Obama Fights the Smears

The Obama campaign is hitting back, hard. The right-wing pundits have come up with some wild ones, and Obama for America is addressing them systematically.

The accusation that Michelle Obama used racially offensive language, specifically the term "whitey," and was caught doing so on a videotape is at the top of the list. According to Fight the Smears, this allegation made by Rush Limbaugh, "Proven GOP Sleazemeister Roger Stone...." and various blogosphere characters, is false in its entirety. Fight the Smears provides a June 2^nd video of Stone speaking with Fox's Sean Hannity, where he admits that he has not actually seen the video, or even received proof that such a thing exists.

Stone tells Hannity: "I have not yet spoken to anyone who has eyeballed the video....," admitting the possibility that it could be a hoax, and of course mentioning the now-defunct Clinton campaign as the most likely source, citing high level Clinton campaign functionaries as his sources. Hannity counters that he has been "Contacted repeatedly by by a couple of...high level people in a couple of campaigns, one that you just mentioned, and the rumor is that I have the tape."

Fight the Smears states unequivocally that "No such tape exists. Michelle Obama has not spoken from the pulpit at Trinity and has not used that word."

Other allegations addressed by Obama for America include Obama's alleged Muslim upbringing and loyalties, racially offensive passages in his autobiography, and rumors that he refuses to say the pledge of allegiance.

The allegations the Fight the Smears addresses are some of the weaker ones floating around out there, and they don't mean that much to me. I've heard the "Obama's a Muslim" charge, and even though I believe it to be entirely untrue, I wouldn't care if he was. Benazir Bhutto, a moderate Muslim with a Jewish speech-writer, advocated peace and died standing up to the fundamentalist fanatics of her country. The range of political views within the Christian and Jewish communities span the whole spectrum from far right to far left, and from hard-line militarist to pacifist. The nominal religion that a politician claims has little to do with their actual intentions and loyalties.

I've seen the guilt by association attacks on Obama. I find the association with Farrakhan more disturbing than Jeremiah Wright. John McCain's description of Bill Ayers as an "unrepentant terrorist...." is unfair and inaccurate. I've read Ayers's Weather Underground memoir Fugitive Days, and as far as I can tell he's very remorseful. It is quite common for social activists to have a history of radicalism. I was a hard-line left-anarchist is the 70s and 80s, and I'm now a moderate libertarian. I can only hope that other Americans believe in the ability of individuals to change, renounce anti-social positions and actions, and begin working on making positive contributions to this country; this issue hits quite close to home for me. The Obama campaign has worse things to worry about, described by AC Content Producer Mary Peretz in her June 3^rd '08 article Under Scrutiny: Obama's Blasts from the Past

If guilt by association is something that the electorate is worried about, the questions raised by Ms. Peretz in this editorial must be taken seriously by the Obama campaign. Ayers's wife, former Weather Underground leaders Bernadine Rae Dohrn said some very disturbing things during the "Days of Rage."

Finally, the whole "soft on terrorism, anti-Israel" smear has no credibility with me at all. Obama's statements to AIPAC on June 10^th
should clear up any misunderstanding on this issue.

In my heart, I have to admit I'm pulling for Obama. I also liked the Ron Paul campaign, but I would have to hold my nose to vote for any member of the Democratic or Republican parties at this point. I'm a dues paying, card carrying member of the Libertarian Party, and I even view them with much skepticism and suspicion at this point. Politics, corruption, and betrayal of principles in the name of winning at any cost have always been and will continue to be inseparable.

Sources:

http://my.barackobama.com/page/content/fightthesmearshome/ ,

http://my.barackobama.com/page/invite/notape

Amanda Carpenter
http://www.townhall.com/columnists/AmandaCarpenter/2008/04/25/mccain_blasts_ayers_in_blogger_call

Bill Ayers
Fugitive Days, 2001
Beacon Press
Boston MA

Mary Peretz
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/788717/under_scrutiny_obamas_blasts_from_the.html
Yahoo News
2008http://news.yahoo.com/s/realclearpolitics/20080610/cm_rcp/obama_having_a_tough_time_on_i

Dan Mage
AC Article Ron Paul, Libertarian Dreams and Corporatist Realities"
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/541801/ron_paul_libertarian_dreams_and_corporatist.html