ABC's Nightline Has Shockingly Bad Smear Segment On Obama (Must Watch)

[ihavenobias]

Run time: 03:28 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s2kT2-SAvSA   Posted on YouTube: June 06, 2008 By YouTube Member: Views on YouTube: 0   Posted on DU: June 07, 2008 By DU Member: ihavenobias Views on DU: 14627

 
EDIT: A Rec For This Thread Means You are AGAINST The Obama Smear(!)

I wrote an angry post about this segment the other day and encouraged everyone to write Nightline and comment on the ABC Message Board: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=132&topic_id=6294217&mesg_id=6294217

I also sent it to Media Matters, although I don't see that they've covered it yet. Funny enough, a right wing hack version of Media Matters called "NewsBusters" posted an excerpt from this segment along with a transcript and explained that ABC's Jake Tapper had finally shown some "balance":
http://newsbusters.org/blogs/scott-whitlock/2008/06/06/jake-tappers-top-10-most-unlikely-obama-vps-ayers-wright

ABC pulled the direct video link (not that you need it with the YouTube clip above, that I believe some conservative posted online) but there is a link here at the ABC message board where you can also leave a comment: http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalpunch/2008/06/obamas-bottom-2.html

And of course you can also give this YouTube clip online the 1 star rating it deserves, and if you can handle it, read and respond to some of the awful conservative comments (for example, some clown wrote "Maybe he'll choose Osama Bin Laden as his vp").

Finally, I also posted it at www.theyoungturks.com and hopefully someone in the media will cover this (Keith, Cenk, Media Matters, somebody, anybody?). And by cover I mean point out how horribly biased it is. If anybody wants to share and send it to other alternative media outlets, please do.

[rusty quoin]

1. Holy Crap! This is worst than Fox News. K&R

Edit: Just gave it a one star rating.

[ihavenobias]

2. Yes. Hopefully people realize that giving this thread a REC means fighting AGAINST the Obama Smear

Just a reminder. In fact, I should edit that in...

[rusty quoin]

16. I looked at the page of this person who loaded it on you tube.

It said, "I Will Endorse, Support, and Vote for John McCain if Barack Obama Receives The Democratic Nomination!"
I am truly concerned about the percentage of these misguided people.

[sybylla]

100. I'm beginning to think people are using

the "If x gets the nomination, I'll vote for McSame" line for the same purposes Ted Bundy said he murdered all those women because of pornography: they're looking to crank people up while distracting from or avoiding discussions of deeper problems.

It's a kind of co-dependent psychosis that demands an emotional reaction, one the user of such language almost always gets from a segment of the population along with boat loads of attention.

I don't know about you but I'm getting pretty sick of seeing people play into it.

[Seldona]

127. Best. Post. Ever.

Sometimes I wonder if these people who claim to be Democrats but continue to try to divide our party by saying Clinton isn't doing enough, etc, aren't paid ops from the McCain campaign. Okay, perhaps they volunteer. Either way McCain is the one who wins with all this derision flying around.

Sickening indeed.

[beetlejuiceonline]

149. The reason Hillary supporters are saying they will vote for McCain is

because they don't agree with Obama's policies and they believe he has lied on a number of issues. Hillary supporters tend to be conservative democrats and since McCain is a moderate Republican, it is not surprising that they gravitate towards him rather than Obama who they regard as too far left.

(I'm a Hillary supporter BTW)

[sybylla]

185. Fail - McSame isn't a moderate Repub

It's a myth he's worked hard to propagate for years. Unfortunately, his record speaks for itself. He's voted with the chimp 95% of the time. There's nothing moderate in that. Anyone who votes for McSame loses the right to call themselves a moderate liberal.

Besides, even George Lakoff says there's no such thing as a moderate in politics. It's a term used to make a candidate more palatable to people who don't make the time to actually look up said candidate's positions and record.

[IowaGirl]

186. Welcome to DU!!!!

:hi: Sorry I'm a little late....

[Vilis Veritas]

114. The true percentage is small

This is all a distraction, but it makes great M$M soundbites.

saddlesore

[Window]

What a piece of shit. I'm sending that bastard an email, and I hope others will as well.

Run time: 03:28 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s2kT2-SAvSA   Posted on YouTube: June 06, 2008 By YouTube Member: Views on YouTube: 0   Posted on DU: June 07, 2008 By DU Member: Window Views on DU: 14627

 
:banghead:

[janetblond]

64. Post where to send email address. ..

Clearly the fascists have taken over ABC.

[ihavenobias]

87. Here is the link to email Nightline

http://abcnews.go.com/Site/page?id=3428117

[populistdriven]

117. Jake is a Dick

http://www.zota.org/2008/01/31/jake-is-a-dick/

[comradebillyboy]

174. and I'm sure he will be quaking in fear

of your angry e-mail

Loved the video it was hilarious.:rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

[Window]

26. What a piece of shit. I'm sending that bastard an email, and I hope others will as well.

:banghead:

[butterfly77]

116. What I am noticing is that..

the so called liberal media will go all out to attack a Dem but, as bush was running for president each time, I watched as they all acted frightened to ask him the hard questions.

I watched as he kept out certain people during his campaign events. I watched as they enabled him as he destroyed this country and now they want to give us more of the MCSAME...

[Enthusiast]

57. It is Fox News. nt

This is only the start. These fascists are protecting their ill gotten gains. They will do anything to discredit Obama. Hopefully enough of us will see through their lies and misinformation campaign

[pretzel4gore]

122. BushyTail News

and guess what stares at the rubes as they watch the bushytail get all uprighteous at the make believe bs they spew!
(the famed comic Benny Hill once did a rhyming poem about a buncha drunks going away for a darts contest, and the report one sent back to their wives- one of the wives had been to the Inn where the gamers were staying, knew the owner whom she'd talked to earlier; and she corrected the drunks' claim that so sober were they last night that they even remembered the 'one eyed cat coming in the room' with the info it was actually a '2 eyed cat running out')

[beezlebum]

77. ABC *is* Faux News

both are for those who live in in fantasy worlds. 'cept ABC has the added bonus of Mickey Mouse.

