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FNC’s The Panel admires Obama’s lies

Lying is no longer a character flaw

By: Mike gamecock DeVine (Diary)  |  October 24th, 2008 at 05:59 PM  | 

RESIZE: AAA

Obama announced four days ago that he would visit his “gravely ill” grandmother today.

tick tock

The root word, “Grave”, of the word “gravely” refers to six foot deep holes for the dead.

When I received messages that my Dad, Mom and Grandmother were gravely ill, I went immediately to their side. I didn’t take a three-day detour, wanting to see them and speak to them before they died and all.

Conservative columnist Fred Barnes, on The Panel portion of Fox News Channel’s Special Report nightly news show, tonight, said that Obama would not be in the safely democratic state of Hawaii tonight if he thought the race for President were close.

Hold it a minute.


Barnes and the inside the beltway elitists assume that Obama’s grandmother is not dying? Who could blame them, given the four day detour. But we must blame them for giving Obama a pass and almost admiring him for the lie.

Brings back memories of the admiration for the liberal media for Clinton’s lying. Biden himself said Clinton was a good liar.

This is part of a pattern in this campaign among the conservative media.

Why, DeVine are you only speaking of the conservative media?

Why? Because I wrote off the liberal media years ago. I had held out some hope that journalism informed by basic values still lived among conservatives, and especially on Fox.

I was wrong.

What would the election spin look like if conservatives treated lying as if it were a character flaw?

Mike DeVine’s Charlotte Observer columns

“One man with courage makes a majority.” – Andrew Jackson

COMMENTS

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  • Tbone

    if he were lying on his back. I caught a clip on the the news showing Obama strolling around the neigborhood looking a little lost. I thought, “What is this guy doing there?” He spent 1 hour with granny last night and won’t be leaving until this evening. Granny ain’t dying anytime soon unless she commits suicide in the park.

    Obama didn’t fly all the way to Hawaii just to see his granny. Bet on it.

  • Tbone

    if he were lying on his back. I caught a clip on the the news showing Obama strolling around the neigborhood looking a little lost. I thought, “What is this guy doing there?” He spent 1 hour with granny last night and won’t be leaving until this evening. Granny ain’t dying anytime soon unless she commits suicide in the park.

    Obama didn’t fly all the way to Hawaii just to see his granny. Bet on it.

  • Tbone

    if he were lying on his back. I caught a clip on the the news showing Obama strolling around the neigborhood looking a little lost. I thought, “What is this guy doing there?” He spent 1 hour with granny last night and won’t be leaving until this evening. Granny ain’t dying anytime soon unless she commits suicide in the park.

    Obama didn’t fly all the way to Hawaii just to see his granny. Bet on it.

  • gamecock

    call out Obama for the assumed lie?

    no

  • mscout99

    Liberal media isn’t afraid to say or do anything.
    Conservative media generally won’t say enough because they’re afraid of being called names. Unfortunately, this wimpiness has caught on with some of our candidates.

  • QueenOfCups

    My 86 year old mother broke her hip about 8 weeks ago. She stopped eating and drinking enough to sustain her. We were advised to put her on hospice. The day that happened, I nearly got into a car accident driving the 30 minutes to be at her side.

    I realize every situation is different, but I cannot imagine getting that call, then waiting a few days of going about my business. But the real mind-bender for me was hearing that he was on Ellen dancing as if nothing were going on.

    My mother died just three weeks ago, so perhaps I am just being overly sensitive, but when I first heard the announcement, I presumed he was leaving right away, and I truly felt bad for him, having just been through it myself, and knowing how serious a broken hip is for people that age. But then I kept hearing him at rallies and such, I wondered what was going on. And now, I’m wondering even more what is going on. So, what is going on?

  • gamecock

    and ended up treating the visit for a campaign photo op what with the alone on the beach pic

  • Wisecracker

    I still Tivo Britt, but I stop before the comments by the so called “all stars.”

    I guess they are all afraid of being treated like “Joe the Plumber” once OB is in office.

    We all have to be afraid of that… my sister is thinking of taking her name off the blogs and going incognito.

  • pilgrim

    Obama visits ill grandmother

    an excerpt -

    Obama’s jet landed Thursday night and his motorcade immediately drove to Dunham’s home in the Punahou Circle Apartments, where she has been cared for by Obama’s sister, Maya Soetoro-Ng, a teacher at La Pietra-Hawaii School for Girls.

    Obama spent the night at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Waikiki and returned to Dunham’s apartment at 8:16 a.m. yesterday.

    After nearly two hours inside with his grandmother, Obama emerged in jeans, a black polo shirt, black slippers and sunglasses to take a brief, somber walk down Young Street, around the neighborhood of his boyhood.

    He did not wave to cameras and did not wear the smile of his campaign ads.

    After a few moments, supporters, reporters, photographers and TV camera people began sprinting toward Obama, until a silver Dodge Grand Caravan pulled up at the corner of Young Street and Villa Lane at 10:09 a.m. and returned Obama to his “Toot,” the nickname Obama truncated from the local term for grandparent, “tutu.”

    ust before 3:30 p.m. yesterday, Obama said his goodbyes to the woman who helped raise him, Madelyn Payne Dunham, and his motorcade left the two-bedroom Beretania Street apartment where he grew up.

