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Williams And Hannity Give Sununu A Pass On His “Obama Is Un-American” Dog Whistles

Posted by Ellen -7842.60pc on July 18, 2012 · Flag

Yesterday, Romney-surrogate John Sununu made a series of stunning statements that were distinct dog whistles about President Obama’s American bona fides. One of them, “I wish this president would learn how to be an American,” even Sununu walked back slightly. Yet, when Sununu appeared on Hannity last night for a debate with liberal Juan Williams, he made no effort to call Sununu on such inflammatory rhetoric. In fact, Sununu again suggested that Obama is somehow Un-American even as the discussion was framed around the supposedly outrageous rhetoric coming from Obama.

As Molly Ball wrote in The Atlantic yesterday:

(Sununu) told reporters on a conference call Tuesday, “I wish this president would learn how to be an American.” He also said President Obama comes from “that murky political world in Chicago where politician and felon has become synonymous,” and brought up what he described as a “smarmy” real estate deal with convicted felon Tony Rezko. And he called the Obama campaign “stupid” and “a bunch of liars.”

Before the call was even over, Sununu was backpedaling on the “learn how to be an American” bit, saying that what he meant was that “the president has to learn the American formula for creating business,” which is not government-driven but creating “a climate where entrepreneurs can thrive.” But it was hardly an isolated outburst. Earlier in the day, Sununu had posited that Obama’s lack of appreciation for the American system of job creation stemmed from the fact that (t)he president “spent his early years in Hawaii smoking something.”

But when Sununu appeared on Hannity later that night, none of that was mentioned, much less challenged. Special GOP Victim Sean Hannity introduced the segment by whining about “more insults” being launched against Governor Romney by Democrat Debbie Wasserman Schultz. He moved on to attacking President Obama for having “insulted every small business owner” (thus regurgitating Fox’s dishonest attack on Obama’s remarks) and to praising Romney for striking back “fiercely” with “one of his most impressive speeches.”

“How ignorant is this, how out of touch is Obama with what it takes to build a business?” sensitive Hannity asked.

Sununu reiterated his dog whistles. “How can you be President of America, how can you be President of this country if you condemn the success that America is noted for?” Sununu “asked.” He later said Obama had “reveal(ed) his real feelings about the country” and described his policies as, “not very happy with an American agenda of success.”

Williams did a good job of spiritedly countering the charges. He pointed out, for example that Obama bailed out Wall Street. But Williams never once challenged any of the over-the-top rhetoric. Nor did he put up any resistance to keeping the focus on President Obama’s supposed condemnation of “success.”

Why? Because Democrats buddy up to Republicans on Fox while almost no attack on Democrats or liberals is out of bounds.

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Ellen commented 2012-07-20 02:54:40 -0400 · Flag
I think Williams should have challenged Sununu’s “un-American” sneers with something like, "John, if you want to disagree with the president on his policies, fine. But you know that using loaded phrases like “not very happy with an American agenda” is using a dog whistle to extremists and only serves to hate monger. Why can’t you keep the debate on a civil, respectful level? He could have and should have put Sununu on the defensive for using such language. I know it may not be possible if you get a Fox paycheck but I can’t give him a pass for this. Instead, Williams was basically the one on defense, Sununu’s disgusting dog whistles got a pass and the whole segment got legitimized as a “regular” debate on substance.
Kevin Koster commented 2012-07-19 14:21:21 -0400 · Flag
Juan Williams has had his good moments, for example when he tried to explain to Michelle Malkin the difference between her work and actual reporting.

In this situation, I’m not sure what he could do other than simply tell Sununu to calm down, stop panicking and take a deep breath. Sununu’s wild statements, coupled with some of the more outrageous Rush Limbaugh rants, are leading most people to conclude that the GOP is already in desperation over their candidate, and we haven’t even gotten to the convention.

So far, Romney has not been able to get any control over the narrative of this campaign. He’s been on the defensive since before the primaries started. And now that he’s the defacto nominee, his stance of not saying anything specific in public is really hurting him. He wanted to run on his record as a successful businessman – instead, he’s having to defend himself on a daily basis for what he did at Bain. And the best answer he’s come up with is “I wasn’t there when that happened”? He’s tried to use GOP talking points about various Obama statements, and none of them are getting any tractioin. He’s tried to downplay his wealth, and instead he’s in a mess over his tax returns.

It’s no wonder that the GOP is really getting frustrated with him. You can tell they really wanted someone like Newt Gingrich to just be a firebrand, and they’re very upset that they didn’t get that. Personally, I would have enjoyed watching Gingrich flame out – but it’s clear that the guys on top of the GOP and Fox News knew this would have been a disaster for them. Of course, trying to get Romney to campaign like Gingrich is a lost cause…
Ellen commented 2012-07-19 03:53:56 -0400 · Flag
Joseph,

The thing is, Juan Williams can be terrific. Other times, he’s inexplicably bad. If you watch the video, he was actually pretty good in this segment. There’s just no excuse for giving Sununu a pass.
Antoinette commented 2012-07-19 01:40:21 -0400 · Flag
The Republican Party is un-American. Their attacks on the working-class poor, minorities, and women speaks for itself. Republicans are also notorious for eating their own.

We wish The Mitt would learn how to be an American and release his tax returns. The Mitt is afraid to release the rest of his tax returns. What is he hiding?
Joseph West commented 2012-07-19 00:03:12 -0400 · Flag
Ellen, please. From now on, if you choose to describe Juan Williams as a liberal, please do it properly and write “liberal” (with the quote marks). If Williams is working for FoxNoise, he is NOT a liberal—he’s a “liberal.”
Dave Wright commented 2012-07-18 23:53:41 -0400 · Flag
Give me a break. Juan Williams has been bought and paid for.
Thx4 Fish commented 2012-07-18 21:23:27 -0400 · Flag
Repubs seem to be in rerun mode. They have no new ideas for their campaign except the old “He’s not like us ’mercans-booga booga” This seems increasingly like desperation measures. All to distract us from an important question: Where’s the tax returns Romney?
truman commented 2012-07-18 17:44:26 -0400 · Flag
@mj — the same one. Some say that Shamumu’s family history is troubling. Born in Cuba. Isn’t that a Communist country? Father reared in Jerusalem. Isn’t that the home to a lot of evil Muslims? Mother reared in El Salvador. Isn’t that where illegal aliens come from?
mj - the same one commented 2012-07-18 16:46:34 -0400 · Flag
Sununu: “I wish this president would learn how to be an American”

That’s rich coming from Sununu, who was born in . . . Havana, Cuba {and whose father was raised in Jerusalem and mother grew up El Salvador}:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_H._Sununu

Governor, I’d like to see your long-form birth certificate . . .

.








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