[SOS]

93. "ABC and the Rise of Rush Limbaugh"

Here's a good history on the right-wing takeover of ABC:

http://www.huppi.com/kangaroo/L-libmedia.htm

[Enthusiast]

129. Loogie! Radioactive, nt

[raystorm7]

3. Holy crap! This is Reporting?! ABC needs to seriously burn in a fire. F@&K THESE PEOPLE!

[ihavenobias]

4. I think their defense will be that this was supposed to be a light hearted satire segment

Which is pure and utter bullshit.

Look, let's say they did the same kind of thing to McCain. You might agree with some of the points made (or not), but is it really funny?

It's propaganda they're trying to pass off as humor.

[Window]

28. ???? ihavenobias, how in the world did the OP end up in my post above???

That is so strange. I don't even know how to copy and paste something like that. LOL!

ETA: And, it says posted by DU member Window????

[Muttocracy]

35. I think it happens sometimes when posts come in similar times or some other glitch

I've seen it before with people also asking how the heck it happened.

[Window]

72. Thank you.

[Heather MC]

38. I am sure the will try to say they are just being funny

but I think it is a limp way of keeping bs in the news. Think of the Audience, the Low information voter

You ever tell an intelligent joke around someone who isn't that bright and they get angry, that's what this is. They wanted to make sure to included his associations with certain people.

For example why link him to Kilpatrick at all?? sure Kilpatrick endorsed him, but it's not as if Obama even knows this man

Rezko, it's been widely reported that Obama did nothing illegal in his Business dealings with Rezko so why bring it back up.

And where is the Bottom 10 list for McSame, if this is so funny, do him too

I have stayed away from ABC since that farce of a "debate"

[beetlejuiceonline]

151. I agree, it's intended to be comedic. It's poking fun at all the characters

Obama has been linked to in the media. I'm surprised that someone is suggesting MediaMatters should complain about this.

[ihavenobias]

154. You already shown your motive in a previous clip

please, quit while you're behind.

If it was an honest attempt at humor (and there's scarce evidence to suggest it was), they failed so miserably that it ended up being RNC propaganda *at best*.

[pedo]

5. this is the same network that gave us

Path to 9/11 and the gotcha debate. no surprises here.

[minnesota_liberal]

8. Agreed. ABC is the Reich-Wing Network

BTW, I haven't watched ABC since they irresponsibly broadcast "The Path to 9/11." I think that was in October of 2006.

[robinlynne]

51. and "reformed" nightline to this garbage after koppel said the names of dead soldiers.

[janetblond]

6. Disgusting! Turns my stomach.

ABC news should be sued for this .. and other things which I can't say online.
What an abomination!
Absolutely PATHETIC.
I am just speechless.
I have no words for this.
I would imagine that anyone with 1/2 a brain will turn this OFF after the first 1 minute.
SICK!

[Name removed]

7. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[janetblond]

65. Jake Tapper .. is that his name?

Looks like he's replaced TJ Homes on CNN.
What a bunch of pigs!
Plea

[Name removed]

175. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[stlsaxman]

9. this has the Hannity Stenographallus' fingerprints ALL over it!

[HootieMcBoob]

10. ABC is owned by Disney. Remember the BS Clinton Movie?

WABC in NYC is nothing but right wing talk 24 hours a day seven days a week. ABC is just as bad if not worse than FOX News in my opinion.

[stlsaxman]

11. this is not a hit piece- it's a SHIT piece! n/t

[Lucy Goosey]

12. WTF was that!? Jebus. k&r

[soulcore]

13. K & R!

For a pathetic attempt to spin propaganda as "satirical news".

They are ALL shills.

[Middle finga]

14. How can ABC get away with this hit job, it's like an extra long

ad put together by Rove and aired by ABC for free. Linking Obama to Rep. Jefferson and Mayor Kilpatrick what was that shit all about? A not so subtle message to the viewers that you can't trust black politicians. ABC is using free Airwaves to do Willie Horton type hit jobs on the democratic nominee, Un-fucking-beleivable! We got to combat this type of bias.

[barbtries]

15. you said "must watch"

i couldn't sit through it, it's so much bullshit

[autorank]

17. k*r Trust the media to break their trust

I have not trusted the media since as we wee pup;) I saw Walter Cronkite back down after referring to
the atavistic Mayor Daley as a "thug" at the 1968 Democratic convention. Not that I didn't like Walter, I did. But a few years later, I realized that the media can be shoved around by the PTB.

We need a huge response team for these idiots. Just remember these words "Al Gore" "2000"

Remember how they dissed Gore for what he wore, the colors.

Remember how they made him out to be some sort of freak for caring about the environment, never forget
that.

Remember how they focused on Florida crooks lying while Gore won the popular vote.

They don't deserve jobs, let alone the time they take up, which is less and less each year.

They are the enemy of the people.

[Middle finga]

18. They wouldn't disrespect John "Back from the Dead" McCain like that

I'm pissed at the lack of respect they show for our candidate

[jjr5]

19. Just sent in my complaint to Nightline n/t.

I'll do more.

[notfullofit]

110. Did you read the comments? Shameful. nt

[99th_Monkey]

20. Now ABC offically stands for "All Bullshit Cretins" ~nt~

[R Merm]

23. Its not like any one watches Nightline anymore any way

[99th_Monkey]

24. Certainly not me. I killed my TeeVee long ago. ~nt~

[Heather MC]

68. trust me that's the "Limited info Voters" favorite show,

[Stardust]

82. Doncha love the new code word for redneck assholes? But isn't

Nightline on a little late for them?

[ooglymoogly]

31. Ass Backward Clowns

All Bad Claptrap, Asshole Bushlicking Cloakndagger. Assassins Bushlicker Craphounds.

