Six hours after the release of information by API on the planned broadcast by Fox News Network of the Michelle Obama tape, in accordance with an agreement that has been reached between API and Fox News Network, API  was contacted by Obama’s Campaign Manager.

Those who are close to the democratic presidential candidate must be desperate to win the elections no matter what, otherwise they would not have taken such bold step to contact API with an offer of a bribe in order to stop the airing of the tape.

Obama’s campaign manager contacted API by telephone and email offering 3 million US dollars followed with a request to API to cancel the deal with Fox News Network.

Wow.  If true then there must be something behind the audio tape, which could come out very soon.

API has an ongoing discussion with FOX NEWS on the best way forward in the process of releasing Michelle Obama tapes to the American people.

API hopes the negotiation will be completed as soon as possible so that the tapes can be made available to FOX NEWS in the next few days and specifically before the voting day – the 4th of November.

…

The important thing we want the readers to know is how the tapes will be handled once it finally leaves API’s custody. API has confidence in FOX NEWS and will allow them to decide whether the tapes will be aired in full, edited or unedited. Once the tapes are released to FOX NEWS as per agreement that will be arrived at between the parties, API believes that FOX NEWS  is competent enough to decide on how to proceed in handling the tapes because – better than us in API – they know what is best for the American listeners.

Still not sure what to make of this one. I don’t understand why API did not just release them – except they must have feared a major legal response. Personally I don’t think these will change the motion of the election very much at all.

API is disturbed by the way many have reacted to the story on Mrs Obama’s call. Many have shown us by the way they have behaved towards API that they only think of their own interests because they have demanded that the audio recordings should be released immediately. We understand that the tapes should be released, but those who have demanded the release of the tapes seem not take into account that API may become a suing target.

API has recordings of the conversation between API and Mrs Obama … and we confirm that the audio will be released to the public. In the last 24 hours, API has been consulting legal advisers on the way forward in order to avoid being sued by the Obama camp. API has realised that the contents of the tapes if made public may change the political atmosphere in America for ever, especially in the next few days.

This may explain why Obama was a bit off his game last night and pretty testy and flashing sneers at McCain’s attacks. I also noticed a very, very deflated James Carville trying to debate Bill Bennett on CNN. This may actually be the double whammy Obama can ill afford. With him reeling from his mistake with Joe The Plumber and ’spreading the wealth’ a audio tape of this nature would sink Obama quickly.

As I said before, we should all be thinking innocent until proven otherwise.

API is disturbed by the way many have reacted to the story on Mrs Obama’s call. Many have shown us by the way they have behaved towards API that they only think of their own interests because they have demanded that the audio recordings should be released immediately. We understand that the tapes should be released, but those who have demanded the release of the tapes seem not take into account that API may become a suing target.

API has recordings of the conversation between API and Mrs Obama … and we confirm that the audio will be released to the public. In the last 24 hours, API has been consulting legal advisers on the way forward in order to avoid being sued by the Obama camp. API has realised that the contents of the tapes if made public may change the political atmosphere in America for ever, especially in the next few days.

…

The delay to make public the recordings is expected to give time to Mrs Obama to come clean and tell the American people that her comments were not meant to harm anyone  but that she was reacting to the media pressure on her husband. She should also come out and tell the American people that she will not discriminate those who are not Obama fanatics if she becomes the first lady.

This may explain why Obama was a bit off his game last night and pretty testy and flashing sneers at McCain’s attacks. I also noticed a very, very deflated James Carville trying to debate Bill Bennett on CNN. This may actually be the double whammy Obama can ill afford. With him reeling from his mistake with Joe The Plumber and ’spreading the wealth’ a audio tape of this nature would sink Obama quickly.

As I said before, we should all be thinking innocent until proven otherwise.

1. API had a telephone call from Mrs Obama after consultations with Nairobi. We will avail all the details and what transpired so that all interested parties may understand that the story is not fake.

2. API has no interest in the outcome of the US elections and we do not partner with any group in the promotion of any candidate for the presidency.

3. Our recordings will be released when we are satisfied it is not intended to be misused in any way or for any gains by an group.

…

Although we are not hiding anything, we would like to release all the information in the right way in order to avoid misunderstandings that may put us into problems with the Obama’s. We do not want to land into legal disputes with anyone.

