MSNBC's Brewer falsely claimed Bill Clinton "reportedly told" Telegraph that "Obama was going to, quote, 'have to kiss my you-know-what' "
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SUMMARY: On MSNBC Live, Contessa Brewer falsely claimed that former President Bill Clinton "reportedly told London's The Telegraph paper that [Sen.] Barack Obama was going to, quote, 'have to kiss my you-know-what,' unquote, if he wanted the former president's help." In fact, the Telegraph article quoted an anonymous "senior Democrat who worked for Mr Clinton," who in turn cited another anonymous source: "One person told me that Bill said Obama would have to quote kiss my ass close quote, if he wants his support."
On the June 30 edition of MSNBC Live, anchor Contessa Brewer falsely claimed that former President Bill Clinton "reportedly told London's The Telegraph paper that [Sen.] Barack Obama was going to, quote, 'have to kiss my you-know-what,' unquote, if he wanted the former president's help." In fact, the Telegraph article to which Brewer referred did not say that Clinton had talked to The Telegraph, but rather quoted an anonymous "senior Democrat who worked for Mr Clinton," who in turn cited another anonymous source: "One person told me that Bill said Obama would have to quote kiss my ass close quote, if he wants his support." Brewer's comment came in response to Washington Post New York bureau chief Keith Richburg's statement that "we heard some pretty unkind words that President Clinton, apparently, according to a British newspaper, had said about Barack Obama."
Earlier on MSNBC Live, during a discussion with Democratic strategist Chris Kofinis, anchor Tamron Hall cited The Telegraph's anonymously sourced claim, saying: "You've heard about how angry or upset Bill Clinton is said to be. This might be to a whole 'nother level." She then asked Kofinis, "According to London's Telegraph, Bill Clinton allegedly told a friend that Barack Obama needs to kiss his expletive if he wants his support. If this report is true, does that surprise you?" Hall did not note the anonymous sourcing used in the Telegraph article.
From the Telegraph article:
A senior Democrat who worked for Mr Clinton has revealed that he recently told friends Mr Obama could "kiss my ass" in return for his support.
[...]
But his lingering fury has shocked his friends. The Democrat told the Telegraph: "He's been angry for a while. But everyone thought he would get over it. He hasn't. I've spoken to a couple of people who he's been in contact with and he is mad as hell.
"He's saying he's not going to reach out, that Obama has to come to him. One person told me that Bill said Obama would have to quote kiss my ass close quote, if he wants his support.
"You can't talk like that about Obama -- he's the nominee of your party, not some house boy you can order around.
"Hillary's just getting on with it and so should Bill."
From the 4 p.m. ET hour of MSNBC Live on June 30:
BREWER: We begin with three developing political stories. First up, Barack Obama and Bill Clinton, BFF? Well, maybe that's going a little bit too far. BFF, by the way, best friends forever. You'd know that if you had teenagers. This afternoon the two men reportedly had friendly chats over the phone. Mr. Clinton said he will do whatever he can to get Barack Obama elected. Keith Richburg is The Washington Post New York bureau chief. All right, they have the conversation on the phone. Does that mean that the feud is over?
RICHBURG: Absolutely not. I mean that the ice is broken, at least. I mean, they're not quite BFFs yet, but they're not -- they haven't fallen out, you know, while teenagers sometimes do. I mean, we heard some pretty unkind words that President Clinton, apparently, according to a British newspaper, had said about Barack Obama.
BREWER: The former president reportedly told London's The Telegraph paper that Barack Obama was going to, quote, "have to kiss my you-know-what" --
RICHBURG: Yeah.
BREWER: -- unquote, if he wanted the former president's help. But what we're hearing on the phone today, President Clinton had a good conversation with Senator Obama, he's impressed by Senator Obama, he believes that he's going -- he's this great inspiration for millions. I mean, now we're really hearing the praise that we were expecting to hear from the first statement when he came out in support of Obama.
RICHBURG: Absolutely. The first statement was very strange. It was just kind of a one or two sentence, "Obviously he's working for him because he's the nominee." We still haven't actually seen Bill Clinton say something out of his mouth, though, and that's what we're waiting for. We're waiting for Bill Clinton to give that kind of full-throated praise of Barack Obama, the way Hillary Clinton did in Unity, New Hampshire, and in her final concession speech. Not the first concession speech.
From the noon ET hour of the June 30 edition of MSNBC Live:
HALL: Well, within days, Barack Obama and former president Bill Clinton are expected to speak for the first time since Obama took the Democratic nomination away from his wife. But after the hard-fought, bitter primary season, what will it take for President Clinton to put his heart into campaigning for Barack Obama? Joining me now, live from Washington is Democratic strategist Chris Kofinis, and here in the studio, Republican strategist Andrea Tantaros. Thank you both for joining us. So Chris, I'll start off with you.
TANTAROS: Thank you.
KOFINIS: Sure.
HALL: You've heard about how angry or upset Bill Clinton is said to be. This might be to a whole 'nother level. According to London's Telegraph, Bill Clinton allegedly told a friend that Barack Obama needs to kiss his expletive if he wants his support. If this report is true, does that surprise you?
KOFINIS: Well, I have a hard time believing it's true. I mean, the reality is, I think what you've seen from both Senator Hillary Clinton and the former president is a very vocal amount of support since they left the race. They had the event in Unity, New Hampshire. I think you saw that. I think it was a fantastic event. So, I mean, listen. Are there raw feelings? Of course, there's always going to be raw feelings --
HALL: Yeah.
KOFINIS: -- after a really kind of heated, contested race. But the notion that, you know, President Bill Clinton, a lifelong Democrat, who's done incredible things for the Democratic Party --
HALL: Hmm-mm.