[dchill]

42. Oh, I thought it was "Always Been Conservative"

:shrug:

[99th_Monkey]

60. That works too. Let us count the ways ABC deludes us. ~nt~

[Why Syzygy]

21. OMG .. it is the SAME THEME I've seen in two other places ..

This is going to be their attack, associations. I also saw something like his on either "Extra" or "Inside Edition", whichever is on ABC. There is also a youtube of Obama's new "Friends" tv show with the same cast of characters.

Good news, this is ALL THEY'VE GOT.

[Olney Blue]

22. WTF? This is the most obvious hit piece in the campaign thus far.

[notfullofit]

30. Keith needs to make this his worst person. nt

[rainy]

25. They are always bringing up all the smear from the right that is

thrown at the democrats but they will not bring out anything negative about the republicans unless it is absolutely unavoidable. They quote right wing rags or MSM articles all the time that are negative towards Dems but never quote The Nation or other left publications with truths about the republicans.

[Supersedeas]

27. i think Jake thinks that he is a comedian

[Window]

29. I think Jake needs to be called on this shit.

Let's get busy.

[janetblond]

66. Is Jake Tapper a right winger?

If so, this was done intentionally.

[glitch]

163. Stephen Colbert needs to have him on.

Show him how it's really done, up close and personal. And play the clip while he's at it, just so Tapper's humiliation is complete.

Tapper's very dense, he might not get it unless it's right in his face.

[OhioChick]

32. ABC.....Owned by Disney...

Ran the controversial "Path to 9/11" and if I remember correctly....the Sinclair Broadcasting Group is somewhere there in the mix.


Surprised this doesn't already have at least 300 Recommends.

:kick:

[Dukkha]

33. The infamous "Liberal Media" at it again

They just couldn't wait to start swift boating again. They'll do everything short of using the 'N' word on him.

[Bette Noir]

34. Sssssssssss...

[madaboutharry]

36. Jake Tapper is a schmuck.

I am sure he was giggling himself silly while puting this piece together. Someone needs to tell him he should leave the comedy to Jon Stewart.

[EmperorHasNoClothes]

37. Fucking shit.

ABC has been trying to out-Fox Fox for years now. They're nothing but a bunch of hacks with no journalistic integrity whatsoever.

[1Hippiechick]

39. Everybody's talking about ministers, sinisters, banisters and canisters, bishops, fishops, rabbis...

Give PEACE a Chance

Ev'rybody's talking about
Bagism, Shagism, Dragism, Madism, Ragism, Tagism
This-ism, that-ism, is-m, is-m, is-m.

All we are saying is give peace a chance
All we are saying is give peace a chance

C'mon
Ev'rybody's talking about Ministers,
Sinisters, Banisters and canisters
Bishops and Fishops and Rabbis and Pop eyes,
And bye bye, bye byes.

All we are saying is give peace a chance

Thank you, John. Wish you were here to encourage us in this revolution. :cry:

[apocalypsehow]

40. *Kick* - for those who need to see this sorry business and respond.

:kick:

And a big Rec, too. :thumbsup:

[wisteria]

41. Very biased, but not all untrue- just twisted. Did you expect the opposition to play fair? n/t

[ihavenobias]

49. But Nightline is not supposed to be "the opposition". If this had been on Fox News or something...

it'd be a different story.

Nightline is some watered down "moderate" news (I use the term loosely) show on a major network geared toward the low information voters. THAT is what makes it so bad.

[liberaltrucker]

43. It's called SATIRE, dear DUers

Thicken the skin, PLEASE!

Yes it is a so-called news broadcast, but consider the source.

:rofl:

[ihavenobias]

50. Satire?

I don't think so. Satire usually means that you're being sarcastic or poking fun at what you're saying. I think you're giving them an insane amount of credit by dismissing it as "satire".

The intent here was clear, and it was hardly to induce laughter.

[pnwmom]

58. And have they "satired" McCain as well recently? n/t

[kevinbgoode]

107. I think maybe we should make up our own top ten "worst" picks

for McSame. . . and send it in to ABC demanding they run a similar segment about the Republican nominee.

That shouldn't be hard to do, since ABC is dependent upon rumor and innuendo. . .

For example:

10. the North Vietnamese leadership - since rightwing conservatives contended in 2000 that, while POW, McCain traded propaganda films for better treatment.

9. Lockheed - though it might be embarrassing for the Presidential candidate to campaign with a company who made all of the planes he crashed during his military training.

8. Carol McCain - the first wife.

7. Lieberman - since apparently he needs someone to whisper in his ear every time he gives a public statement so he appears to know what he's talking about. . .

you get the idea. . .

[bertman]

44. I can't wait to see the equal treatment they give McC-nt

Who sponsored the show that aired this piece of shit?

BOYCOTT!!!

[kaygore]

45. Don't forget, ABC aired "path to 911" the propaganda piece

[underpants]

46. AND Disney refused to distribute "Farenheit 9/11"

I'm sure it was all just a coincidence

:sarcasm:

[tbyg52]

47. Transcript or summary or link to same for a dialupper?

I tried to find the "Newsbusters" thing, but couldn't, and Google isn't doing me any good either.

TIA!

[Hulk]

48. Wonder if he'll do one on mcbush tomorrow night? He could go on forever....

What an ass. This is what we have to look forward to when the right wing corporates control the airwaves.

Freedom of speech is pretty skewed in this country...and this asshole proved it tonight.

[barack the house]

52. If you don't take the smear funny it is quite funny in places it more mocks the smear really.

[barack the house]

53. ...

[OutaTowner]

54. Sounds like a failed attempt at being like Colbert... nt

[Divine Discontent]

55. what the F*CK kind of "report" is this? WE BETTER NOT LET THIS REST

Come on everyone who hasn't written or called - let's join the others and tell them this was such a NEGATIVE attack on Obama and smearing him with all the people that the right wing would love to keep bringing up OR who have NOTHING to do with Obama! Why don't they go ahead and attach Osama to him for kicks - doesn't seem too implausible!