The Obama campaign spokesperson(s) should not be quick to dismis the story as false. They should wait until they get all the facts on the table before making any conclussions. They should not think they control all calls Mrs Obama makes.

Sounds like someone called in the lawyers ….

Update: Folks, when you go to the API links below make sure to check out the comments – some people are simply wigging out.

Update: Here are the links to (1) the original API post, (2) the first reply and (3) the last reply. Of interest is this line in the last reply:

The truth will come out soon and the Obama campaign spokesperson(s) will have a problem to deny that API actually had a telephone conversation with Mrs Obama. Mrs Obama should open up to the campaign spokesperson(s) now so that they do not continue denying what they do not know.

Sounds like team Obama may have a problem on their hands. Still, need solid proof.

Update: I have serious doubts about this story. The only reason I posted it was because I saw it on a very reliable companion blog, Gateway Pundit. However, that does not make it true. We are now stuck waiting for API to give some evidence that it is true. Until then, Innocent until proven guilty.

MAJOR UPDATE:  Looks like this is a bogus story folks!

Wait! As reader SBD points out in the comments below this may not be bogus.  - end update

If there ever was a ‘whitey’ tape of Michelle it has now become a moot point.  Apparently John McCain and Sarah Palin and all whites who oppose Barack Obama are “white racists

When API told her that our online news media was only relaying what the American Bloggers and other media outlets had discovered through their investigations, Mrs Obama was angered and she came out loud with the following: “African press International is supposed to support Africans and African-American view,” and she went to state that, “it is strange that API has chosen to support the racists against my husband.

As everyone knows I am not buying the claim Obama is not naturally born. But a lot of people are opposing Barack because he is a closet socialist liberal who hangs around with unrepentant terrorists, is willing to sit down with our enemies and has allies who want to cut off Israel.

I could care less what race a person is that holds those views – as do many of us. That is why we support people like Secretary of State Condi Rice and oppose ‘The Messiah”. Michelle seems to be showing a lot of stress inside the Chosen One’s inner circle.  H/T Gateway Pundit.

In Part I of this series on how not to run a Presidential campaign (which shows how a candidate is not ready to be President I might add) I noted the plan to openly address some of the more sensational rumors about Obama and his wife only gave these rumors oxygen.  Especially since some, like the “whitey” video rumor concerning Michelle were dying off due to lack of substantiation.  I also noted the first rule of challenging rumors, don’t feed the frenzy by drawing more questions because more details came out.

In Part I we noted a Time story that proved Obama’s campaign knew about the video rumor before it showed up on Hillary supporter Larry Johnson’s site.  Not a good turn of events, because it supported some of the claims being made by Johnson and others that the Obama campaign knew about the video (as opposed to knew about the rumor of a video).

In Part II we noted how the Obama campaign’s denials were actually non sequitur’s having nothing to do with the rumor.  In addition, the Obama site confirmed Michelle Obama’s presence on at a roundtable and plenary at the event – meaning they confirmed another part of the rumor, thus giving it more credibility to all of it.  

Now we have Part III (this post), and it has to do with how using the liberal media (the Obamabots) to announce this risky new tactic of addressing rumors in full war room mode actually provide fuel for the fire. To get publicized in the news media you have to pay a price – the interview.  You have to provide new details, something to draw in the public.  Which is why this tactic is as dumb as a rock – you should be drawing the public’s attention to issues, not rumors.   In Part I we had the Time article which gave the following new details on the “Whitey” video rumors:

According to campaign officials, what finally launched Obama into a full rumor counteroffensive was a story that apparently first made a big splash on the Internet in late May in a post by pro-Hillary Clinton blogger Larry Johnson. [around May 16th to be exact]

…

When the Obama campaign got wind of the rumor in April, Michelle’s close friend and adviser Valerie Jarrett asked Michelle if there could be anything to it; the candidate’s wife dismissed it out of hand. But by mid-May, it was picking up steam on the Internet, and Michelle’s advisers decided it was time to have a serious talk with her about it. 

