CBS Evening News aired portion of Floyd Brown's anti-Obama attack ad, failing to report Obama is not a Muslim
SUMMARY: The CBS Evening News aired a clip of an attack ad against Sen. Barack Obama in which the narrator says, "Obama was enrolled in school as a Muslim while living in Indonesia." Nowhere did the report note that Obama is in fact not a Muslim but, rather, a practicing Christian.
On the June 30 edition of the CBS Evening News, correspondent Dean Reynolds aired a clip of an attack ad against Sen. Barack Obama in which the narrator says, "Obama was enrolled in school as a Muslim while living in Indonesia." Nowhere in his report did Reynolds note that Obama is in fact not a Muslim but, rather, a practicing Christian. Earlier in the report, Reynolds stated that Obama "has faced such questions [about his patriotism] for months, mostly on the Internet," adding, "It's a campaign to sow doubts about him."
Previously, the editor of CBS' now-defunct Public Eye blog criticized an April 2007 video by Evening News anchor Katie Couric in which, as Media Matters for America noted, Couric asserted that Obama's "background sparked rumors that he had studied at a radical madrassa, or Quranic school" without noting that the rumors were false. Couric's "Notebook" was later updated to note that the madrassa "rumors [were] later disproved" and that the source for the claim that Obama "grew up praying in a mosque" later backed off that assertion.
According to a March 25, 2007, Chicago Tribune article, Obama attended a Catholic elementary school and then a public school during the four years he spent in Indonesia as a child. As Media Matters previously documented, a January 24, 2007, Associated Press article reported that while enrolling at Fransiskus Assisis (St. Francis of Assisi), the Catholic school Obama attended for grades 1 through 3, Obama was "required" to "choose one of five state-sanctioned religions when registering -- Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist, Catholic or Protestant." The AP reported that "documents showed [Obama] enrolled as a Muslim, the religion of his stepfather" and that Obama spokesman Robert Gibbs "said he wasn't sure why the document had Obama listed as a Muslim." The article also quoted Gibbs as stating, "Senator Obama has never been a Muslim." The Tribune article further reported on Obama's enrollment status:
At the time, the school most likely registered children based on the religion of their fathers, said Darmawan, Obama's former teacher. Because Soetoro was a Muslim, Obama was listed as a Muslim, she said.
The enrollment form from the Catholic school, which has been cited as evidence that Obama was a Muslim in Indonesia, also was rife with errors. It listed Obama as an Indonesian, listed his previous school incorrectly and failed to list his mother, Ann, at all.
A May 15, 2007, Los Angeles Times article reported that "[a]fter St. Francis, Obama completed third and fourth grades in what is now called Model Primary School Menteng 1 in central Jakarta. Opened by Indonesia's former Dutch colonial rulers, the public school screens for the best students with writing tests and interviews. Several of its students have gone on to join Indonesia's elite." According to the Times, "Bugs have eaten Obama's file in the school's archive, said Vice Principal Hardi Priyono. But two of his teachers, former Vice Principal Tine Hahiyari and third-grade teacher Effendi, said they remember clearly that at this school too, he was registered as a Muslim, which determined what class he attended during weekly religion lessons." The Tribune also reported: "Interviews with dozens of former classmates, teachers, neighbors and friends show that Obama was not a regular practicing Muslim when he was in Indonesia."
Obama has said in speeches that his father "was Muslim but as an adult became an atheist," and Obama's Indonesian stepfather, Lolo Soetoro, was described in the Tribune article as "much more of a free spirit than a devout Muslim, according to former friends and neighbors."
During the CBS report, the attack ad was identified as a "YouTube" video from "ExposeObama.com." But Reynolds did not note that ExposeObama.com is run by Floyd Brown, the creator of the infamous Willie Horton ad that ran against then-Democratic presidential candidate Michael Dukakis in 1988. ExposeObama.com describes itself as a "project of the National Campaign Fund," of which Brown is the "Founder and President."
