CNN's Sylvester cropped Michelle Obama's quote; Flanders claimed "we know" she attacked Clinton
SUMMARY: On Lou Dobbs Tonight, guest host Lisa Sylvester aired a clip of Michelle Obama saying: "Our view is that if you can't run your own house, you certainly can't run the White House." Air America Radio host Laura Flanders later agreed that the comment "was a swipe at Hillary Clinton." Sylvester, however, did not provide Obama's full comments on the topic, in which she talked about her own family and did not refer to another candidate.
On the August 21 edition of CNN's Lou Dobbs Tonight, guest host Lisa Sylvester teased a segment on recent comments by Michelle Obama, wife of Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL), by claiming that she "apparently blast[ed] Senator Hillary Clinton [D-NY]." During the segment, Sylvester aired a clip of Mrs. Obama saying: "Our view is that if you can't run your own house, you certainly can't run the White House," and asked Air America Radio host Laura Flanders if the comment "was a swipe at Hillary Clinton." Flanders answered: "Yes, I think it was. I mean, I think we know that from the deadly silence that surrounded the comment from most of the pundits the last couple of days." Sylvester, however, did not provide Mrs. Obama's full comments on the topic, in which she talked about her own family and did not refer generally or specifically to any other candidates. Nor did Sylvester note that Barack Obama has denied that his wife was attacking Clinton.
As Media Matters for America documented, immediately after her comment about the ability to "run your own house," Mrs. Obama went on to discuss measures her family was taking to keep their children "grounded" while campaigning and the efforts the Obamas are making to ensure that their children will continue to "come first." From her August 16 remarks:
MICHELLE OBAMA: That one of the most important things that we need to know about the next President of the United States is, is he somebody that shares our values? Is he somebody that respects family? Is a good and decent person? So our view was that, if you can't run your own house, you certainly can't run the White House. So, so we've adjusted our schedules to make sure that our girls are first, so while he's traveling around, I do day trips. That means I get up in the morning, I get the girls ready, I get them off, I go and do trips, I'm home before bedtime. So the girls know that I was gone somewhere, but they don't care. They just know that I was at home to tuck them in at night, and it keeps them grounded, and, and children, the children in our country have to know that they come first. And our girls do and that's why we're doing this. We're in this race for not just our children, but all of our children.
The Obama campaign denied that Michelle Obama was attacking Clinton or anyone else. According to an August 21 entry on CNN's Political Ticker blog:
The Illinois senator emphatically denied the comments were aimed at his rival and added, "There was no reference beyond her point that we have had an administration that talks a lot about family values but doesn't follow through."
He also noted that his wife often speaks about children and families in her campaign remarks.
Katie McCormick Lelyveld, Michelle Obama's communications director, also told CNN, "the only family Mrs. Obama was talking about was the Obama family."
Earlier on August 21, CNN host Wolf Blitzer similarly omitted Mrs. Obama's full comments while discussing them with Democratic strategist Donna Brazile and Republican strategist John Feehery on CNN's The Situation Room. Blitzer aired the following excerpt from Mrs. Obama's comments: "One of the most important things that we need to know about the next president of the United States is, is he somebody that shares our values? Is he somebody that respects family, is a good and decent person? So our view was that, if you can't run your own house, you certainly can't run the White House." He then asked: "[W]hat do you think? Who was she referring to, because we're trying to read between the lines here."
Brazile denied that Obama attacked anybody, saying, "I don't think he was taking -- she was taking a swipe at the Clintons or the Giulianis or anyone else. She was trying to establish his [Barack Obama's] credentials as a family person." Blitzer said that one could not assume that Mrs. Obama was attacking Clinton, saying that "you could read this and say maybe she is referring to [Republican presidential candidate] Rudy Giuliani, who's had a history of some problems." Nonetheless, on the subsequent show, Flanders asserted that "we know" that Mrs. Obama was referring to Clinton.
From the August 21 edition of CNN's Lou Dobbs Tonight:
SYLVESTER: And the wife of Democratic presidential candidate Senator Barack Obama apparently blasts Senator Hillary Clinton. We'll have the details next.
[...]
SYLVESTER: And later, is Senator Barack Obama's wife taking a swipe at Senator Hillary Clinton? We'll have the latest on this new war of words.
[...]
