Friends incensed to be called out by Obama for promotion of Corsi, book
Reported by Chrish - August 21, 2008 -
Barack Obama remarked yesterday to an audience that FOX News gave a lot of play to Jerome Corsi after he published a lie-riddled book intended to "swift-boat" the Senator, and the Friends took offense. Mike Huckabee joined them the first hour to condemn the remark, Howard Wolfson expressed similar sentiments the second hour, and both were revisited in the third hour this morning 8/21/08.
With video.
Gretchen Carlson said (twice) that Obama "ripped" them about that "number one New York Times bestseller in non-fiction," (failing, of course! to note that it's number one "with a dagger" which we've learned means " some bookstores report receiving bulk orders," which would obviously artifically inflate the popularity of a new release. Apparently this is another tried and true "conservative" dirty trick.) Oh well lookie here - Politico.com, the source for much of FOX "reporting," says "Obama rips Fox News," and proceeds to grossly underplay the spotlight the network has put on the author and his lies; "The news network has interviewed Corsi."
Steve Doocy, reiterating the number oneness of the book (without revealing how it got there) protested that Corsi was challenged by Bob Beckel in two F&F appearances, and has appeared on other networks, including C-Span and CNN.
Perhaps Obama singled out FOX because Corsi has had so many repeat appearances and so many unopposed opportunities to defend and further his lies. Perhaps it was because FOX, unlike the myriad other media outlets who did their homework and then denounced the book and its author, afforded Corsi a platform to complain about the negative attention his book has received, and continued to defend the indefensible. Maybe it's just because he's one smart guy, and he sees FOX for what it is... a coordinated effort to elect his opponent.
The Friends brought up Howard Wolfson's earlier appearance to reinforce the perception that FOX has a diverse audience worth reaching out to and noted that he didn't think it was smart of Obama to say that, and Brian Kilmeade wondered if Obama is worried about the tightening polls - "Is the message going to resonate, or has he indeed been drowned out? Is it Senator McCain who's taking his lead away, or is he losing it?" (IF Obama is drowned out, that would be the fault of the corporate media, who has the means to spread or kill a message.)
Mike Huckabee's remarks from earlier in the three-hour program were replayed, because he said Obama is "not an agent of change" and "just a politician, who is really thin-skinned about the attacks that he's receiving." (But we dasn't dare say anything about McCain except he's a hero, right? A hero with a temper - I'd love to see his rumored thin-skin challenged half as much as Obama's has been. Dr. Phillip Butler, a fellow POW with McCain, has plenty to say.) Huckabee characterized Obama as "down in the street with his fists clenched" saying he was not an agent of change because he is fighting the smears - ridiculous logic.
Maybe Obama's frustrated by a poll from Zogby which has McCain ahead, offered Doocy. Note how FOX has chosen to highlight this one poll from all the others, which have Obama still in the lead, some tightening, some still quite substantial. It's so obvious they're pulling for McCain, they should just come out of the Republican closet and go nuts.