From the January 24, 2007 AP article:
Obama's mother, divorced from Obama's father, married a man from Indonesia named Lolo Soetoro, and the family relocated to the country from 1967-71. At first, Obama attended the Catholic school, Fransiskus Assisis, where documents showed he enrolled as a Muslim, the religion of his stepfather.
The document required that each student choose one of five state-sanctioned religions when registering -- Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist, Catholic or Protestant. Gibbs said he wasn't sure why the document had Obama listed as a Muslim.
"Senator Obama has never been a Muslim," Gibbs said. "As a six-year-old in Catholic school, he studied the catechism."
The Illinois senator is a member of the United Church of Christ.
From the March 25, 2007, Chicago Tribune article:
Obama's stepfather, Lolo Soetoro, was much more of a free spirit than a devout Muslim, according to former friends and neighbors. And the school described as an Islamic madrassa in media reports actually was a public school, so progressive that teachers wore miniskirts and all students were encouraged to celebrate Christmas.
[...]
At the time, the school most likely registered children based on the religion of their fathers, said Darmawan, Obama's former teacher. Because Soetoro was a Muslim, Obama was listed as a Muslim, she said.
The enrollment form from the Catholic school, which has been cited as evidence that Obama was a Muslim in Indonesia, also was rife with errors. It listed Obama as an Indonesian, listed his previous school incorrectly and failed to list his mother, Ann, at all.
From the June 30 broadcast of the CBS Evening News with Katie Couric:
COURIC: Now, turning to the presidential campaign. Today, John McCain returned fire after a surprising attack on one of his biggest strengths. This as Barack Obama tried to shore up what some believe is one of his biggest weaknesses. Here's Dean Reynolds.
[begin video clip]
REYNOLDS: For Barack Obama, his speech today in Missouri was the latest attempt to rebut insinuations that he is less than loyal to the country.
OBAMA: I will never question the patriotism of others in this campaign. [video break] And I will not stand idly by when I hear others question mine.
REYNOLDS: But he has faced such questions for months, mostly on the Internet. It's a campaign to sow doubts about him.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Obama was enrolled in school as a Muslim while living in Indonesia.
REYNOLDS: Obama now wears an American flag pin in his lapel and is often at events where Old Glory is prominent. He clearly believes patriotism should be off the table.
OBAMA: No party or political philosophy has a monopoly on patriotism. [video break] And surely we can arrive at a definition of patriotism that, however rough and imperfect, captures the best of America's common spirit.
Absolutely. That's why people like Jeff Christie, Sean Insanity, and M. Rotten Levin are up in arms about the possible return of the Fairness Doctrine. They know that if it were to return, it would be the end of their careers.
And I hope it returns ASAP.
AA,
The fairness doctrine does not decrease free speech. In fact it allows for more speech because both sides are represented on the public airwaves. When there is only one voice (conservative) there is no chance for the free exchange of ideas.
Tommy's argument on another thread was that the media just learned about the fake attacks on one's military record, and that's why they made such a big deal about the non-attack from Wesley Clark.
If that's the case, wouldn't the media have also learned about false meme's that people like Floyd Brown push? Wouldn't they have learned that there's no reason to give fake tales the same airplay as real issues with a candidate's behavior or history? Wouldn't they have understood by now the ridiculous nature of "he said, she said" portrayals of an issue, and moved to fair reporting of a factual nature, hinged on reality with a strong dose of baloney-detection?
Media Matters points out information in the media that furthers the conservative agenda. Showing an attack ad like this without disproving all the nonsense embedded in it furthers the conservative agenda.
Do we really need to spend more time on the laughable theories of possibly the weakest thinker on this site?
(Other people are worse posters than Tommy, but none of them are "thinkers".)
Tommy can you hear me?
Can you feel me near you?
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Can I help to cheer you.
