Juan Williams again baselessly attacked Michelle Obama (from Media Matters)

[Judi Lynn]

Tue, Jan 27, 2009 8:09am ET

Juan Williams again baselessly attacked Michelle Obama, claiming "her instinct is to start with this 'blame America' ... stuff"

During the January 26 edition of Fox News' The O'Reilly Factor, NPR news analyst and Fox News political contributor Juan Williams again baselessly attacked first lady Michelle Obama, claiming that "her instinct is to start with this 'blame America' ... stuff." Williams asserted that "{i}f you think about liabilities for President {Barack} Obama that are close to him -- {Vice President} Joe Biden's up there -- but Michelle Obama's right there." Williams continued: "{S}he's got this Stokely Carmichael-in-a-designer-dress thing going. If she starts talking, as {Townhall Magazine contributor and Weekly Standard contributing blogger} Mary Katharine {Ham} suggested, her instinct is to start with this 'blame America,' you know, 'I'm the victim.' If that stuff starts to come out, people will go bananas, and she'll go from being the new Jackie O to being something of an albatross."

Williams provided no evidence for the claims that Michelle Obama's "instinct" is to "blame America" or be "the victim," nor did he provide examples of her having "this Stokely Carmichael-in-a-designer-dress thing going." Additionally, Williams did not provide any evidence that she could be a "liabilit{y}" or an "albatross" for Obama. Ham also smeared Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, saying of Michelle Obama: "{S}he's got to not drop sound bites like she did during the campaign that were not helpful to her husband, because, frankly, if you want to be an unpleasant, heavy-handed first lady, you're going to -- well, you'll end up like Hillary Clinton."

As Media Matters for America documented, Williams previously claimed that Michelle Obama sometimes uses "this kind of militant anger." During the August 25, 2008, edition of Fox News' America's Newsroom, referring to Michelle Obama's then-upcoming speech at the Democratic National Convention, Williams claimed: "Well, she's got to be herself, but I do not think she can go for it all out in terms of this kind of militant anger that she sometimes uses, you know. She can be, it seems, rather cynical or dismissive of people," adding, "I don't think she wants to get anywhere near the race issue, anywhere near the militance issue." Williams gave no examples of what he claimed to be "this kind of militant anger" that Michelle Obama "sometimes uses."

More:
http://mediamatters.org/items/200901270002

[wyldwolf]

1. they should leave Hillary... ummm ... Michelle alone. (Deja vu!)

[hlthe2b]

2. I recall that Juan has a very liberal sister who had been a bit

outspoken against the Bushies*.... Makes me wonder if he's not projecting a bit....:eyes:

[my2sense]

3. I saw him spewing this nonsense

Not sure why he is so negative on Michelle. Apparently she frightens some people folks. mmmm..I wonder why, could it be that she is a strong, educated woman that won't simply be a smiling face baking cookies in the white house?

[patrice]

4. Odd that JW doesn't see that his all-or-nothing thinking is the very thing that he faults MO for.

Odd that it is okay for JW to hurt America with his baseless negative opinions, but it isn't okay for others to criticize it.

[mcjackson]

5. Sounds like someone....

...has a cruuuuuush. ;-)