KOFINIS: -- isn't going to go -- isn't going to go out there and work his heart and soul to elect Barack Obama I think is just fantasy and just wishful thinking on some other people's part.
American media is outsourcing to ODM's to save money. Have some chump who makes pennies on the dollar do the "legwork" (i.e. write what he's told). Our "journalists don't travel that much anymore, they just sit at a keyboard downloading the latest "talking points".
Well, that was a great question! You got the beagle's dander up with that one.
The Daily Telegraph's owner is Hollinger International Inc. of Chicago, which is in turn 70 percent owned by a firm controlled by media investor Conrad Black.
Now, who is Conrad Black?
Conrad Moffat Black, Baron Black of Crossharbour, OC, PC, (born 25 August 1944, in Montreal, Quebec) is an historian, media proprietor, and former newspaper publisher. In 2007 he was convicted in the United States of three counts of mail fraud and one count of obstruction of justice. He is at present incarcerated at the Coleman Federal Correctional Complex in Florida.[1]
With associates, Black managed and controlled Hollinger International, Inc., a Delaware holding company listed on the New York Stock Exchange. Through multiple holding companies and subsidiaries, Hollinger International at one time owned and published important newspapers including Daily Telegraph, Chicago Sun Times, Jerusalem Post, National Post and hundreds of community newspapers in North America.
In 2003, a special committee appointed by its directors reported that Hollinger International had made $32 million in unauthorized payments to Conrad Black and associates. The report also accused him and his colleagues of running a "corporate kleptocracy." Black later resigned under pressure as CEO of Hollinger International. In July 2006, Hollinger International Inc. changed name to Sun-Times Media Group.[2] Its publications then included The Chicago Sun-Times, The Naperville Sun in Illinois and The Post Tribune of Indiana. The company had agreed in 2004 to sell London's Daily Telegraph.[3]
Black was convicted in Illinois U.S. District Court on July 13, 2007 and later sentenced to serve 78 months in federal prison, pay Hollinger $6.1 million and a fine of $125,000. Black was guilty of diverting funds for personal benefit from money properly due Hollinger International when the company sold certain publishing assets. Black and other executives received 'non-compete' fees paid by purchasers who acquired Hollinger International properties.[4]
Black was imprisoned March 3, 2008 at Federal Correctional Institution Coleman Low,[5] a low-security penitentiary situated 50 miles (80 kilometres) northwest of Orlando, Florida. Unless his convictions are overturned on appeal, Black's projected release date is October, 2013.
As far as ties to Murdoch, I can't find any. But this was interesting:
Conrad Black is sometimes compared with another right-leaning media mogul, Rupert Murdoch. But the two are very different. Financially, Black was never in Murdoch's league. Temperamentally, Murdoch is a leader of the dis-establishment; scornful of titles and institutions, while Black has been famously pro-establishment. Avid for a peerage, which he finally achieved, he created a company board that included both Henry Kissinger and Richard Perle. More importantly, he was always much more overtly politically motivated than Murdoch, who has supported governments of the centre-left and the centre-right, depending on his prevailing commercial judgments.
I also hear that BC once used words with the letters F and U, which would apply appropriately to the media.
"I don't see what the problem is. Bill Clinton said it," said an anon source about an anon source who heard it through the grape vine that someone might have said or not said something about kissing someone's behind.
There you have it, folks. Solid proof that this story is legit.
Randy
Three degrees of separation = plausible deniability
Hey Oscar, I don't know if you intended that way, but "plausible deniability" usually implies sort of a deliberate effort to set things up to allow that deniability. I don't really think there would be much motive for Clinton to orchestrate this almost-a-quote.
If you only meant that the item wasn't credible because of the chain of anonymous sources, i'd re-do the equation as;
Three degrees of separation = crap that shouldn't even be mentioned as "reportedly said" on a news channel.
Some people say he's a wierdo. Who am I to fact check such reliable sources?
Find the divisions that already exist among Democrats and exacerbate them. It's an old-time staple of the Repubs to focus not on the things that unite Rpubs, but focus on the things that divide Dems.
So to Oscar, I say yeah, there is plausible deniability somewhere in all of this; except it's the deniability your filthy Republican operatives foster on behalf of your candidate while carrying out their dirty tricks.
Screw your blindness Oscar, the same way you screw your own blind Willy with baking products.
Total punk cop out, boy.
When did you stop beating your wife, Onanist?
I'll take your evasion of the broader topic as a conscession to the fact that this nonsense story is nothing more than your typical Nixon-style, scumbag republiclan dirty trick.
Sometimes you Republicans are truly disgusting with your Mr. Nice Guy act, your willful ignorance, your learned helplessness. Hope your happy in your own filth as you make excuses for your fellow rightwing a-holes. It's all good though, right? The ends justify the means, right? So long as the right side wins and implements their authoritarian vison for America.
You have absolution, though. Don't you, Oscar? All you have to do to let yourself off the hook is to tell me that you are only responsible for your own actions, as if your opposing voice to these ugly tricks and subequent destructive policy counts for nothing. As if you are unaccountable in our open democracy for allowing your Republican brethren to behave like such vile creatures.
You have no idea what personal responsibility is, nary a one of you damn Republicans accept personal responsibility for the failed conservative economy, or failed conservative imperialism , or the failing conservative police state. It's always a matter of conservatism being failed, not the other way around. Bush isn't a real conservative is he? No, no, no, no, no. He's an anomoly, like Nixon. Like Tom Delay, like Larry Craig, like Ollie North, like Dick Cheney, like Michael Chertoff, like Mike Brown, like the Enron crew.
Sheesh. Republicans are stupid.