And surprise surprise surprise - they don't focus on the 10 he SHOULD pick and talk about how wonderful Richardson, Clark, Edwards, Sebelius, Feingold, Kaine, Strickland and others are for the ticket and AMERICA




BASTARD JON STOSSEL SOUNDING REPORTER....




HOT NEW OBAMA & ANTI-MCSAME ITEMS!
www.cafepress.com/warisprofitable

[JDPriestly]

56. Racist. That is what this hit piece is.

[TomClash]

59. If you're an Obama supporter

Perhaps posting this n Youtube and DU and wherever else isn't such a good idea.

Think about it. Your posting garbage.

[ihavenobias]

88. I disagree. We cannot ignore conservative propaganda and hope it goes away...

That's what we USED to do, before progressive radio really launched and before Media Matters, NewsHounds, etc.

It's our job to shine a bright light on the bullshit and explain *why* it's bullshit. And to let the press know this is totally unacceptable. Why do you think the media has been so scared to criticize the right for decades now? Because the right intimidated the hell out of them, and kept pressing the "liberal media" theme until many in the press became terrified of being called liberal.

We don't want a "liberal media", we just want a fair one that criticizes EVERYONE, regardless of party affiliation and on substantive issues.

[TomClash]

123. But you didn't do that

You never explained why it was a "hit piece" or "bullshit" - you simply posted it everywhere.

It's bullshit because it's guilt by association - if you have an acquaintance who turns out "bad" then you are bad - a Repuke tactic with lineage traced to Joe McCarthy.

By that logic, Christ hung out with thieves and whores, so he was clearly bad. See what I mean?

[ihavenobias]

126. Tom, you act as though I posted it everywhere and said "check this out, pretty cool, huh"!

I think it's blatantly obvious that this is guilt by association. I've written quite a bit about that topic here at DU (and other places) previously, and posted videos and articles from others supporting my argument.

Sure, in retrospect I suppose I could've linked to something regarding the nature of the BS attacks in my original post, but I was fired up and wanted to get this out to as many people as possible ASAP.

At any rate, Cenk did an excellent job on this so enjoy:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/cenk-uygur/six-degrees-of-barack-oba_b_99110.html

PS---Think of my target audience here at DU. If I was explaining this to the average low-info voters, than yes, I'd go out of my way to give a detailed debunking. I'm guessing that 95% (if not more) of the people who've watched the video here understand exactly what's going on and don't require an explanation.

[katerinasmommy]

61. Does it matter?

Who the hell watches Nightline anymore?

[jerryster]

62. Disgusting

I couldn't bring myself to watch the whole thing. I'm sad to see that something I predicted to some friends the other day is already coming true. Namely, that the MSM will start to air as many negative stories featuring African-Americans as they can thru November. A lot of them will be about crimes, the idea to strike fear into our hearts about THE SCARY BLACK MEN. It's going to be a very ugly election campaign and McCain may not have to lift a finger or spend a dime for his own Willie Horton ad.

[NOLALady]

71. Maybe Obama's camp can counter

with stories of the scary white men who slaughter millions in unnecessary wars.

[janetblond]

63. Looks like the pig who commentated this trash

has replaced TJ Holmes on Saturday mornings on CNN.
CNN has gone super fascist.

[DailyGrind51]

67. What really pisses me off,

is that ABC, via Sinclair Broadcasting, refused to air a tribute to Iraq War dead prior to the 2004 election because it could be perceived as "too political". Later, ABC aired a two-part mini-series portraying the events leading up to "9/11" implying that the Clinton administration was largely responsible.

[baldguy]

69. I wonder, did they have a similar peice of Bush's Bottom 10 in 2000?

Cheney would've been at the head of that list.

[SnowCritter]

70. ABC isn't trying to hide their roots.

Right from the start it was an obvious hit piece.

As others have noted, it would be nice to see a similar piece done for the benefit of Senator McCain. You can bet ABC won't be the ones to do it (seeing as ABC is owned by Disney and Disney is owned by "Brain-dead Moron's, Inc.")

[ekwhite]

73. This is what Rethuglicans consider "humor"

What a piece of crap.

[JNelson6563]

74. ihavenobias, you have really been on a roll!

And I commend you for all that you are doing for the cause! :toast:

Julie

[ihavenobias]

146. Thanks. :) Tell that to the doubters who say I'm blowing this out of proportion or making it worse

by drawing attention to it.

Oh well, there will always be a few, right?

[graywarrior]

75. Kinda juvenile.

[jcla]

83. extremely juvenile!

ABC needs to get a life... or at least cover the news... not make it!

[Bluenorthwest]

76. Why are Democrats watching ABC?

Remember Path to 9-11? I do. What I don't get is why people wathch ABC at all. I do not at all understand why the DNC and Obama and Clinton agreed to that debate. They should have told them to shove it up their propaganda outlet.
Every couple of weeks there is some huge outrage over what ABC has aired. Time to recognize a pattern and shut if off. Fuck Lost. Can you live without According to Jim? Can you? I think so!
I watched as millions steamed over that debate, which I did not see, because I am boycotting them. It sounds like it was exactly what I expected, stacked set of wedge making questions/bait. The intention being harm to Democrats. This intention has been clear for some time now, but the voters and even the candidates act shocked each time it happens. Wise up. Obama should not debate McSame on ABC. This lesson needs to be learned and Democrats need to stay away from ABC.
Are you shocked and outraged whenever a dog barks, a bird flies, or duck quacks as well? Or is it just ABC that has you fool, nailed to the ground, and poised to lose an election via media thuggery?

[defendandprotect]

92. I also wonder why Democrats are giving these corporate networks any money for ads?

Who watches the damned things? Do you?

HRC $48 mill --- Obama $80 something mill --

Why???

[dmr]

113. I'm still boycotting ABC after their hit piece

of Pathways to Lies.

