Fox News' E.D. Hill Apologizes for Obama "Terrorist Fist Jab" Remark

Fox News' E.D. Hill, who hosts the channel's American Pulse, apologized earlier today for a comment she made regarding Barack and Michelle Obama's widely-watched fist-bump preceding his speech accepting the Democratic Party's Presidential nomination. Hill, while introducing a story in which Body Language Expert Janine Driver analyzed the fist-bump, questioned the gesture, saying, "A fist bump? A pound? A terrorist fist jab?"

Today, E.D. Hill apologized for this remark, stating, "I apologize because, unfortunately, some thought I personally had characterized it inappropriately. I regret that. It was not my intention. And I certainly didn't mean to associate the word 'terrorist' in any way to Senator Obama and his wife."

The question surrounding E.D. Hill's comment and apology, however, hinges less on her statement as it stands alone. Instead, some wonder whether or not the issue of hinted references to Senator Obama's race, or alleged affiliations with Islam, will affect American voters when they hit the polls in November. Particularly in more conservative states like my own, Pennsylvania, some might question whether such insinuations would pull voters away from Senator Obama.

However, let's look at the statement and all it says, or doesn't say.

E.D. Hill stated that the media was representing the fist-bump as potentially being a "terrorist fist jab". Yet after this little suggestion, she drops it, and we never hear anything more about it. What does this suggest? One of a few things. First, it suggests that by "media" she meant herself; she is, after all, a member of the media, and since she categorized it as a terrorist fist jab, I suppose it's not necessarily a lie to say the media did so. Or, if you're not buying that-which I think few would; even I don't buy it-it suggests that nobody was characterizing it that way; perhaps it was a slip of tongue, a Freudian slip, or just a bit of spice in an otherwise singularly sweet story. Whichever way you look at it, there isn't much credit to put behind the statement, and thus not much attention needs to be paid to it, except in terms of Hill acknowledging her statement was wrong, offensive, and false.

Yet E.D. Hill isn't the only media representative to suggest some ties to terrorism, or Islam, for the Illinois Senator. And certainly her comment brings to mind many other references to Obama's racial and ethnic background, as well as his alleged affiliations. The real issue isn't whether or not such suggestions are legitimate-most have already decided they are not, and the suggestions have begun to become more a nuisance than news-but what the power of suggestion will inevitably mean for Obama. This new suggestion of the "terrorist fist bump" comes shortly after the uproar in the media regarding Senator Obama's refusal to release his birth certificate. Again, even the issue of the certificate is a minor one, and most have already decided the certificate would reveal little we don't already know. Yet the power of suggestion has already played a dirty hand in regards to Senator Obama's candidacy. What if, people wonder, he really was Muslim? What if he is hiding something? What if there was some hidden meaning behind that little fist-bump?

But let's get serious. Even the most conservative voters are getting annoyed by the constant insinuations, hints, suggestions, and allegations surrounding Senator Obama. When, many wonder, will enough be enough? How many times will the Senator have to refute these allegations before the media give it a rest? Here in Pennsylvania, more attention has begun to be aimed at the issues than the allegations. People want to hear about health care plans, the economy, the war in Iraq . . . little things like that that seem to not-infrequently fall under the bigger issues of whether or not Obama is a secret Muslim, if Senator McCain is a private Panamanian, and if either-or both-are the Anti-Christ.

In other words, people want to get into the real issues, rather than media suggestion that keeps us wondering what new hints and clues they'll drop regarding those little tidbits of information or non-information may or may not be true. We're tired of the E.D. Hills, and ready to move on.