SYLVESTER: Did Michelle Obama take a swipe at her husband's primary competition for the Democratic presidential nomination, former first lady Senator Hillary Clinton? Mrs. Obama in Iowa last week said she wanted to travel with her husband to model what it means to have family values. And she added --
MICHELLE OBAMA [video clip]: Our view is that if you can't run your own house, you certainly can't run the White House.
SYLVESTER: Joining me now for more on this and the rest of the current political landscape are three of the country's best radio talk-show hosts. In Washington, Joe Madison of WOL and XM Radio.
MADISON: Hello.
SYLVESTER: In Denver, Peter Boyles of KHOW. And here in New York, Laura Flanders of Air America. Laura, let me first start with you. What do you make of those comments that Michelle Obama made? Do you think that that was a swipe at Hillary Clinton?
FLANDERS: Yes, I think it was. I mean, I think we know that from the deadly silence that surrounded the comment from most of the pundits the last couple of days. Don't you wish we had Elizabeth Edwards and Michelle Obama running for president? Wouldn't that be a great day? I mean, these are women with some actual gumption. I'm fine with the swiping, really. People want to talk about houses in order, the only house we really need to keep in order is this country's house. And, you know, we don't want to go back to that kind of swiping, as it were, about the personal whatever in the Clinton family. But the feistiness on the campaign trail, I'm for it.
I do not see what the big deal is to try and claim that Michelle Obama was not refering to Hillary Clinton. They are competing, they do not like eachother during this competion time. For MMFA to try and spin this that all the Democratic Candidates and the familes are getting along with eachother is wrong. It has not historically happened in the past and will not now.
http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F10615F834590C768CDDAD0894DA494D81&n=Top%2fReference%2fTimes%20Topics%2fPeople%2fB%2fBrown%2c%20Jerry
You have to pay for the link so I will copy and paste, these things have always happened. Why are we trying to kid ourselves? It happened in 92.
The day after Gov. Bill Clinton broadcast a set of commercials attacking Edmund G. Brown Jr. and then partly retreated from them, Mr. Brown responded by calling his rival "the prince of sleaze" while at the same time trying to distance himself from attack advertisements that his own campaign had produced. In several pointed exchanges yesterday, both Mr. Brown and Mr. Clinton denounced the other for broadcasting unfair commercials, all the while making sure that millions of New Yorkers would hear
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,995950,00.html
There's something delightful when political candidates really despise each other. In 1992 Jerry Brown ranted about Hillary Clinton's work for a failed Arkansas S&L, and Bill Clinton screamed back during one debate that Brown "wasn't worth" standing on the stage "with my wife." Paul Tsongas dubbed Clinton a "pander bear." Clinton told him sarcastically in another debate, "You're always perfect, Paul." Tsongas replied, "I'm not perfect, but I'm honest."
You just don't get it, do you?
Why did the media automatically presume Michelle Obama was talking about CLINTON? Not only was she taken out of context, but she continually used the word "he" as well.
If anything, she was referring to Guiliani's messed-up family life. So why did the entire MSM give Rudy a free pass on this tonight? Why isn't HE ever an issue when it comes to family values?
This has nothing to do with if Hillary or Michelle like each other. To present only half of Michelle Obama’s statement and then make the assumption that it’s a snipe at Hillary is a lie. Plain and simply a political strategy to create a controversy where there is none.
So our view was that, if you can't run your own house, you certainly can't run the White House.
If she Michelle let's her home life (children and family commitments) go top hell in a hand basket how could we put them in charge of the entire country?
So, so we've adjusted our schedules to make sure that our girls are first, so while he's traveling around, I do day trips. That means I get up in the morning, I get the girls ready, I get them off, I go and do trips, I'm home before bedtime. So the girls know that I was gone somewhere, but they don't care. They just know that I was at home to tuck them in at night, and it keeps them grounded, and, and children, the children in our country have to know that they come first. And our girls do and that's why we're doing this. We're in this race for not just our children, but all of our children.
Her statement has nothing to do with Hillary. Hillary’s child is a grown woman and Michelle’s children are quite small.
Who really cares if Mrs. Obama was making a veiled reference to Mrs. Clinton or not? This is the talk show mentality that is needed to fill 24/7 cable news outlets, 15 months before the election. To make a big deal of it by defending or attacking either woman is ridiculous.