    Obama’s private jet lifted off from Honolulu International Airport just after 5 p.m., en route to Nevada for the start of his final push for the White House.

    Now maybe this local newspaper reporter, Dan Nakaso, is telling lies, but I have no reason to call him a liar. Does Fred Barnes have any reasons for saying that Obama lies about his trip to Hawaii, and he admires Obama for it?

    The reporters column makes me think that Obama was visiting his ill grandmother. That’s all I read from it. YMMV

  • gamecock

    Why bait the press with a “dying, gravely ill” scenario FOUR days before the visit? Given that grandma has been in the same state of health for quite some time, and given that a hearing was held on a lawsuit surrounding his birth certificate that was found to have been doctored on his website, around the time of his visit, the issue of timing is raised that convinces me that other factors were at play.

    If his grandma truly became gravely ill and was determined to be dying last Sunday, why wait 6 days and be on Ellen and dance again in between?

    Has he not locked up the bad gay talk show watcher vote?

    Then he gets there. Doesn’t take his family with him and takes TWO photo op walks. So what if he didn’t wave to reporters? That was the point. It is a disgusting display.

    The walk on the beach was worse.

    The media is so great at red herrings. Pil’, I didn’t know you ate herring?

    smile

    No one ever said he wasn’t visiting his grandmother. The question is why 5 days later after he “suddenly found out” and then the obvious photo ops with a compliant media.

    What does ymmv mean?

    btw, when my back feels better I may look into the HA and PA cases and the whole “natural born” provision of the Constitution.

    One more thing. I understand both sides in this, yours and Fred’s, but I think the this incident is more of a metaphor for what’s wrong with the press and esp the conservative press and Obama.

    In DC, lying is no longer a character flaw. See Clinton and “is” and how the press ran stories about how well Clinton lied; how it was therapeutic and good politics and Biden and Bob Kerry bragging on how Bill lied so well and admired it.

    Its not a dis qualifier, unless you are Nixon or any repub.

    At first, Brit would go after Obama on his lying about his past. Juan Williams and Bill Kristol still do. Fred has been a usual DC pol all along.

    But lately, Even Fox is giving Obama a pass on all his lies, so, I would suggest that my take on Fred et al and their seeming assumption that the TIMING of the visit was a lie and that “if Obama were behind in the polls does anyone think he would be in Hawaii for two days” was assumed to be true.

    Obama deserves scepticism when he opens his mouth and says anything.

    more later
    questions welcomed
    even from non pigskin prognosticator savants

    Back hurts, but my respect for Pilgrim demands I answer his questions before death. Not so for everyone. Answers could be delayed for 36 hours…unless run thru pilgrim.

  • pilgrim

    gamecock – Given that grandma has been in the same state of health for quite some time.

    Dan Nakaso – Dunham broke her hip when she slipped in her 10th-floor apartment on Oct. 6 or 7, and has since suffered from undisclosed medical problems.

    pilgrim Given that grandma?s state of health had changed within 2 weeks prior to this visit doesn?t sound like quite some time to me. YMMV.

    gamecock – Doesn’t take his family with him and takes TWO photo op walks.

    Dan Nakaso – Obama spent the night at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Waikiki and returned to Dunham’s apartment at 8:16 a.m. After nearly two hours inside with his grandmother, Obama emerged to take a brief walk. After a few moments TV camera people began sprinting toward Obama, until a silver Dodge Grand Caravan pulled up at 10:09 a.m. and returned Obama to his “Toot,” the nickname Obama truncated from the local term for grandparent, “tutu.”

    pilgrim – from that reporter?s time line that photo op walk is the shortest photo op evah.

    gamecock – what does YMMV mean

    pilgrim – text message shortcut for Your Mileage May Vary

    gamecock – Pil, I didn?t know you ate herring.

    pilgrim – Actually I prefer chicken and beef to fish.

  • gamecock

    I had no idea it was that long ago.

    He also had a photo op on the beach that this reporter missed. Photo ops take less than one second, ie the time it takes for the shutter to flash. Hence, photo (one instant in time) op.

    YMMV? and? Obama says you can’t just drive your SUV and expect the world to say, “OK”.

    How does the red version taste?

    smile

    btw Pil and all redstaters, your comment will be responded to more resdily if you post a reply to previous comment as it comes up under one’s diary page rather than requiring one to constantly re-check all their diaries (I am prolific, I know…).

    just saying, if you want replies

  • pilgrim

    First of all I am smiling. There are so many things that I find wrong with Obama I barely know where to begin.

    When it’s about the relationship and feelings Barack Obama and his grandmother have for each other I am more inclined to be more generous and less harsh in my judgement.

    We agree that it does take more time for somebody on the east coast of the US to get to Hawaii than to get to South Carolina, but maybe I am being too kind and generous. Just chalk it up as a character flaw of mine.

    truce

  • gamecock

    and yes, Oct 6-25, 19 days is much longer than 0-1 day.

    haha

    accepted

  • gamecock

    as well!

    god bless

  • pilgrim

    I hope you liked my use of Honolulu Advertiser reporter Dan Nakaso in my defense instead of AP reporter Ron Fournier. I completely agree with you and others that the national media are in the tank for Obama to a greater degree than reporters have ever been in the tank for any liberal candidate of the past.

    You are a local newspaper reporter. I hope you also have more hope for honest news reports from these guys than from the national reporters.

  • gamecock