One Person’s Gaffe Is Another’s Lie
May 28th, 2008, 11:56 AM EDT
So, Obama called his great uncle his “uncle” and said “Auchwitz” when he should have said “Buchenwald”
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SV1sxq8mqvA]
“Sickening,” huffs Red State. “Barack Obama must be the most gaffe-prone politician in memory,” reports PowerLine. “The Young Gaffer Sees Dead People,” chortles Hot Air.
You’d think he was a bold-faced liar if you listened to all the right-wing Obama-haters. And don’t you love how the ignore the McCain gaffes.
- Confederate Flag Over South Carolina Capitol, April 19, 2000 During the run-up to the South Carolina Republican primary in February 2000, McCain was asked whether he felt the Confederate flag should be removed from atop the statehouse.
Non-truth: McCain stated publicly that it was up to South Carolinians to decide.
Truth: Two months later McCain said he believed “the flag should be removed” from the Capitol. “I feared that if I answered honestly, I could not win the South Carolina primary. So I chose to compromise my principles,” he said. “I broke my promise to always tell the truth.
“Source: “Excerpts from McCain’s Remarks on Confederate Flag,” New York Times, April 20, 2000.
- Economics Expertise, Jan. 27, 2008
Non-truth: When confronted with his own remarks about his economic prowess during a Republican primary debate, McCain said, “I don’t know where you got that quote from. I’m very well versed in economics.” In a later interview on NBC, McCain added that he’s “very strong on the economy.”
Truth: McCain was asked about a quote he gave The Wall Street Journal in a November 2005 interview in which he admitted he lacked expertise on economic issues. The quote read: “I’m going to be honest: I know a lot less about economics than I do about military and foreign policy issues. … I still need to be educated.”McCain told reporters in December 2007, “The issue of economics is not something I’ve understood as well as I should.
“Sources: “‘Reform. Reform. Reform.’ John McCain Explains His Eclectic-and Troubling-Economic Philosophy,” Wall Street Journal, Nov. 26, 2005; NBC GOP presidential debate exchange, Jan. 24, 2008; “Meet the Press,” NBC, Jan. 27, 2008.
- Safety in Baghdad, March 26, 2007
Non-truth: During an April 2007 visit to Baghdad, McCain said in interviews that “General (David) Petraeus goes out there (in Baghdad) almost every day in an unarmored Humvee.” He also said, “There are neighborhoods in Baghdad where you and I could walk through those neighborhoods today.”
Truth: There are no unarmored Humvees in Iraq. McCain later admitted that he had misspoken regarding public safety in Baghdad. “Of course, I am going to misspeak and I’ve done it on numerous occasions and I probably will do it in the future,” he said. “I regret that when I divert attention to something I said from my message, but you know, that’s just life.”
Sources: “McCain Misspoke on Baghdad Security, He Says,” New York Times, April 8, 2007; “60 Minutes,” CBS, April 8, 2007.
- Abortion Stance, Aug. 19, 1999
Non-truth: McCain told The San Francisco Chronicle that “in the short-term or even in the long-term I would not support repeal of Roe v. Wade, which would then force X number of women in America to [undergo] illegal and dangerous operations.”
Truth: McCain soon after released a statement saying that he has always opposed Roe v. Wade and “as president, I would work toward its repeal.” McCain has a near 0 percent lifetime rating from NARAL, a national abortion rights group.
Sources: “McCain Softens Abortion Stand,” Washington Post, Aug. 24, 1999; “Capital Gang,” CNN, Aug. 28, 1999.
The ADL, etc., should be notified about this heinous “error.” Surely this is worse than NAZI vandalism. The Holocausts’ survivors must be outraged. I mean, compare the two:
One kind of hate says kill the Jews, the other says my Uncle saved some Jews when it was, in fact, my Great Uncle, and he saved them somewhere else. Oh, the evil. Mentioning the wrong ancestor! It’s also more honorable to be saved by someone’s 2nd cousin. Why doesn’t Barack just kill a sacred cow in India?
I’m protesting Barack just as soon as I finish my campaign to behead people who burp and wear white after Labor Day.
May 28th, 2008 at 12:29 pm
Oh, and as for karma. I don’t believe in it. As a concept, divine retribution rooted in a specific religion makes more sense, as the validity of the religious bases for it can be argued, at least so far as there even exists a claime baes. The way most people use Karma, it is based on little to nothing, just associated with Eastern New Age concepts, or what have you. It’s basically speaking more from personal desire that someone will pay for what horrible thing he did, than for having a reason to believe he will. The acception is if the Karma one believes in is based in something more than personal want.
In most cases, I’ll assume Karma to be based in nada.
May 28th, 2008 at 12:39 pm
I think Alan has worked at Fix News too long because it isn’t even a story on the other news channels. Maybe if Hannity could obssess over real issues and not look for this innane bullshit, everybody would take him seriously. Just kidding. How could you ever take Hannity seriously.
May 28th, 2008 at 12:45 pm
Barack Obama must be the most gaffe-prone politician in memory,” reports PowerLine.
NO, that honor belongs to W. He’s the KING of gaffes and incorrect grammar.
McCain “choose to compromise [his] principles”? A politician compromising his/her principles. Imagine that.