So the campaign knew well before Johnson started his whisper campaign the rumor was out there.  But who was the Obama Campaign’s source?  Well, check out this next interview on the matter of this new (dumb) tactic on addressing rumors from the Chicago Sun Times:

When I phoned the Obama press shop a few times in recent weeks to check out rumors about whether there was a videotape with Michelle Obama using the word “whitey,” the campaign declined to issue a denial or to pass along the question to Michelle’s staff to find out what might be fueling the rumors.

…

But the rumors about Michelle were kicking around the Internet and working their way into some broadcast outlets; Rush Limbaugh, for example, said rivals of presumptive Democratic nominee Barack Obama were “waiting to use it in October of Michelle going nuts in the church, too, talking about ‘whitey’ this and ‘whitey’ that.”

Talking a week ago, Obama gave a frosty answer to reporter Margaret Talev, who asked about rumors concerning his wife.

…

As detailed by Time magazine, Obama then told his “top aides it was time for a more aggressive solution to the rumors that have been popping up on the Internet about him and his family for months.”

Well, it seems the author of this article, Lynn  Sweet, was one of those reporters trying to pin the Obama campaign down on the video rumor before Johnson’s site started his whisper campaign.  

There have been other aspects of the rumor which have bothered me no end – and that is some news media outlets have a copy of the video.  Like all aspects of this ugly whisper campaign I am not buying it, but skepticism can only take you so far.  When I read the Obama campaign admit they were getting questions well before Johnson made the rumor public I wonder what evidence did these organizations have to broach the matter?  You just don’t go up and ask “did your wife go racist in 2004″? It is just not professional and get your butt booted to covering the dog pound.

If there is a copy of this tape, my guess is it is in the hands of the Illinois or Chicago based news media. They are Obama’s home town media and most culpable in letting the needed vetting of Obama happen. The reporters need to print news that attracts attention.  In this case Lynn Sweet did just that.  She knew something before Johnson did – now the only question is what did she know and why is she hiding it from the voters?

But lo and behold, the ‘truth’ being used to supposedly challenge the rumors did start to open new valid questions.  Timed with Obama’s new internet battle was a Time’s peace about the effort from the pliant and gullible liberal news media (they so adore Obama!).  In that article (linked in the previous post) Karen Tumulty reports the Obama campaign learned of the rumor one full month before Larry Johnson did and ran it on his website!  So clearly the Obama campaign has its own sources about this supposed tape.

Now another blogger has torn apart the ‘truth’ posted on the Obama site and notes that the Obama site confirms Michelle Obama did speak at the Rainbow/Push convention!

At his, Fight the Smears, web site Obama charges that the following statement is a lie:

The Michelle Obama Rant Tape was filmed between June 26th – July 1st 2004 in Chicago, IL at the Rainbow/PUSH Coalition Conference at Trinity United Church: specifically the Women’s Event

Indeed, the event was held at the Chicago Sheraton not at Trinity United Church.

BUT, the site goes on to say:

Michelle Obama was not on a panel… at the Sheraton.

It then links to a schedule of the event that shows Michelle Obama WAS on a panel at the event, or at least a ’special guest” which certainly suggests the possibility of a speaking role, especially since two television personalities are MC’s. What are they Master of Ceremonies of?(our italics):

Womans Luncheon

M.C.’s: Cheryl Burton and Karen Jordan, ABC 7

Keynote Speaker: Reverend Jesse L. Jackson, Sr.

Special Guests:
Shoshana Johnson, Retired United States Military
Michelle Obama, University of Chicago

I go to these kinds of panel discussion and plenary sessions for business (but they are about space technologies, etc – real geeky stuff). Michelle’s listing as a ’special guest’ means she was attending (if not leading) one of the panels and also would have a voice at the plenary (the summary of the panel discussions).  Here is the Obama campaign’s ’truth’:

Michelle Obama was not on a panel, and the Rainbow Push Conference was at the Sheraton.

But she was a special guest?  And are they trying to be Clintonesque between a ’roundtable discussion’, ‘plenary’ and a ‘panel’?  If the campaign wants to claim Michelle never spoke publicly on any topic in any forum at the convention in 2004, then that is a complete and bullet proof denial.  But that lame ‘truth’ is as bad as the other ones I dissected in the earlier posts.