This Nightline hit piece proves to me that my continuing boycott is justified.

Their protection of dangerous men in power makes them complicit in the murder of over 4000 American soldiers, and their horrific injuries and suicides.

I'm hoping to someday see companies like ABC and Faux News get their comeuppance handed right back to them.

They are anti-American.

[beezlebum]

78. appalling.

disgusting. i am not surprised one bit that ABC did a smear job on obama, but i am surprised to find it so blatantly fox-newsesque.

[Jeff In Milwaukee]

79. I think this was intended as humor...

A clumsy attempt. But not intended as a "hit piece"

[ProudToBeBlueInRhody]

109. I'm kinda bemused by the whole thing

I don't know what is more laughable.......the clumsy attempt at satire by "Nightline" (which is desperate to find a reason to remain relevant in a world where most people get their political news from Jon Stewart) or the fact that DU'ers are actually taking this so seriously.

[ihavenobias]

119. I don't know how many more times I'll have to say this but

Because that show is geared to low-information voters who are easily swayed you SHOULD take this seriously. If it was aired on Fox News it'd be annoying, but you know that audience already believes and buys into that BS.

The low-info voters (aka, the average Nightline viewer) won't distinguish between humor and reality, and they're likely to internalize those BS associations. It plants a potentially serious seed of doubt that will be watered by other right wing ads, segments and talking points in the coming months.

Ignoring these things and pretending they're no big deal is exactly the type of apathy that has allowed the right wing to flourish for many, many years now. Unless this bullshit and the people who air it are called out, they'll continue to do it and continue to have an influence.

Just because it doesn't influence *you* means nothing as you aren't the target audience.

[Jeff In Milwaukee]

135. Low Informatoin Voters don't watch Nightline...

Low Information Voters are too busy watching Bass Fishing Tournaments.

[ihavenobias]

136. They do both! :)

The is a spectrum of how much information (and misinformation) voters have.

According to the last numbers I saw, about 74% of Americans get their news from television. And IME they are far more likely to watch watered down "news" shows (like Nightline, 20/20, local news, etc.).

[Jefferson23]

80. All this is , trying to be humorus when clearly meant to smear and mock.

Pathetic how low our MSM has become, fuck you ABC news. I wish had millions of dollars to run an ad about this guy pretending to be a journalist. It would be money well spent to see how he likes being smeared.

[ginnyinWI]

81. I have really soured on ABC, ever since that awful debate. nt

[sallyseven]

84. The more that the MSM does this

the better it is for Barack. I am a Hillary supporter but when I see this crap I automatic ly get angry. The MSM is going to be out for Obamas and print and say all kinds of nonsense. Watch NBC, MSNBC, maybe CBS (can't say for sure) ABC they are all for McCain. Get use to it folks and be positive about Obama when you talk to people. Keep your nasty Hillary remarks out of the mix. The repukes are watching you and picking up ideas to slam with.

[liberaldem4ever]

85. Jake Tapper is an RW ass for that writing that trash

I can't believe he thought he was being "clever" with this disgusting trash. I will never watch Nightline again. I hope this gets widely exposed for the vile slime that it is.

[TexasLady]

86. I just thought it was a really stupid attempt at being 'funny'

without being funny OR satirical. Bush hasn't exactly been loved by the MSM lately either, so Obama needs to keep connecting Gramps McSame to him as often as possible.

[ihavenobias]

91. As I've said before, I think that's giving them too much credit

The only people who think it's funny are right wingers. If they had done back to back segments on Obama *and* McCain, that argument might have some merit, but they didn't, they only did Obama.

Seriously, think about this for McCain...

10)-McCain's Wife: She's intelligent, attractive and knows how to manage money. On the downside she's a "trollop and a Cunt" in the eyes of her husband John, so maybe she's not such a good VP pick after all.

Now, some might think that's funny, but even if they do, shouldn't then be on Daily Show or a late night talk show? What places does that have on a "moderate" nightly news show watched by low info voters?

That's what makes this segment especially egregious, that it was aired to the easily influenced types who will NOT view it as humor. Yes, some might laugh, but more importantly it will reinforce their already negative notions about guilt by association for Obama, or worse yet, create those negative notions that will inform their talking points with friends and family leading up to November.

[MidwestTransplant]

89. I seriously thought this was a joke when I saw it. If they did something like this to McCain I

would be outraged.

[defendandprotect]

90. Did anyone ever think that "NIghtline" wasn't a right-wing attack machine?

It began by waging war on President Carter over the hostages ---
Every night -- there it was ---
Until citizens were demanding that we bomb Iran!

Here we are again!

With the "October Surprise" in between ---

[libodem]

94. Can we say "Hit Piece"?

If that's the worst they've got, bring it on! How come they haven't done anything like that to Dick Chaney for the last 7 years? Right Wing Machine lapdogs.

[EvolveOrConvolve]

95. Kicked, recomended, and responded to

I signed my post at the ABC site as "Another former ABC viewer".

This is disgusting.

[ihavenobias]

96. I just did another search for Obama Bottom 10 VP and only right wing sites are talking about it...

In other words, MediaMatters and Huffington Post, etc., have not picked up and dismantled this nonsense (yet).

As I mentioned in my original post, the right wing "NewsBusters" (they expose "liberal media bias) praised the Nightline segment saying that it brought much needed balance to ABC: http://newsbusters.org/blogs/scott-whitlock/2008/06/06/jake-tappers-top-10-most-unlikely-obama-vps-ayers-wright

Today I see that it's posted on the Free Republic message board and a couple of other conservative blogs.

[King Bacon Fat]

97. There's a reason I blocked ABC from my television...

Completely sloppy reporting. Completely pointless story.

Four of the bottom ten were from Illinois. While the habitation clause in the 12th Amendment doesn't prohibit such a ticket, it sure makes the likelihood of one difficult.

Bob Johnson? James Carville? Harriet Fucking Christian? Why would he pick any of these? Screw this.

The All Bullshit Channel can go to hell!

