How Barack Obama stole the 2008 election

"The fact that Obama talks differently than Jeremiah Wright (above) does not mean that his track record is different," wrote Thomas Sowell in March of 2008, sounding a warning that went unheeded by too many of our fellow Americans, in part because of a coordinated legacy media campaign to keep the story off the front pages (see below): "Barack Obama's voting record in the Senate is perfectly consistent with the far left ideology and the grievance culture, just as his wife's statement that she was never proud of her country before is consistent with that ideology."

“I hear you, but I am really tired of defending the indefensible," the Nation's Katha Pollit whined to fellow Journolisters in a rare moment of self-awareness back in April of 2008 as revelations of Rev. Jeremiah "God Damn America" Wright's racist rantings threatened to derail Barack Obama's "historic" presidential campaign, prompting leg-tingling members of the propaganda community to brandish, "the mother of all media-as-political weaponry: the non-vetting of candidate Obama," as Andrew Breitbart crows in triumph this morning. The Daily Caller's Jonathan Strong has the gory details in "Documents show media plotting to kill stories about Rev. Jeremiah Wright," those documents being, of course, leaked emails from Journolist's membership of "several hundred liberal journalists, as well as like-minded professors and activists":

According to records obtained by The Daily Caller, at several points during the 2008 presidential campaign a group of liberal journalists took radical steps to protect their favored candidate. Employees of news organizations including Time, Politico, the Huffington Post, the Baltimore Sun, the Guardian, Salon and the New Republic participated in outpourings of anger over how Obama had been treated in the media, and in some cases plotted to fix the damage.

In one instance, Spencer Ackerman of the Washington Independent urged his colleagues to deflect attention from Obama’s relationship with Wright by changing the subject. Pick one of Obama’s conservative critics, Ackerman wrote, "Fred Barnes, Karl Rove, who cares — and call them racists."

"Dressed down, they are nothing but street thugs," Breitbart nailed it. "Voter intimidation by other means,' we twittered. They're cornered now, and they'll put up a fight, but the new media are closing in, disintermediating via the internet. The blogosphere and Twitter are alive with mockery, top tactic in Glenn Reynolds's list of ways to thwart the "good intentions" of "America's Ruling Class." Twitter buddy Pundit Review captures the spirit:

@owiilis is awake! I'm looking forward to the rationalization, dissembling, diversions and excuses for JournoList. Where's the popcorn?

Update: Memeorandum trending.

Update II: Michelle Malkin "Buzzworthy" link!

Early afternoon update III: Now top story on Memeorandum as we predicted early morning.

Crossposted at Riehl World View and Liberty Pundits.

Comments

[Brian O'Connor]

"call them racists"

A little bit of history repeating itself. But will what worked in 2008 work again in 2010?

[goomp]

"The Ruling Class." Expensively educated to hate the productive society that freedom yields. We must overcome their ignorance.

[Gayle Miller]

These bozos haven't got a clue. My boss - who is in most respects a perfectly lovely man, lover of cats, classical music, etc. revealed a bit of his early class-envy behavior when he dissed a potential client because he sells yachts for a living!

You don't have to be rich to belong to a yacht club. My parents didn't have 2 pennies to rub against each other a lot of my childhood, and they belonged! My father and my uncle built - from scratch and over a lengthy period of time - a 36 foot sailboat that was in its day the fastest boat on Lake Erie. But rich we were not! The boat saw to THAT!

It's why I had to learn to swim. My father had a habit of putting his sunglasses in his shirt pocket and then bending over to tighten a rope or something. Not my parents, not my aunt or my uncle - none of them could swim so I had to learn. I was the official diver for eyeglasses!

Once when we were docked, the guy down the jetty sneezed really hard and his upper plate flew out of his mouth. I had to dive for that too!

Then people wonder where I developed my sense of humor.

[Teresa]

Brian asks if history will repeat... very possibly. Those with some semblance of critical thinking skills didn't need to see any of the backroom shenanigans listed above to know that something reeked prior to the election - yet the election still went overwhelmingly for Obama and the Democrats. People who voted for him saw what they wanted to see - even people who should have known better.

You could put all this in front of most people and they'd shrug and say - it's too hard for me to think about this I'd rather go out and have fun.

That's how we end up with the people we do have in office. No one wants to put forth any effort to decide whether the promises of gold paved roads and a house for everyone (never mind a chicken in every pot) have any basis in reality. Then they elect the idiots and clowns. Then they have a sudden awakening of "well that's not what I thought they said..."

Some of these revelations may help, but I doubt it. I'm in a very jaded mood lately. I don't see the general public wising up at all. It's just too much effort to stop and think.

[Matthew]

Relying on scare tactics and the ignorance that pollutes America didn't win it for you in 08 and it will not in 2012. The fact you people believe Barack has failed so far is appaling and shows how stupid you trully are. There's too many intelligent, level headed Americans that want the best for this country to let your hate and fear mongering propaganda sway an election. Look in the mirror and be ashamed. Try to find a purpose and educate yourselves. If you refuse to turn on the lights, you will forever remain the dark (Matthew Fultz).

[Teresa]

Did you say that while looking in a mirror Matthew?

[KingShamus]

Man, is Spencer Ackerman a world class jack-ass or what?

[Carol]

A Golden Era was born out of Watergate and rode a triumphant wave before blowing out into its own toxic bubble of progressive missionary rectitude.

It seems America's Young Turks of the Free Press in this 21st Century have actually Volunteered to be propagandists! They deliver coercive scripts instead of an honest accounting, because, of course, they Know what is the best way. How narcissistic and patronizing.

But worst of all, and saddest, is they actually think They can do better than the Great Hand of a well-informed Citizenry, and so they don't let that citizenry be truly informed, like they once were supposed to do, where the Truth will out the Good. Instead they masticate and only spit out what can be known to suit their sour needs.

May the Rot of this Progressive Moment in history be terrific compost, plowed over into a renewed America that expands in glory even as it leads other nations to expand in the glory of Freedom, with a humble, tireless bulldog of a True Free Press.

[alanstorm]

"Relying on scare tactics and the ignorance that pollutes America didn't win it for you in 08 and it will not in 2012."

No, scare tactics and ignorance won 2008 for the democrats. Were you asleep during the election, or are you asleep now?.

"The fact you people believe Barack has failed so far is appaling and shows how stupid you truly are."

Dear child, Barry O the Very Slow has indeed succeeded in passing much of what he hoped to accomplish. Unfortunately, what he hopes to accomplish means failure for the country. Those of us old enough to remember the USSR and smart enough to not be brainwashed by the left recognize this.

"There's too many intelligent, level headed Americans that want the best for this country"

If only that were so. You are not among them.

Look in the mirror and be ashamed."

Yes, you should. You, like many other in the leftist camp, are unable to think in any meaningful sense of the word.

"Try to find a purpose and educate yourselves. If you refuse to turn on the lights, you will forever remain the dark ."

Look in a mirror, infant. You have no - zero - zip - nada idea what you're talking about, and unless you educate yourself, you never will.