Not only did they give oxygen to the rumor, they through a couple of gallons of gasoline on the fire to boot!  How did Obama’s campaign learn of the tape before Hillary supporter Larry Johnson posted on it? And did Michelle ever address a roundtable, plenary or panel using a microphone at the Rainbow/Push convention at any of its locations?

Want to lay best the pliant and gullible news media presses the questions or that Obama will give a straight, unambiguous answer?

The rumor ran wild for some time, but when Hillary suspended her campaign (as I predicted she would) I realized if the tape exists and the Clinton Camp wants to use it they need to wait until closer to the convention.  If the GOP has it and wants to use it they would do so close to the election.  And if it did not exist we would never see anything.  It looked like months without any credible discussions on the mythical tape, until the Obama Campaign screwed itself but good:

Lie:

On May 30th, Rush Limbaugh said he had heard a rumor that a tape exists of Michelle Obama using the word “Whitey” from the pulpit of Trinity United Church of Christ.

Truth:

No such tape exists. Michelle Obama has not spoken from the pulpit at Trinity and has not used that word.

---

Lie:

Blogger Larry Johnson wrote on May 31st that he would add “New and dramatic developments. This is a heads up. I’ll post the news Monday morning by 0900 hours. Now I know why people who have seen the videotape say it is stunning. Barack’s headaches are only starting.”

Read the post

Truth:

Johnson posted no such update.

…

Lie:

“The Michelle Obama Rant Tape was filmed between June 26th – July 1st 2004 in Chicago, IL at the Rainbow/PUSH Coalition Conference at Trinity United Church: specifically the Women’s Event.”

Read the post

Truth:

Michelle Obama was not on a panel, and the Rainbow Push Conference was at the Sheraton.

See the schedule

Folks, this rumor was dead and the hits on this site related to my posts on the rumor had dropped off.  But it seems the Obama campaign did not want it to die so they put up a amateurish website to keep the thing alive.  How dumb can you get?  I mean look at those “truth” statements – they are lame and off topic.  So what if Johson did not post an update at 0900 (he did post a lame update, I noted it here).  So what if the Rainbow/Push conference was at the Sheraton?  These ‘truths” are pathetic!  Here let me try one:

Lie:

Michelle Obama is seen with Louis Farrakhan on the tape

Truth:

The Sun sets in the West.

How dumb can they be to keep this alive and with such inane claims?  Time actually has an interesting take on this.  And, as expected, by elevating the rumor back into the limelight, Larry Johnson gets another 15 minutes of fame (and huge traffic numbers to his site – kaching!).

Update:  But Johnson does have a point – it seems Team Obama heard of the video before Johnson did (I have always suspected Johnson is just a tool of much more powerful and devious democrats, like the Clintons).  From the Time article:

When the Obama campaign got wind of the rumor in April, Michelle’s close friend and adviser Valerie Jarrett asked Michelle if there could be anything to it; the candidate’s wife dismissed it out of hand. But by mid-May, it was picking up steam on the Internet, and Michelle’s advisers decided it was time to have a serious talk with her about it.

From Johnson’s claim:

I did not hear about the tape until MAY. REPEAT. I DID NOT HEAR ABOUT THE TAPE UNTIL MAY. Yet, the Obama campaign knew about the tape in April. Got it? And I am the one responsible for the so called rumor?

Sadly, these wannabe heralds of ‘truth’ are many times the American Idol rejects of political debate. Just like some really poor singers think they are the next hit sensation, there are people out there who think they are the next Dan Rather, Sean Hannity, etc. Combine these clowns with a raging ‘purity war’ to determine who is the most non-diverse, non-tolerant, non-democratically open on either side of the aisle (moderates are evil!) and you get some really wild and silly results. In the end we see clowns, wrapped in the stars and stripes, claiming they are the saviors of America while railing against all Americans who do not toe their agendas (sort of oxymoronic – don’t you think?).