[whatchamacallit]

98. Holy shit, look at this t-shirt ad proudly displayed on the newsbusters site!

:wtf: Can you imagine running into the asshole who would wear this?!?

[ihavenobias]

99. That picture says a 1,000 words n/t

[notfullofit]

102. 95% of the folks in my town would wear it.

No wonder I am lonely.

[rebel with a cause]

101. this is an attempt at humor

A poor attempt, but an attempt no less. This is not journalism at its best, but a way of sticking it to Obama in an oft hand way. You know like a knife in the back kind of way. "Look it was only a joke. Not meant to be taken serious. You people are just too sensitive." that kind of a way.

[Bjorn Against]

103. Actually I think it was an attempt to smear Obama and then use humor as an excuse...

They say all kinds of crap they know they would get called out on if they framed it as a serious news story, so they put a humorous tone to it and then they can just say "oh, but we were just joking." This is their method of smearing without accountability.

[rebel with a cause]

115. I agree with you

evedently I said it backwards but this is what I was trying to say. I was saying they were using humor to hide the fact they were smearing him and you said they were smearing him while using humor to hide it. So, okay I agree.

[rodeodance]

139. JUST LIKE THEY DID TO HILLARY AND THIS BOARD HAD A GOOD LAUGH. GET USED TO IT.

[ihavenobias]

140. I can only speak for myself, but I don't appreciate ANY smears within our own party

And neither should you!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vmM2j8P55SA

And yes, I've posted things critical of Hillary from TYT, but as you can see above, TYT had both positive and negative coverage of Hillary. Just figured I'd address that.

[Bjorn Against]

142. The difference is that DU has never pretended to be a neutral news organization like ABC has...

And considering some of the posts you have made about Obama I really don't think you have much business complaining about the posts that were made about Clinton.

That being said, can we just come together and unite behind the nominee? We have moved on past the primary season right now, and we really don't need to be stirring things up anymore. Clinton has conceded, and most of us have accepted her concession and are ready to move on.

[IowaGirl]

187. I thought we were supposed to have a week to vent after the nominee

was chosen?

[comradebillyboy]

176. You are so right Redolance

now that Hillary has conceded, the press will now turn on Obama. The honeymoon is over and it will get noting but nastier. This was pretty amusing, just wait till they roll out the 527 ads on Obama and you will see some real nastiness. Work on that thick skin folks.

[FVZA_Colonel]

160. It's the same thing Ann Coulter has done for years.

Say she'd like to see John Paul Stevens given poison via his coffee, and then say she's only joking.

[happydreams]

105. Absolute Bullshit!

[happydreams]

104. This motherfucker should have is ass suuuuuuuuuued!

ABC joins the list of fascist controlled media!

[BearSquirrel2]

106. Ayers was not a terrorist ...

Ayers was a saboteur. Terrorist kill/injure/mame people. Saboteurs destroy things that they do not like.

Yeah, this was a nice way to smear Obama and conceal it as a "news".

[ProudToBeBlueInRhody]

108. Don't you think when they brought up Harriet Christian......

....that you might of just said to yourself, "Okay, they aren't serious.......I'll take a breath now"?

[ihavenobias]

111. No, because that show is geared to low-information voters who are easily swayed

They won't distinguish between humor and reality, and they're likely to internalize those BS associations. It plants a potentially serious seed of doubt that will be watered by other right wing ads, segments and talking points in the coming months.

[ProudToBeBlueInRhody]

166. What is the association?

That Barack Obama should consider a woman who supported his opponent, one who said he was only in it because he was black, and who called him "inadequate"? Do you really think there are "low-information voters" (you must mean "terminally stupid" if you are that concerned), who are sitting there going "Is that Obama fellow gonna pick them, LulaMae?".

I don't know what the "seed of doubt" is that's supposed to be planted here. It's just a rehash of these goofy characters who made this primary the most ridiculous in modern times. It didn't bash Obama, just these dopes hanging around the fringes for both campaigns.

Now if they had started bashing Michelle, and tried to pull out the "She's wasn't proud of America" or "whitey" crap, I'd be bitching.

[ihavenobias]

167. I've explained myself thoroughly in other posts in this thread

And I'm happy to see the vast majority of comments agree with me.

Apparently you have more faith in the Nightline viewing audience than I do, so we'll have to agree to disagree. And FYI, low-information voters aren't necessarily uneducated.

[durrrty libby]

112. Happy to rec. Should be seen far and wide

[ihavenobias]

121. I apologize in advance if I'm wrong about this but

aren't you an over the top, rabid Hillary supporter?

If so, your comment (if I'm reading the inflection right, and again I apologize if I'm not) is pathetic.

If you're disappointed about Obama winning, I get it, really I do. But to be THAT bitter, spiteful and shortsighted to the point where you think spreading right wing attacks about the Democratic presidential candidate is a good idea is just terrible.

[durrrty libby]

124. You asked for a rec.....................you got it.

[debunkthelies]

118. And so the Swiftboating begins

I just received this e-mail from a deluded friend
From: [e-mail]
To: Undisclosed-Recipient:;
Sent: 6/6/2008 11:23:03 A.M. Eastern Daylight Time
Subj: Can this be true------please read and think