Mother & Father:
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Father:
Tommy can you hear me?
Can you feel me near you?
Mother:
Tommy can you see me?
Can I help to cheer you.
Mother & Father:
Ooo, Tommy, Tommy, Tommy, Tommy
Father:
Tommy can you hear me?
Can you feel me near you?
Mother:
Tommy can you see me?
Can I help to cheer you.
Mother & Father:
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Summary: The CBS Evening News aired a clip of an attack ad against Sen. Barack Obama in which the narrator says, "Obama was enrolled in school as a Muslim while living in Indonesia." Nowhere did the report note that Obama is in fact not a Muslim but, rather, a practicing Christian
As a Muslim? More lies exposed by the msm so that the uneducated voter will believe this filth. There is nothing wrong with being a Muslim by the way, but the problem is that the GOP and the media have formulated that Muslims = UnAmerican.
This is how they do it.
They're not going to say, "Look, Obama is Black," or "hey, is he a Muslim?"
No, they'll keep reminding people of these issues by saying, "gee, can you imagine people are actually going around and saying these things?" And they'll repeat these "concerns" ten times a day.
The MSM learned during the Clinton campaign all about harassment and phony scrutiny and how effective it can be to keep asking misleading questions, or better, let someone else do the asking.
It works and it's not going to stop.
"hey, is he a Muslim?"
But didn't he attend for years that christian church led by the racist pastor?
Come on Repukes, pick one smear and stick to it.
but the problem is that the GOP and the media have formulated that Muslims = UnAmerican
J I would go a step further and say that has become embedded in our culture today , and since 9/11 phew.
Well, well, well! Looks like the conservatives found themselves a couple o' t-i-double guh-ers who will toe the line when they ain't picking cotton!
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/06/30/black-republicans-launch_n_110042.html
Figures,figures. 10% of americans believe Obama is a muslim. 18% of americans believe that the sun orbits the earth. Therefore 8% of americans believe that Obama is not a muslim and that the sun circles the earth.
To that 8%, Spread out you knuckleheads!
Ewe,
Do you happen to know how many of the people who believe Obama is a muslim are "likely voters"?
It is a small point, but if you get the chance can you point me to the poll that came up with that number? Thanks.
CBS rule # 1 , always begin with McCain Accusation of obama . 2# make sure the rest of the "news cast" is loaded with soccer mom stories and spend 4 mins. on Tiger Woods as top story .
Rule # 3 - when interviewing the hater of democracy Richard Haass(Council on Foreign Relations pres.), who's on record saying "Ceding sovereignty is necessary for the economy " and national sovereignty is an old idea that's passed and any country that wants to battle global warming or terrorism , " needs to cede sovereignty " or risk being invaded . His actual words , never challenged by Katie Couric on her YOU TUBE interview , and its easy to find just go to YT , search CBS & HAASS .
CBS is in the tank with the CFR and the Bush Regime and not to be trusted , not only because of some of the WORST so called journalism , but for what they DON'T mention or CENSOR . The humanitarian Crisis in GAZA or the U.S. directed , funded war on SOMALIA by Ethiopia . Did you fkn know they are routinely bombing SOMALIA as reported by the U K's Independent .
You are a lower-case-hating, screaming moron, aren't you?
What are you posting with, WebTV?
It's not like he hasn't been told that it's an issue to post with all-caps many times, either.
If he can only type in all-caps, he needs to apologize at the beginning of each of his posts and explain that he has no choice to do it.
If he could type in lower case, he should. If he won't, but he could, he should be chided every time he does it.
Do you know for sure that RIGHT-WINGER is a he or are you just being sexist?
;-)
I don't have a problem with the all caps
I am glad you have better eyes than me.
