Clinton’s camp seems to have gotten cold feet on the Michelle Obama video.  I don’t blame them, most of us (even those who oppose Obama as he stands now) want to give Michelle and Barrack there moment in the Sun as they enjoy the fact they made history.   The video is not coming out any time soon, it would destroy the democrat party – permanently – if Obama was taken down by the tape this week.  The anger in the African American community at having their latest hopes dashed in the middle of their celebration would be too much for them to take.  It could be even uglier than that.

You can hear the frustration in Larry Johnson’s rant this morning as he got word the decision was made to hold the tape:

The Michelle Obama Diversion

I give the Obama folks credit–they’ve tried mightily to shift the meaning of my original report. I learned last week that Republicans have a tape of Michelle in a racist rant. She does so while part of a panel discussion. I do not know where this occurred. And the specific date is not known either. BuzzHill offered up his view earlier today but I have not confirmed one way or another.

At no time have I claimed to have the tape or promised to deliver said tape. In fact, I reported that Republicans working on behalf of McCain are desperate to keep this under wraps until Obama is formally nominated in August. Got it?

So as trolls stagger by to taunt and provoke, have pity on them–they cannot read and are devoid of comprehension skills. I guess that’s why they are for Obama. Figures. Meanwhile, with or without said tape, we do know that the Obamas participated for almost 20 years in a church that espoused racism. They supported the race baiter Jeremiah Wright with financial contributions. So enough of the pretense that they were attending a mainstream, vanilla, anodyne Christian church. Au contraire. Non. I believe my sources and believe the tape will appear after August and before November.

Oh, now it’s only a ‘diversion’!  All the fool can do is try and bring back the specter of Jeremiah Wright.  You can tell how frustrated he is that whoever has the tape did not pull the trigger.  But that is why Johnson is the puppet and not the puppet master – as I predicted in my previous posts.  And if this was in the GOP hands now would be a great time for it to come out – it would clobber Obama and Clinton and the Democrat Party.  You would see such upheaval the GOP could make gains in Congress over the implosions that would rock the democrats if this came out now.  I new this would be the final test of who had the video.  The hint came out as Clinton ran out of options to win the nomination.  And now the tape goes back into that mystery vault because the damage would be too good for the GOP side.

Hillary has not closed the door on this option.  All indications are she will only suspend her campaign this week, which is an important legal technicality.   If this video does appear for the benefit of Clinton it will do so on the eve of the convention.  If it is to appear for the benefit of McCain it will do so on the eve of the election.  If it were to appear for the benefit of informing the American voter it would appear much sooner (but not this week) so as to not benefit anyone, just inform the voter.  My preference is the latter because I do not believe it is legal or right for the news media to withhold or time the release of information to any candidate’s benefit.  They should not be allowed to manipulate our elections.

The Blogosphere came very close to finding this video.  I think the work of some of the blogs on nailing this down to the 33rd annual Rainbow/Push meeting in Chicago in late June-early July 2004 is the right event. The event was heavily covered because of the comments of one man – Bill Cosby:

Bill Cosby pleaded with blacks to stop blaming the “white man” for their problems on Thursday, and he reiterated his harsh critique of the current state of African-American culture. 

“It is almost analgesic to talk about what the white man is doing against us, and it keeps a person frozen in their seat. It keeps you frozen in your hole that you are sitting in to point up and say, ‘That’s the reason why I am here.’ We need to stop this,” Cosby said in an address before Jesse Jackson’s 33rd Annual Rainbow/PUSH Coalition conference in Chicago.

The 66-year-old Cosby struck an introspective tone. “There is a time, ladies and gentlemen, when we have to turn the mirror around,” he told the crowd of 500 people at the Sheraton hotel.

Cosby bristled at any notion that he should tone down his views so they will not be taken out of context and exploited.

“I couldn’t care less about what white people think about me at this time,” he said to loud applause.

Was the Coz reacting to Michelle Obama’s rant against the white man?  Very possibly.  Barrack Obama was a headliner at the event, as was Clinton.  Conversely, Michelle may have been reacting to Cosby when she laid into Bill Clinton, shredding the idea of his being the first black president.  This was the conference for emotions to flair and statements to get over heated.  Cosby shook the black-victimhood world with his comments that day.   

And like I said on a previous post, the fact there is a video CD with Michelle Obama on it (and likely Cosby, Clinton, Jesse Jackson and others) being sold at Trinity Church (and elsewhere I assume) there are plenty of copies of the clip out there.  I do not think the video is all that damaging if it is seen, contemplated, put in context, etc.  I think it loses its punch over a very short time of contemplation.  I have always that it was more hype than anything else. But if the response time between the tape and key decisions is short (like an election or convention) it could move enough people to make a difference.

Even the hard core, power hungry political hacks know now is not the time to try and take out Obama – he needs his time to celebrate.   But that doesn’t mean the axe has disappeared.  What I want to see is an end to the media playing a role in this and I want to see it end very soon.  If that video does exist (and I cannot stress enough this may be all myth, not simply half myth) and is not produced by the end of July, which will give the Obama’s plenty of time to respond before the convention, then the media is going to be blamed with which ever side has the video as an accomplice in a political hit job.