Subj: Can this be true------please read and think
> >
> >
> > I STRONGLY URGE each one of you to repost this as
> > many times as you can!
> >
> >
> > Each opportunity that you have to send it to a
> > friend or media
> > outlet...do it!
> >
> > A lot of Americans have become so insulated from
> > reality that they
> > imagine that America can suffer defeat without any
> > inconvenience to
> > themselves.
> >
> > Pause a moment, reflect back.
> >
> > These events are actual events from history.
> >
> > They really happened!!!
> >
> > Do you remember?
> >
> > 1. 1968 Bobby Kennedy was shot and killed by Muslim
> > male extremist
> > between the ages of 17 and 40.
> >
> > 2. In 1972 at the Munich Olympics, athletes were
> > kidnapped and massacred
> > by Muslim male extremists between the ages of 17 and
> > 40.
> >
> > 3. In 1979, the US embassy in Iran was taken over by
> > Muslim male
> > extremists between the ages of 17 and 40.
> >
> > 4. During the 1980's a number of Americans were
> > kidnapped in Lebanon by
> > Muslim male extremists between the ages of 17 and
> > 40.
> >
> > 5. In 1983, the US Marine barracks in Beirut was
> > blown up by Muslim male
> > extremists between the ages of 17 and 40.
> >
> > 6. In 1985 the cruise ship Achille Lauro was
> > hijacked and a 70 year old
> > American passenger was murdered and thrown overboard
> > in his wheelchair by
> > Muslim male extremists between the ages of 17 and
> > 40.
> >
> > 7. In 1985 TWA flight 847 was hijacked at Athens,
> > and a US Navy diver
> > trying to rescue passengers was murdered by Muslim
> > male extremists
> > between the ages of 17 and 40.
> >
> > 8. In 1988 , Pan Am Flight 103 was bombed by Muslim
> > male extremists
> > between the ages of 17 and 40.
> >
> > 9. In 1993 the World Trade Center was bombed the
> > first time by Muslim
> > male extremists between the ages of 17 and 40.
> >
> > 10. In 1998, the US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania
> > were bombed by Muslim
> > male extremists between the ages of 17 and 40.
> >
> > 11. On 9/11/01, four airliners were hijacked; two
> > were used as missiles
> > to take down the World Trade Centers and of the
> > remaining two, one
> > crashed into the US Pentagon and the other was
> > diverted and crashed by
> > the passengers. Thousands of people were killed by
> > Muslim male
> > extremists between the of 17 and 40.
> >
> > 12. In 2002 the United States fought a war in
> > Afghanistan against Muslim
> > male extremists between the ages of 17 and 40.
> >
> > 13. In 2002 report er Daniel Pearl was kidnapped and
> > murdered by-- you
> > guessed it-- Muslim male extremists between the ages
> > of 17 and 40.
> >
> > No, I really don't see a pattern here to justify
> > profiling, do you? So,
> > to ensure we Americans never offend anyone,
> > particularly fanatics intent
> > on killing us, airport security screeners will no
> > longer be allowed to
> > profile certain people...
> > Absolutely No Profiling!
> >
> > They must conduct random searches of 80-year-old
> > women, little kids,
> > airline pilots with proper identification, secret
> > agents who are members
> > of the President's security detail, 85-year old
> > Congressmen with metal
> > hips, and Medal of Honor winner and former Governor
> > Joe Foss,
> >
> > but leave Muslim Males between the ages 17 and 40
> > alone lest they be
> > guilty of profiling.
> >
> > According to The Book of Revelations:
> >
> > The Anti-Christ will be a man, in his 40s, of MUSLIM
> > descent, who will
> > deceive the nations with persuasive language, and
> > have a MASSIVE
> > Christ-like appeal....the prophecy says that people
> > will flock to him and
> > he will promise false hope and world peace, and when
> > he is in power, he
> > will destroy everything.
> >
> >
> > And Now:
> > For the award winning
> > Act of Stupidity
> > Of all times the People of America want to elect, to
> > the m ost Powerful
> > position on the face of the Planet --
> > The Presidency of the United states of America
> >
> > A Muslim
> > Male
> > Extremist
> > Between
> > the ages
> > of 17 and 40.
> >
> >
> > Have the American People completely lost their
> > Minds, or just their Power
> > of Reason ???
> >
> > I'm sorry but I refuse to take a chance on the
> > 'unknown' candidate
> > Obama...
> >
> > Let's send this to as many people as we can so that
> > the Gloria Aldreds
> > and other stupid attorneys along with Federal
> > Justices that want to
> > thwart common sense, feel ashamed of themselves --
> > if they have any such
> > sense.
> >
> >
> > As the writer of the award winning story 'Forrest
> > Gump' so aptly put it,
> >
> >
> > 'Stupid
> > Is
> > As
> > Stupid Does.'
> >
> >

[MidwestTransplant]

125. My favorite part is the Anti Christ part. All the Fundies who never really read the bible

probably believe it even though no such thing is found in Revelations. Morons.

[Enthusiast]

128. In addition to that....

In addition to no Anti-Christ, Muslims didn't even exist until hundreds of years after the Bible was written down. These wingnuts don't want to be troubled with petty details, however, lmao.

[MidwestTransplant]

141. Great point. Too funny.

[Divine Discontent]

130. here's a good response

> > As the writer of the award winning story 'Forrest
> > Gump' so aptly put it,
> >
> >
> > 'Stupid
> > Is
> > As
> > Stupid Does.'



I'd write back and say, #1, the reason people loved Forrest Gump was because of Tom Hanks, who is for Obama, and #2 - Stupid is as stupid does - sums up the 40+ million who voted for the worst mistake in our nation's history a SECOND time, and allowed him to continue protecting his oil buddy friends, continuing an invasion based on lies, spying on the entire US without warrant that goes against the Constitution, and who has a religious guilt-trip about his formative years and so he thinks he has to wage war in the name of "God", to appease himself of that guilt!




New Obama Items Weekly! Anti-McSame stuff too!
www.cafepress.com/warisprofitable

[Plucketeer]

120. ABC - FOX

It's getting hard to tell them apart. :crazy:

[Divine Discontent]

131. they'll merge one day - and then I'll NEVER got to Disney again... eom

[Enthusiast]

170. As if ABC isn't just as bad or worse than Fox.

They are one and the same. One Dollar spent at Disney is the same as giving it to Carl Rove.

[mnhtnbb]

132. Does anybody watch Nightline? This segment is like a bad parody of Letterman's Top 10.

Who cares?

[ihavenobias]

133. I'm a broken record but...

Because that show is geared to low-information voters who are easily swayed you SHOULD take this seriously. If it was aired on Fox News it'd be annoying, but you know that audience already believes and buys into that BS.

