frequency of such statements in Wright’s preaching and their centrality to his worldview, the pretense that over all these years Obama had no idea that Wright was saying such things is hard to sustain.

The error is in trusting the source without checking.

The truth is that Obama did not attend church on July 22.

He was on his way to campaign in Miami.

(Here is some video evidence.) This was before he signed an agreement forbidding himself from campaigning in Florida.

Here is the original, false, Newsmax story:

Obama Attended Hate America Sermon.

One of his correspondents allegedly attended a service last summer where Rev. Wright preached on the "United States of White America." Kessler writes that Obama "nodded" his head while Wright preached along these lines:

Addressing the Iraq war, Wright thundered, “Young African-American men” were “dying for nothing.” The “illegal war,” he shouted, was “based on Bush’s lies” and is being “fought for oil money.”

Now, a simple Google search suggests that Obama spent most of the day in Miami. But a simple e-mail or telephone call to Obama's campaign might have cleared things up.

http://marcambinder.theatlantic.com/archives/2008/03/kr...

[flpoljunkie]

1. But will Kristol issue a correction, and if so, when.

[mwb970]

14. Kristol should alternate columns and corrections.

He can dribble out one of his columns on one Monday, then write a column the next week correcting all the idiotic errors people have pointed out in the previous column.

Why do people listen to this guy again? What has he been right about?

[Spiffarino]

26. No. The NYT editors will have to do it.

Kristol consistently lies for the "good" of the GOP. He won't back down and admit it, so it's left to the NYT editorial board to make things right.

[Abacus]

34. They responded to my complaint.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.ph...

[flor de jasmim]

2. Campaigning or fundraising?

[democrattotheend]

9. The OP said it was before they signed the pledge

Not to campaign in Florida

[leftofcool]

3. Last July?

Wasn't this sermon delivered right after 9/11 and not last year?

[wndycty]

4. In your effort to drag Obama down you just want to mix the facts up to make your best argument

Have fun.

[sorrybushisfromtexas]

5. That was about God Damn America and why I agree with him

Do you really think:
that God of approves America for: slavery, our treatment of American Indians (a only good Indian is a dead one), Jim Crow Laws, KKK (which was the leading political party in some states in the 1920's, interment of the Japanese, 2nd class citizenship for Blacks until the last few decades, racial hatred, Homophobic preachers, the Iraq War, corporate greed, America's rape of our environment, global warming, our consumption of natural resources and food while millions die and we we see it on TV, we turn the TV channel with our remote because we are too tired of looking at it.
I think that God has many things he could damn us for.
Do you really think that we are a God fearing nation with the blood we have on our hands?.

What he said was said very poorly, I have problems with the way he said it, but not what he said.
This being said, I love my country, we are a giving nation like no other. We do have much to be ashamed for.

Support your candidate, vote for him or her, give to him or her monetarily, work your ass off for him or her during the primary campaigns. Don't do what I have been seeing today on this site. It is silly.

Vote Democratic in The GE no matter who wins.

Work to change our country into one that God would be proud of.

[blogslut]

6. William the Bloody is wrong?

How can that be? He's never wrong. Not ever!

[bushmeister0]

15. I hear he does all his work at night, something about the sunlight

hurting his eyes.

[BeyondGeography]

7. How many pastorbators started threads using this bogus story yesterday?

[bushmeister0]

8. "Kristol'? "Bungled"?

What? Bill Kristol has never been wrong about anything. Well, there was the whole pre-Iraq invasion thing and the all the subsequent stuff about Iraq, but besides that there isn't any reason why he shouldn't constantly be getting interviewed on all the talking head shows and have a weekly spot on the pages of the NYT.

Kristol is wrong about absolutly everything, you can't argue with a perfect record like that.

[Scurrilous]

10. K & R

[Usrename]

11. That hugh moran Jonah Goldberg said it on teevee this morning.

Jonah Goldberg (Liberal Fascism) was on Morning Joe spewing this bullshit, but he attributed it to Newsmax, not Kristol.

I got the strong impression that he already knew the story was false, and he just went ahead and told it again anyway.

[Pirate Smile]

12. We should e-mail it to Mika. I think she would make the correction on air.

[Pirate Smile]

13. I e-mailed them. You can e-mail them here - scroll down, it is on the right side:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3036789/

[progressoid]

16. No Way! And Kristol is always so accurate.

[MNDemNY]

17. Funny thing is Obama has NOT denied being there that day.

Maybe you ought to call the campaign.

[dancingme]

18. Yes, his campaign denied it

The Los Angeles Times blog reports the Obama campaign's denial that Obama attended the July 22 service; it states that Obama was in Miami that day. (Davis's story was originally posted in August 2007; the Obama campaign apparently did not take notice of it until yesterday.) In fact, according to a Washington Post listing, Obama was scheduled to address the national council of La Raza's annual conference on July 22, 2007. The time of Obama's scheduled appearance is listed as "n/a." Mickey Kaus has posted a La Raza press release listing Obama's scheduled appearance at 1:30 p.m. There is also video of Obama's appearance. As Kaus says, the ball is in Kessler's court.

http://www.powerlineblog.com/archives2/2008/03/020058.p...

[MNDemNY]

19. Reads as a non-denial denial.

Says he was in Miami that day, but does not say he was not in the church that morning.

[dancingme]

21. he spoke at 1:30 pm

how could he be in a church in Chicago for a black service which are usually a few hours and fly to Miami and speak at 1:30? There is no way he could have been at the Sunday church service to hear Rev Wright and be in MIami at 1:30.

Do the math!!

[MNDemNY]

22. Why, then has he not denied attending?

[dancingme]

25. can't you read?

his campaign HAS denied it.

[Garbo 2004]

24. As noted in LAT's article, Obama's site states "Obama Did Not Attend Services on July 22"

http://factcheck.barackobama.com/factcheck/2008/03/16/f...

[Usrename]

31. He actually spoke in Miami at 12:30 PM Chicago time.

He was not at church, he was in Miami.

[NorthernSpy]

20. we need to get the New York Times to retract the column and apologize...

I know they have a pro-Hillary bias, but you can't just make up shit!

[City Lights]

28. Call them on Kristol. I did.

[e-mail]

[youknowmenotdlc]

23. I started a thread about this but

it wasn't anywhere near as informative or aptly titled as this thread.

In fact, I will abandom my bid to keep my thread going and wholeheartedly endorse this thread. I do so in the interest of the board and because I want to place our party ahead of my personal goals.

Now if Hillary would do the same we could all get on with our destruction of Mcain, instead of prolonging our own.

[Yurovsky]

27. K&R*

nt

[City Lights]

29. K&R

[Stephanie]

30. Only George W. Bush and Neocon Kristol could oppose this statement:

Um, unless you're Dick Cheney, what is WRONG with saying this???

Addressing the Iraq war, Wright thundered, “Young African-American men” were “dying for nothing.” The “illegal war,” he shouted, was “based on Bush’s lies” and is being “fought for oil money.”

[elixir]

32. Oh, OK. So tell this long winded explanation about how Obama wasn't in the pew on 8/22

but he was there almost every sunday listening to some other racist crap. Yeah, their (the voters) are going to give him a pass because he wasn't there on 8/22.

[americanstranger]

33. Yeah, you're well-informed.

'8/22' would be August 22.

The date in question is July 22. And even that date is in question after Newsmax' 'clarification.'

Glad to help.

- as

[NorthernSpy]

36. LOL -- Freeperland, where they haven't figured out the Gregorian calendar...

[Scurrilous]

35. Kick