The African Press International, a news-gathering organization similar to Reuters or the AP, albeit on a much smaller scale, is confirming a stunning phone call in which Michelle Obama angrily attempted to quash their passing along the reporting of a story, and her promising a plum invitation to a news event as a quid pro quo should they acede to her wishes.
The English on the API's website is a little stilted, but I think that Billy has got it summed up just about right:
If I understand this right, an outfit called African Press International wrote about Jerome Corsi's arrest in Kenya. Michelle Obama allegedly called up and gave 'em hell for carrying the rope in the racist lynching of her husband, whereupon they got uppity and asked "Mrs Obama to comment on why Dr Corsi was arrested by the Kenyan government and whether she thought Kenya’s Prime Minister Mr Raila Odinga was involved in Dr Corsi’s arrest".
A news outlet that seems to be legitimate and which reports on all types of news germane to Africa reports on a fairly pedestrian story (for Africa, anyway, but political suicide in America), that an author working on a story suspected of being harmful to a politician is arrested and deported from a country without any apparent valid reason before he can attend a scheduled news conference. In response, Mrs. Obama contacts said news outlet and berates them, all because she somehow equates reporting the story with supporting the author who is the subject of it?
"When API told her that our online news media was only relaying what the American Bloggers and other media outlets had discovered through their investigations, Mrs Obama was angered and she came out loud with the following: 'African press International is supposed to support Africans and African-American view,' and she went to state that, 'it is strange that API has chosen to support the racists against my husband.'"
Once again, the theory that anyone who in any way questions the assertions and pronouncements coming from the Obama camp is immediately accused of being a racist seems to be proven correct.
Not only is that attitude completely unfair and inflammatory (not to mention wrong), Mrs. Obama subsequently completely ignores a legitimate follow-up question asked of her directly, preferring to engage in more race-baiting:
"When API asked Mrs Obama to comment on why Dr Corsi was arrested by the Kenyan government and whether she thought Kenya’s Prime Minister Mr Raila Odinga was involved in Dr Corsi’s arrest, she got irritated and and simply told API not to dig that which will support evil people who are out to stop her husband from getting the presidency."
Most disturbingly, Mrs. Obama then decided to do a little damage control, promising some prestigious journalistic access in exchange for the API's deciding to write a little puff piece on her husband, while ignoring anything that might put him in a bad light:
"Mrs Obama asked API to write a good story about her husband and that will earn API an invitation to the innoguration ceremony when, as she put it , her husband will be installed as the next President of the United States of America next year."
Bribes for favorable coverage, anyone? Is that the "Change" that Obama is touting?
To their credit, the API is standing by their story 100%. They claim that they have a tape of Mrs. Obama's rantings and improper bribery attempts, and are waiting for legal clearance to release them. They also are resisting heavy pressure from pro-Obama supporters to dry up and blow away:
"A number of Americans who are die-hard Obama followers have tried their best to intimidate API using all kinds of threatening methods when they call in and when they email us. They are implying that API is planning to destroy Obama’s chances to become the next US President. API does not have a direct interest in the US Presidential elections and we want Obama supporters to understand that. However, when someone who may become the next first lady makes such comments as in the story we have published, the public have the right to know. Intimidation directed to the publishers of the story is not the answer." (Emphasis mine)
Kudos to them for resisting what must be incredible pressure to make like St. Peter and deny, deny, deny something they know full well is true.
The Obama campaign is denying this, of course, but I fail to see how the API could possibly benefit from making this type of story up.
I can't wait for the mainstream media to spin this one, as this incident, if true, represents a prime example of how an Obama presidency would handle legitimate inquiries by independent news organizations investigating credible news leads. Barack Obama learned his lessons from the likes of Jeremiah Wright and Bill Ayers quite well.
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3 comments:
Obama/Biden vs McCain/Palin
what if things were switched around?......
Ponder the following:
What if the Obamas had paraded five children across the stage, including
a three month old infant and an unwed, pregnant teenage daughter?
What if John McCain was a former president of the Harvard Law Review?
What if Barack Obama finished fifth from the bottom of his graduating class?
What if McCain had only married once, and Obama was a divorcee?
What if Obama was the candidate who left his first wife after a severe
disfiguring car accident, when she no longer measured up to his standards?
What if Obama had met his second wife in a bar and had a long affair while
he was still married?
What if Michelle Obama was the wife who not only became addicted to pain
killers but al so acquired them illegally through her charitable organization?
What if Cindy McCain graduated from Harvard?
What if Obama had been a member of the Keating Five?
What if McCain was a charismatic, eloquent speaker?
What if Obama was the one who had military experience that included
discipline problems and a record of crashing seven planes?
What if Obama was the one who was known to display publicly, on many
occasions, a serious anger management problem?
What if Michelle Obama's family had made their money from beer distribution?
What if the Obamas had adopted a white child?
You could easily add to this list. If these questions reflected reality,
do you really believe the election numbers would be as close as they are?
This is what racism does. It covers up, rationalizes and minimizes
positive qualities in one candidate and emphasizes negative qualities in
another when there is a color difference.
Educational Background:
Barack Obama:
Columbia University - B.A. Political Science with a Specialization in
International Relations.
Harvard - Juris Doctor (J.D.) Magna Cum Laude
Joseph Biden:
University of Delaware - B.A. in History and=2 0B.A. in Political Science.
Syracuse University College of Law - Juris Doctor (J.D.)
vs.
John McCain:
United States Naval Academy - Class rank: 894 of 899(McCain's father was an admiral or he would have never
been admitted or been an officer).
Sarah Palin:
Hawaii Pacific University - 1 semester
North Idaho College - 2 semesters - general study
University of Idaho - 2 semesters - journalism
Matanuska-Susitna Colle ge - 1 semester
University of Idaho - 3 semesters - B.A. in Journalism
Education isn't everything, but this is about the two highest offices in
the land as well as our standing in the world. You make the call.
That's a very nice comparison of the candidates, but what does it possibly have to do with Michelle Obama calling a news organization to pressure them not to cover stories that are potentially harmful to her husband, and promising them rewards for publishing favorable articles about him?
If you read this blog regularly, you would know that I'm no McCain fan, but his shortcomings do not excuse the alleged blatant media manipulation by a candidate's wife.
I'm no McCain fan, but reality is that the two Ivy Leaguers on the ticket have a very dubious relationship with the truth, and quite frankly, their record in handling their own finances, especially Biden's, gives me little hope of their doing anything intelligent around a budget.
My site details the results; more or less, Obama couldn't save squat until he got a few million dollar paychecks. Biden has had six figure income for over 35 years, and can bearly cobble together six figures in investment property outside his home at retirement age.
Do.the.math. Do you want these Ivy League personal finance dropouts in charge of a three trillion dollar budget? Not I.
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