The low-info voters (aka, the average Nightline viewer) won't distinguish between humor and reality, and they're likely to internalize those BS associations. It plants a potentially serious seed of doubt that will be watered by other right wing ads, segments and talking points in the coming months.

Ignoring these things and pretending they're no big deal is exactly the type of apathy that has allowed the right wing to flourish for many, many years now. Unless this bullshit and the people who air it are called out, they'll continue to do it and continue to have an influence.

Sure, it doesn't change *your* mind, but you aren't the target audience.

[mnhtnbb]

144. I get the worry about swiftboating, but it seems to me that making a big deal

about this kind of crap when no one sees it, might just give it broader attention. I'd rather
see Obama put out releases about the kind of experience and skills he's looking for in a VP.
Build up the expectation of the quality of the person he'll select rather than fight
the innuendo that he knows (and what Senator doesn't)a few people who've said/done questionable
things.

It's a fine line. You have to know when to fight. From what I've seen, Obama's done a fairly
good job of that during the campaign.

[ihavenobias]

145. I understand your point

So we respectfully disagree.

Yes, you have to pick your battles. But when it comes to combating MSM smears that are blatant like this, I see nothing wrong with bringing it to the attention of the progressive community.

[Peggy Day]

134. Bill Clinton couldn't take VP spot if he wanted to

so this piece is also factually incorrect.

[helderheid]

137. Fuck.

:mad:

[BlackVelvet04]

138. ....................

:rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

[mcollier]

143. Aren't we still boycotting ABC News

Since the debate ambush of Obama a few months back, I have not watched a single ABC News related program.... BoyCott ABC News. Period.

BoyCott ABC News. Period.

BoyCott ABC News. Period.

BoyCott ABC News. Period.

[BlackVelvet04]

148. I think ABc is my new best friend. n/t

[ihavenobias]

150. Sour Grapes means some Dems like and endorse media smears against fellow dems?

Pathetic.

[Name removed]

164. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[ihavenobias]

165. 2 Things

1)-Honest to God, I never, ever heard about that until now.

2)-Why punish the future of the party and help McCain (who's values and policy positions are likely in direct opposition to yours) because a certain percentage of Obama supporters were assholes?

That's totally illogical and petty.

[npincus]

147. Isn't that Jake Tapper? His columns have been viciously anti-Obama

for months... ABC's "The Note", I think is the title.

What a shithead. His anti-Obama bias was as evident as Olbermann's anti-Hillary bias- blatant as hell. What an asshole.

[shireen]

152. such bad taste, very inappropriate

i guess someome thought it was "funny", except it's far from.

[Imagevision]

153. Compared to what Obama may be facing this ABC item is trivial as sh*t...

[ihavenobias]

155. Sometimes the more insidious smears are far more effective

Granted, I think this was rather blatant and that the "satire" argument is incredibly weak.

At any rate, the more subtle smears tend to sink in without much critical thought or analysis, and that makes it just as if not more troublesome.

[Imagevision]

158. ihavenobias> point well taken,...

[Cha]

156. Who knew jake tapper was such

a deplorable mediawhore.

He can stew in his slime when Obama is Prez and our county does a 180 without him.

[Sick_of_Rethuggery]

157. Please write and tell ABC to

do a similar hit piece on McCain.

[ryanmuegge]

159. I think they were going for a dryly comedic vibe like the Daily Show

The only thing is: most people don't watch Nightline for that kind of shit.

[Gman]

161. I fail to see why this is a smear

I didn't see anything untrue in it.

[ihavenobias]

162. Spoken like a truly biased and bitter, well, you know n/t

[durrrty libby]

169. It must be some New-Age definition. Truth =Smear. Get with it man

[Hissyspit]

171. Anyone with any basic sense of journalistic integrity knows this is a smear piece.

[durrrty libby]

172. lol

[Hissyspit]

178. Where's your profile?

[durrrty libby]

182. I'll post something just for you. What would you like?

What would comfort you?

[comradebillyboy]

177. you naughty girl

how dare you have a sense of humor

making fun of professional politicians is always a virtue in my book.

[Hissyspit]

179. It's not making fun.

It's a smear piece.

And a pretty clumsy one, too.

But go ahead and defend the network that brought us "The Path to 9/11."

[The Wielding Truth]

188. It again linked fringe radical acquaintances of Obama to his

campaign.It is grossly unreputable to use gossip as a journalistic tool.

[navarth]

168. Humor piece my ass.

This clown needs to go back to being an entertainment reporter or whatever the hell he started as. What an asshole.

[Tellurian]

190. Obama's best friends from his personal Roledex?

How can it be a smear?

[navarth]

192. I continue to marvel at the troll-like behavior of some Clinton supporters.

are you voting for McCain? If not, then I would suggest you act like I would have if Clinton had won. Support the Democratic candidate and stop with the horse shit.

How about it?

[ihavenobias]

193. Amen! n/t

[golddigger]

173. LMFAO!

:rofl: :popcorn:

[Goose3five]

180. Just a quick note to say I have linked back...

here...

[ihavenobias]

181. That's great

I'm going to be watching tomorrow, to see if Media Matters, Cenk or Keith touches on ABC. Obviously if anybody else sees any coverage, please let us know.

[golddigger]

183. !1!1CALL ABC NIGHTLINE RIGHT FUCKING NOW!!11!!@##$&@

:evilgrin: :smoke:

[golddigger]

184. 94 Rec's, come on people, we can do better than this.

[FrenchieCat]

189. Why are we recommending this again?

I didn't even bother to look at it.

I'm trying to figure out why something that I wouldn't want to watch on ABC is supposed to be watched on Youtubes.

There's something wrong with this story.

[Tellurian]

191. It's just a slide show of Obama's best friends..

move along..nothing to see here..

[populistblackman]

194. Pathetic

*sigh* I wonder if they will do the same to John McCain