More spinonymous sourcing: Politico quoted GOP strategist "who declined to be named" attacking Obama

An April 13 Politico article by reporter Kenneth P. Vogel on German Ambassador Klaus Scharioth's attendance at an April 11 fundraiser for Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) quoted a "Republican strategist working on the 2008 presidential race" saying it was "a glaring sign of inexperience that [Obama] would showcase support from a foreign diplomat." According to Vogel, the strategist "declined to be named out of concern for the campaign." At no point did Vogel explain which campaign the Republican strategist was "concerned" about, or even what the anonymous strategist's "concern" was. Rather, Vogel simply allowed a Republican operative to attack a political opponent from behind the shield of anonymity.

From Vogel's April 13 Politico article:

Obama's campaign confirmed Scharioth's attendance but didn't answer several specific questions about it. Scharioth's spokesman stressed that the ambassador is not supporting Obama but rather trying to meet all the presidential candidates.

If Obama wins the Democratic presidential nomination, Republicans might try to use the incident to bolster criticism he's weak on national security and deferential to dovish countries in Europe, said University of Virginia political science professor Larry Sabato. But they'd try to apply the same storyline no matter the Democratic nominee, he said, adding: "The German ambassador committing a faux pas on one occasion isn't enough to ratchet up that equation."

A Republican strategist working on the 2008 presidential race differed. The strategist, who declined to be named out of concern for the campaign, called it "a glaring sign of inexperience that he would showcase support from a foreign diplomat."

After a long and distinguished career in the German foreign service, Scharioth, who has graduate degrees from the Fletcher School for international affairs at Tufts University, presented his credentials as the German ambassador to President Bush last March.

As Media Matters for America documented, Politico chief political correspondent Mike Allen wrote a 1,200-word March 27 article about Obama's purported inconsistencies, which even Allen characterized as "trivial." The article was headlined, "Rookie Mistakes Plague Obama."

—S.S.M.