May 28th, 2008 at 12:46 pm
Will Americans ever tire of these perverted aberrations of political debate?
Whether gauged towards Republicans or Democrats will we ever bore of being lied to, manipulated, and fed a partisan bowl of crap in order to feed a desperate political agenda?
This is why Rachael Ray gets her ad pulled because of a scarf.
This is why Bush became an American president for 8 years.
This is why we were -too easily- misled to fight a useless war in Iraq.
This is why education is suffering, crime is up, families are cracking apart and national despair continues to rise.
The connection is millions of Americans are adding themselves to the intellectually lazy, morally repugnant, and carnally avaricious aspects of American decadence.
leading millions to be so easily controlled, leveraged and exploited.
Conceit trumps Honesty
Dogma outweighs perspective
Judgment becomes absurdity
And the frivolity of our infatuation with this political lunacy will continue until Americans suffer enough, weep enough, and tire of this arrogance enough to finally embrace a risen standard of self.
May 28th, 2008 at 1:15 pm
The guy made a mistake. People need to get over this…it’s being blown way out of proportion for god’s sake….but this kind of stuff is going to go on until November.
May 28th, 2008 at 2:19 pm
What is one person’s Frank Gaffney to another?
May 28th, 2008 at 2:29 pm
Even if he WAS being deceptive, it’s probably just because more Americans are familiar with Auschwitz than Buchenwald. But even then, the idea of the story is still the same and it’s frankly completely insignificant which concentration camp his uncle helped liberate.
And this is nothing campared to completely making up a story about landing in Bosnia under sniper fire.
May 28th, 2008 at 4:09 pm
Yeah, it’ll only get worse. Even though I am not an Obama supporter (nor one of any of the other two) I think that Obama’s mistake is being blown far out of proportion.
May 28th, 2008 at 4:38 pm
Billery said she was dodging bullets when she should have said “what am I doing in this race” as far as obama goes you can say he was 1/2 left, it was his great uncle.
May 28th, 2008 at 6:01 pm
Pass me a new bowl of partisan political crap, please. Because I can’t think of anything to say that hasn’t been posted above. Heh.
Except, errr, Noel, what exactly is a carnally avaricious aspect of American decadence?
May 28th, 2008 at 6:28 pm
I think this particular mini-gaffe is rather telling and indicative of the real Obama. In a good way. The man is confident enough in himself to be able to stray from the over-rehearsed, pre-tested, prepackaged pap we are used to hearing from politicians.
He had a thought about the problem and treatment of PTSD and off the cuff recounted his family tale, which was indeed a valid analogy. The way real people do. He may have got the place wrong, but that again is what real people do, IF they haven’t been preparing and fine-tuning the comment to drop into a public speech.
That makes me all the more confident that this is a man who will do an awful lot more good than bad for America and the world.
May 28th, 2008 at 7:01 pm
Here Here
May 28th, 2008 at 7:40 pm
People, the point was just that it was just his damn great-uncle….
sooo whaaat!
May 28th, 2008 at 11:27 pm
RC,
If you don’t know then I can’t explain it to you,
but I do believe I read it on the back of a box of Frankenberries.
May 29th, 2008 at 12:00 am
Hmmm, and on the back of the box. This could be serious.
May 29th, 2008 at 8:22 am
I don’t think it’s a *good* thing to make gaffes, even if it’s a “mini-gaffe” and supposedly demonstrates your spontaneous speaking abilities.
That said, as an avowed right-winger and no fan of Obama, this to me isn’t that big a deal. He does have a relative who is a type of uncle who helped liberate a concentration camp during WWII. Close enough.
@John McKee: I’m glad you are confident, based on Obama’s thin resume, that he will be such a transformer of the world as we know it. He might do an “awful lot” as you put it, which is what bothers me…
May 29th, 2008 at 12:02 pm
“Except, errr, Noel, what exactly is a carnally avaricious aspect of American decadence?”
haha. That is unecessarily wordy for this post. I almost cared what it meant.
–”You’d think he was a bold-faced liar if you listened to all the right-wing Obama-haters. And don’t you love how they ignore the McCain gaffes.”–
It is called pointless racism or bigotry.
May 29th, 2008 at 5:07 pm
wow, Noel.
*applauds*
May 29th, 2008 at 8:25 pm
It is surely a shame that Barack HUSSEIN Obamas’ “uncle” (in the black community isn’t every man an uncle or a cousin?) arrived too late in Germany to take advantage of the lovely country day spas operated by the German govt. between 1933 and 1945. Those such as Barack Bin Ladens “uncle” would have welcomed and due to the affirmative action in Germany at that time would have been escorted to the front of the line so they would could be the first to partake in the many “cultural” opportunities available. I hear the showers were to die for.
May 30th, 2008 at 9:32 pm
Noel, my beloved Obama boy, passionately and accurately wrote:
“And the frivolity of our infatuation with this political lunacy will continue until Americans suffer enough, weep enough, and tire of this arrogance enough to finally embrace a risen standard of self.”
Reminds me of one of my favorite quotes- you will remain the same until the pain of remaining the same becomes worse than the pain of change.
May 31st, 2008 at 3:32 am