SHE WAS NOT and that's the point. There is no fight and I hope people realize that this is another case of the press trying to create a sensational story for their own selfish purposes, and apparently they’ve gotten some traction out of this. Additionally partisans and Dem haters terrified at the possibility that Hillary or Obama might actually become president are opportunistically jumping all over this for to create a little divide an conquer action. Michelle Obama is too intelligent, articulate and has way too much class to resort to some soulless right wingese gutter fight. She was talking about the OBAMA household and illustrating how they the OBAMAS balance there jobs and family life which is no easy task, although HBL I know the balancing work and the single life is challenging as well.
Lynn,
The sad thing is this concocted controversy is still spreading... this one snippet is continuing to be taken out of context everywhere.
I'm not sure why the media is being so obviously disingenuous here. They are obviously privy to Mrs. Obama's remarks in their entirety. Yet they choose to only feature the part of her quote that they can spin into an alleged attack against Hillary.
I'm not sure about their motives. It might be easy to suggest it's some nefarious Conservative plot...BUT in all honesty I think the press is simply hankering for fireworks between Hillary & Obama [though I'm sure they wouldn't care which two candidates it was] just because they want to liven up this very long campaign season.
Jeter,
I believe this is a larger issue, I have been very disturbed by this trend to mix sensational current events (who's sleeping with Brittney Spears) with real news and putting sensationalism on equal par with reporting on real serious life effecting events but apparently it's slowly being elevated above the real news now and evidently they will manufacture it if they have to I see. I don’t know if this started with a biased columnist, I’m not familiar with that person although partisan folk surely are jumping all over this to add to their Liberal fighting arsenal because that’s just what they do; but you're correct this is spreading and showing up everywhere in all kinds of media.You're right, but the bigger problem is that the MSM jumps on Hillary and gives Guiliani a free pass. Just why is that....?
I don't know. If it weren't an applause line, I would say this was much ado about nothing, but the fact of the matter is that was an applause line. It was a soundbite, and soundbites are written with the INTENT that they will be taken out of context. Yes, the speech clarifies the 'intended meaning' of the line, but this is after the line has been stated. It's after the seed has been planted. It's after the audience heard the line, interpretted its meaning for themselves, and responded with applause. The applause, to me, suggests the audience inferred an entirely different meaning than the one explained in the speech. It suggests to me, that they heard the line, and an image came to mind. An image that contrasted the Obama house with at least one of the other candidates' houses.
What I think is so smart about the line is that it draws the comparison without EVER drawing the comparison.
It's after the audience heard the line, interpretted its meaning for themselves, and responded with applause. The applause, to me, suggests the audience inferred an entirely different meaning than the one explained in the speech. It suggests to me, that they heard the line, and an image came to mind. An image that contrasted the Obama house with at least one of the other candidates' houses.
Interesting take. But whether or not some in the audience mistook the meaning of Mrs. Obama's remark doesn't excuse the media from misrepresenting it also.
I think it's pretty clear that when Mrs. Obama followed her remark "So our view was that, if you can't run your own house, you certainly can't run the White House" with "So, so we've adjusted our schedules to make sure that our girls are first, so while he's traveling around, I do day trips. It was undeniably obvious she was peaking about her OWN family & not knocking Hillary's family or any other candidates family.
Interesting take. But whether or not some in the audience mistook the meaning of Mrs. Obama's remark doesn't excuse the media from misrepresenting it also.
That, again, is what I think is the beauty of the statement; she's not making the comparison. The audience is. She doesn't have to say, look at how torn up Hillary's or Rudy's house is in comparison to ours. All she has to say is that the next president is going to have to share America's idea of 'family values' and this is what the Obamas value. She doesn't have to make the comparison. She doesn't have to tell anyone to make the comparison. All she has to do is say 'you have to be able to control your house to control the White House', and people can ask for themselves, does anyone not have control of their house?
The media has certainly picked up on Michelle Obama's "swipe" at Hillary Clinton. But unlike you they completely missed that it was directed at Rudy Giuliani and anyone else who does "not have control of their house" too.
They also didn't report on the sneaky way that Obama covered her tracks by following her insult with words that make it seem she was just talking about her family and not attacking anyone.
Good catch.
Good point Lynn,
The corporate media would never portray Republicans this way.
This is strictly done to try to make it appear that the Democrats are fighting with each other...while the Conservatives hold to a "unified" message.
It's all done to weaken Democrats.
