The Barack Obama Team Pushes Back on Campaign Smears
Saturday, June 14, 2008
Barack Obama's campaign has developed a website, Fight the Smears, to address the many lies that are being spread about him during this presidential campaign. Some folks have even attacked Michelle Obama with lies.
Many of the smears rely upon our religious fears and racial prejudices. Much like e-mail hoaxes you've likely received, the smears against Obama are obvious lies if one just takes a moment to think about what is being asserted.
Unfortunately, Senator McCain's campaign strategy seems much like a reincarnation of the tactics used by Hillary Clinton. We are in for more negativity and more smears.
Here are some of the lies that are already being circulated and this is how the Obama campaign deals with them:
SMEAR: Michelle Obama Says "Whitey" On a Tape
LIE: Rush Limbaugh says a tape exists of Michelle Obama using the word "whitey" from the pulpit of Trinity United
LIE: Blogger Larry Johnson writes "New and dramatic developments. This is a heads up. I'll post the news Monday morning by 0900 hours."
LIE: Proven GOP sleazemeister Roger Stone says he has "credible evidence that some indelible record exists" of a tape of Michelle Obama using the term "whitey."
LIE: Blogger: "Tape was filmed between June 26th - July 1st 2004 in Chicago, IL at the Rainbow/PUSH Coalition Conference at Trinity United Church: specifically the Women's Event."
SMEAR: Barack Obama's birth certificate
LIE: Barack Obama is hiding his birth certificate
You can see his birth certificate here
SMEAR: Barack Obama is a Muslim
LIE: Barack Obama is a Muslim
LIE: Barack Obama attended a radical madrassa
LIE: Senator Obama was sworn into the US Senate using the Koran
Senator Obama has never been a Muslim, was not raised a Muslim, and is a committed Christian
SMEAR: Obama's Books Contain Racially Incendiary Remarks
A recent email forward allegedly quotes passages from Senator Obama's books related to race and religion. The majority of these are alterations, deliberate manipulations, and in one case, an outright fabrication of Obama's words.
Book Quotes are Truncated and Out of Context
SMEAR: Barack Obama Won't Say The Pledge of Allegiance/Won't Put His Hand Over His Heart
LIE: Barack Obama won't say the pledge
LIE: Barack Obama won't put his hand over this heart during the pledge of allegiance
View video of Barack leading The Pledge of Allegiance in the United States Senate
It is unfortunate and sad that Obama or any candidate for any office should find it necessary to setup a website to deal with rumor control but such is the reality of the world in which we live. Check it out and sign up for the alerts. You can also help by not spreading falsehoods about Senator Obama no matter how truthful they seem.