I'm beginning to have a new take on the media hypocrisy we've witnessed during this race. I don't believe the problem is the media, I believe the problem is the American public. Too many people allow things to slide that they wouldn't otherwise. Case in point, after 9-11 Bill Mahrer made some inflammatory statements. What happened? He was jettisoned from ABC. Years later Don Imus called some college basketball players "you know what", and was fired (only to later be rehired). Decades ago when Jesse Jackson used a deragatory term for Jews, his public standing fell. We the people decide what is and what isn't appalling.
Which brings me to my next point. The American public is saying it is acceptable to lie about a candidate from one party and not another. This isn't the media's fault. The media will only report what brings people to their station. For anyone to still believe Barack Obama is Muslim is just plain ignorance. They call him Muslim because of his name, they call him Muslim because of his father, they lie about reports from his half brother, yet, when it benefited them to say he's a Christian to frown on his association with Reverend Wright the American public ate it up. Whether you like the comment or not, General Clark said a truth about McCain. It is true, being a P.O.W. doesn't qualify you to be president. Look at the media's and the publics outcry. McCain's wife being called a "baby mamma" would never had been acceptable. Mediamatters wrote a great article in the difference between McCain's wealth and John Edwards wealth being reported. Edwards wealth was a talking point for the media, yet McCain's is off limits. How come that hasn't hit mainstream? We the people decide what should and shouldn't be tolerated. The fact that one candidated is allowed to be portrayed so negatively gives great insight on the American attitude.
August,
While I agree that the American people could be (partially) to blame for the rhetoric we see in today's media, I still put the responsibility for fair and accurate reporting on squarely on the shoulders of the media. The media reports - and they sensationalize as often as possible in order to get the public to watch a particular channel so that advertisers can advertise to them (the public). It's all a money game. Our media has bowed to the money game - a conservative notion. When the media is controlled by money in the interest of money, the media can no longer be trusted. The blame is squarely on the media.
Good post, August. It made me put on my thinking cap!
Shameful... When is it journalistically appropriate to repeat "rumors" that have been "disproved", as Couric notes? This is classic Sean Hannityism...
What about the rumors that have persisted regarding John McCain's POW episode? Would it be fair for Couric to gratuitously mention that John McCain was rumored to have cooperated with his captors? That when his captors discovered that McCain was the son of a powerful Admiral they offered to release him but McCain refused unless prisoners before him were first released...but that even then his captors went easy on him, even giving him weekends in an apartment with prostitutes?
Personally, I'm beginning to think there could be something to these rumors. I base this on the fact that John McCain has revealed himself over the past few years to be nothing more than an ambitious politician. It is inconsistent that a politician would NOT want to play up his POW experience yet McCain has steadfastly refused to speak of his POW experience. Why? Is it because he knows that some things happened, where he was given preferntial treatment and doesn't want the world to know that?
If journalistic standards have changed such that even disproven rumors and innuendo are worthy of repeated coverage long after the fact then shouldn't the rumors of McCain's POW experience and preferential treatment also be explored? If that is journalistically not appropriate then lay the hell off of these rumors that Obama was/is a Muslim.
Apparently one of McCain's captors is reportedly endorsing him for President...I'm not kidding:
http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalradar/2008/07/mccain-in-colom.html
"Shameful... When is it journalistically appropriate to repeat "rumors" that have been "disproved", as Couric notes? This is classic Sean Hannityism..."
One reason is Katie Couric is a right wing Republican Hate Hag herself. Not only is Couric a despciable lying right wing Republican, Couric is also one of lying right wing Republican 28% Bush lovers.
It's clear to me now. We should assume Obama is a Muslim until he can prove beyond any doubt that he isn't.
Similarly, we should assume that McCain is a follower of the indigenous Panamanian Ibeorgun religion until he can prove beyond any doubt that he isnt.
Off topic, Bill, but hope you saw my reply on whatever thread it was that discussed Obama talking about visiting 57 states.
http://www.snopes.com/politics/obama/57states.asp
According to snopes, the great urban legends debunking site, it seems pretty clear that he meant 47 states, but accidentally said 57. He talked about how he had not gone to Alaska and Hawaii and had one more state besides those two to hit.
