WaPo's Obama liathon may be "untrue" also

[deminks]

Account Of Obama Hailing His Own Symbolic Importance Is Disputed


http://tpmelectioncentral.talkingpointsmemo.com/2008/07/account_of_presumptious_obama.php

Okay, just when we get done saying how great The Washington Post was for knocking down McCain's false troop visit attack, along comes a really, really bad one.

The "big story" of the morning is this post from WaPo which purports to reveal that in a closed-door meeting with House Dems, Obama said this:

"I have become a symbol of the possibility of America returning to our best traditions."

(snip)

A Dem leadership aide who was in the room has emailed me and other reporters this:

"His entire point of that riff was that the campaign IS NOT about him. The Post left out the important first half of the sentence, which was something along the lines of: 'It has become increasingly clear in my travel, the campaign, that the crowds, the enthusiasm, 200,000 people in Berlin, is not about me at all. It's about America. I have just become a symbol ... ."

(end snips)

WaPo, in all of its self promoting glory, has written up the dem leadership aide's account, but they have not retracted, saying there is no transcript, so we stick by whatever we want to say.

[Eric J in MN]

1. Presidential candidates are symbols...

...of the direction America may go in.

Most of the world wants America to go in a new direction.

Obama told the truth.

Washington Post writers like Jonathan Weisman have created a bogus controversy.

[annabanana]

2. Yet another nontroversy! they are disgusting. . . n/t

[Eric J in MN]

3. I like that term (nontroversy.) Did you coin it? NT

NT

[glitch]

7. Agree with EJ, that's a good one. nt

[sinkingfeeling]

4. On CNN.com now: they also have the full quote that was omitted by WaPo, but look at their headline.

http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/

Republicans seize on Obama comments to House Democrats

The Democratic aide told CNN that comment was made in the context of "Americans struggling and demanding change." A Democratic source also told CNN Obama's point was the campaign is "NOT about him."

"The Post left out the important first half of the sentence, which was something along the lines of: ‘It has become increasingly clear in my travel, the campaign, that the crowds, the enthusiasm, 200,000 people in Berlin, is not about me at all. It’s about America. I have just become a symbol…,'" the source said.
The Republican National Committee circulated the comments to reporters under the banner, "Barack Obama audacity watch." John McCain's presidential campaign also forwarded the comments with the subject line, "wow."

[glitch]

8. The DNC could easily circulate memes under the banner "John McCain stupidity watch" but

they've got too much good taste.

[autorank]

5. Expect negative interpretations from the Post k*r

After all, they employ Dana Milbank.

This is the best thing I've heard about Obama. It's not about him or his charisma or even his
specific platform, although that's very important. It's about people seeing him as an alternative
to the normal crap and lies. He picks up on that and then takes over. I was afraid that he and
his crew might not have that in the front of their minds. But they do.

He's going through a series of massive betrayals by the elite and their minions that should tell
him that when he wins, his loyalty is to the people not the folks he tried to admire, e.g., Lieberman,
etc. I suspect that shortly he'll realize that they may try to steal the election from him. He
already indicated that in Iowa when he said something like, huge turnout in NH so they don't steal
it form us - can't find the clip but "steal it" were words he used.

If you know the "Post code" - the information/data may be accurate but the skew and interpretation
is usually opposed to the truth - then you're ok with them. The organization does a disservice
to it's readers by being so deliberately biased.

[glitch]

6. Corporate media bathes in their own stupidity

again. Thank God for TPM and the netroots that spread the debunk. This means you deminks :) K & R