On this, we agree. Our useless press breathlessly reports every little snipe and backstabbing comment made by the Presidential candidates, but they can't find the time to do any serious investigative reporting on why we're in Iraq. We spent millions finding out whether Clinton got a blowjob, but can't be bothered to investigate a war that has cost us a trillion dollars and nearly 4,000 lives. It makes me crazy.
Well put. It does go to the age old question, whose fault is it anyway? The press, or the people, for watching, listening and responding to the tabloidization and dumbing down in our news coverage.
I am sure if you ask these cable programmers if they feel an in depth, detail rich study of some policy or issue is worth their reporters or investigators time, or will receive the advertisers money or the viewer's attention, as opposed to a salacious, tittilating gossipy personality story, they would probably say the latter. So is it their fault, or the people's?
Considering these cable outlets are in the money making business, as well as the news business - they have to make determinations based on both factors.
Correct. I just got around to seeing the movie "The Insider" this past weekend. There is a pivotal moment late in the movie when the news guys get slapped down by the CBS corporate lawyers. Even though the news guys eventually got their way in that case, the foreshadowing of the "news for profit" philosophy is quite telling.
Surely the point here is that:
a) it's not true
b) it won't take many repeatings across the media before what isn't true morphs into fact
Therefore isn't this a prime example of disinformation a la Al Gore's fantastic invention of the Internet(s)?
An excellent example yes. Of a different class of misinformation though. A question down the road would be, do the bad feelings still exsist? Versis the dirersive comments about inventing the internet. In both cases emotional issues are present. In the world beyond both are irrelivent.
Why won't Giuliani stop attacking poor Mitt Romney? Obviously his three marriages are a 'veiled' attack on polygamy, and Romney's Mormon religion. Can't Giuliani behave in a civilized manner, and refrain from EVER mentioning his wife or past wives in the political forum? Doesn't he realize that by attacking Romney in such a manner, that he discredits all Republicans?
Also, every time Giuliani's (or his wife) mention being at the 9/11 site, it is a sneaky attack at the other Republican candidates for not spending enough time at the site. When will Giuliani realize that his vicious attacks on the other Republicans only lowers him to their level??
(end sarcasm)
Yeah, totally. I agree.
Whatever. It's just as likely that we know Michelle was taking aim at conservative family values, specifically Bush family values.
But Laura, what are you thinking? This is strike #2 for you.
If you read a transcript, it's fairly obvious that Michelle -- who is a great speaker -- was not talking about anybody else in particular, and if there was a dig anywhere, why not Giuliani? Who's the mind reader here? That scumbag Drudge, who made this link initially, and everybody, including tons of people on the left who should know better, have just stupidly gone along with Drudge's GOP reading of a trivial remark. This is the cancer that has infected our campaigns for a long time, certainly since the War on Gore that Bob Somerby has so exhaustively and intelligently documented.
Please, progressives. When we talk about our issues, we win. Go ahead and fight about who has the better health care plan, or the best chance of an honorable end to Iraq, or anything whatever. If you want to bring the debate down to the malicious level of celebrity gossip, we lose. Don't you get it yet? Are you so enflamed by your hatred of Clinton, or your sheer pleasure in watching malicious gossips defining what our news means, that you will let this go on without kicking and screaming?
I'm ashamed of Laura Flanders, who was very good on Pacifica, and now on Air America. I suspect she wants the recognition of being on CNN, and she's made the devil's bargain of playing along with the bull. It's a pity to see a mind go to waste like that.
The key to understanding the War on Gore, by the way, comes when you realize that although the stupidity about Naomi Wolf or the Internet ("he's a pathological liar," see?) was not objected to by the "liberals" in the media, and often brainlessly echoed. Please don't let the same propaganda operation happen this time. Don't repeat the gossip. If you get a chance, spit on Drudge.
Amen Brother,
It's like the pod people took over the airwaves. They look like real news folks but the love to spread malicious gossip and stir up trouble just like junior high schoolers.
Sylvester a corporate whore...
She's just reading the script her corporate masters hand her.
Air America's Laura Flanders must be a corporate whore too......
She just read the script the corporate masters at Air America hand her.
God. I wouldn't have expected this from Laura Flanders. I just emailed her to give her a piece of my mind . You can reach her at flanders.laura@gmail.com.
Stupid Flanders!
Oh, I forgot one. Suffering Succatash!
If you think those are bad, just be glad I didn't post anything about the woman named "Millerwise Dyke" in the "Cat Claws" thread.