Yes, I saw that and replied. It was on the first item of the day, which has run up over 200 comments. I agree that I was probably wrong in my assessment, but that he seemed to realize his error and shared his audiences amusement immediately afterward.
Or how about we assume that John McCain cooperated with his captors in Viet Nam and that he received preferential treatment during his captivity... unless and until he proves otherwise?
Oh, in the event anyone has a problem with these "rumors" then take it up with George W. Bush and Karl Rove because they are the ones who started them in 1999.
Which is my point exactly Irony!! How is it when Dubbya painted McCain in a negative light to stomp out the comp, it was so readily accepted or ignored, but now someone makes a factual statement and receives bogus criticism for it? The double standards are there, but people choose to believe what sounds believable to them. It is easy to assume a man with the name Barack Obama, who is black (actually mixed), is a Muslim. It is easy to believe John Kerry, a war hero is actually a coward and the dodger, who got elected, is actually the war hero. It is easy to label Kerry a flip-flopper. Easy to say Hillary is a shrewd "b". All of these things are easily disseminated by the media and devoured by the public, but it is difficult to accept that being a P.O.W. doesn't qualify you to be president?!?
I'm starting to worry about the outcome in November.
August,
So am I (no matter who wins). :-)
McCain still refuses to talk about his POW experience...angrily, according this piece:
http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalradar/2008/07/mccain-in-colom.html
It certainly is plausible that John McCain is hiding something about what he did while in captivity. And is that relevant to his candidacy? I would say yes if McCain is hailed as a hero.
It certainly is plausible that John McCain is hiding something about what he did while in captivity
The true Manchurian Candidate. Can you imagine the firestorm if a 527 puts out an ad bringing up that theory? Its not too far-fetched. Half the time Gramps looks like he's hypnotized with that monotone delivery and lack of animation.
Nowhere did the report note that Obama is in fact not a Muslim but, rather, a practicing Christian.
I've said this before and will continue to point out on any site I see this occurring....
....Obama & his future administration will have to jump thru hoops on any decision, opinion, action & reaction that will be put forth, on them, thru the media & court of public opinion.
It's sad that this man who, may have faults(we all do), and his wife will be questioned at every turn while someone like "Dubya" gets to break the law & subject this country to a war & deaths that should have never occurred
WAKE UP AMERICA !!!!
but obama is a muslim. his father was a muslim, that makes him a muslim. he remains a muslim even though he adopted another religion. that makes him an apostate.
what humanitarian crisis in gaza. if anything, the crisis is that after 60 years of having fled israel, these buggers still live on the u.n.dole. the only thing they have going for them is the hatred of jews. since the beginning of wwii there have been tens of millions of refugees worldwide, all of whom has resettled, or somehow returned to their homes. you don't hear a peep about them. but the poor buggers of palestine, thats all you hear about. oh yea, that number includes a few million jews who fled from europe, and russia, and who were kicked out of arab countries, without recompense for their property. well, they have all resettled.
but obama is a muslim. his father was a muslim, that makes him a muslim. he remains a muslim even though he adopted another religion. that makes him an apostate.
That statement is incorrect as can be confirmed by anyone with the tiniest knowledge of Islam. You do not become a muslim by birth. It must be a deliberate personal choice that is made when a child reaches a certain age. Muslims do not involuntarily "baptize" infants into their religion like the christians. These ideas of yours are projected onto Islam by unknowing christians.
McCain's Media, of which GOP-Viacom-CBS is a part of, wants Liar McCain to egt elected.
Katie Couric is a lying right wing Republican Hate Hag too, and Liar Couric wants Liar McCain to get elected, too.
Couric gave time to Drugbaugh, she rubber stamps Bigot Liar Floyd Brown's lies, Couric's a right wing Republican liar, among other negative things.