The first, best example of the political version of an American Idol Reject, fighting a purity war for warped ideology all wrapped up in the American flag was Larry Johnson and his rumor of a Michelle Obama video slamming whites. From day one I thought this was mostly hype to set expectations about a video which did not send out the alarm bells on its own merit. One thing you cannot do these days on the internet is cry “wolf” and not produce even a mangy puppy. Johnson’s latest screed is quite telling, because he now claims much less knowledge than he did when this all started, but he does remind me of the lesson about crying “wolf”, a lesson the democrats need to be concerned about:

The recording that shows Michelle Obama saying disparaging things about white folks is for real. It is not part of some elaborate dirty trick. The people who have seen her comments describe it as “stunning” or “devastating.” I have not spoken directly with the people who have seen the tape, but I have spoken to two of my friends who are friends with those who watched the tape/dvd.

Are they playing me? No, but it is a valid question to ask. Two of my sources, who have recounted the reactions of their friends who have seen the Michelle “performance,” live on opposite sides of the United States geographically and politically. They do not know each other and had no way of knowing that each of them was talking to me. This is one reason I believe the report of the “tape” is true.

When this began Johnson had 4 sources and he knew exactly where the offending action took place:

I now have it from two three four sources (three who are close to senior Republicans) that there is video dynamite–Michelle Obama railing against “whitey” at Jeremiah Wright’s church.

Over many posts we learned these sources were high up in GOP and Democrat circles, one was even an “Obama supporter” (hinting that the Obama team was aware of the tape). First there were 4 Rep sources:

Four Republican sources have told me that the tape exists.

Then we learned one or more of the ’sources’ were democrats:

I have it solid from four separate sources–one of whom is a prominent person who also happens to be an Obama supporter. Two of the people I have spoken with–one a Republican and one a Democrate–have spoken directly to people who have seen the tape.

OK, if Larry is being consistent in the essence of his exaggerations (and that is a big if) then his two ‘friends’ – the Rep and Dem – are the only real sources he has, the ones mentioned in his last post. I am confident Johnson is a puppet being manipulated by a puppet master – one of these two ‘friends’ – which is why Johnson cannot back up his claims with any video. He was a useful idiot to play megaphone because he was so wound up on his party’s purity wars he would fall for anything if it was negative about the Obama’s. He did not seem to need a lot of convincing to run wild with rumors about something he had not seen, probably because it was right in line with his personal views.

Anyway, the point is Johnson is seeing the results of making wild claims which do not come true (sort of like how America will suffer defeat in Iraq):

now appreciate somewhat how Cofer Black, the head of the CIA’s Counter Terrorism Center, must have felt as he tried to warn Condaleeza Rice and the Bush White House about a brewing terrorist attack in the days leading up to September 11th. And please, I am not equating the Michelle tape with the attacks of 9-11. Rather I am focused on the point of what happens when someone has incomplete information, which warns about a future event, and tries to raise the alert. Just because Cofer Black could not say in late July 2001 that the coming attack would be carried out by 19 hijackers on four commercial airliners did not mean his intelligence was wrong.

This tool is in full Walter Mitty mode, seeing himself as the lone voice of reason in a world gone mad. Notice how he wraps himself again in the American flag (which he does in each post)? Actually, I think is he one of the many voices of madness now facing an ever irritated electorate, an electorate who are fed up with these juvenile games. Check out this find from Flopping Aces regarding a black minister who is doing another version of the Obama smear, calling on Madam President Clinton to run as an Independent, and in return this guy will dump his Obama smears onto the public. It’s long and painful to watch – but it does illustrate well the downside of giving voice to anyone with a camera and some wild ideas.

You can see why the American Idol reject came to mind. What is driving all of this? It seems there are those in America who want to establish ‘pure’ or ‘true’ cliches who can claim to be the core of the GOP or conservatism, or the core of the Democrats or liberalism. I thought it was bad on the right side of the aisle with Hannity and others bolting the GOP and calling themselves ‘true’ conservatives (again wrapped in the flag and the image of Ronald Reagan). But check out how the Clinton supporters are being treated by the Obamabots:

The purpose of this diary is to respond to an earlier reccommended diary on the “signs of republican or McCain trolls”–or ways to spot what the author called “democrats supporting McCain.” The diary disturbed me as it seemed the penultimate way to trash every HRC supporter who said anything critical of Obama…in other words, “criticize Obama = republican troll”. The diary received many comments, and led subsequently to various commenters awarding “McCain points” to several HRC diarists in other posts, or to employ the “dismiss the argument” tactic by saying “is this snark?”

I don’t want the site’s obama people to forget that their behavior is transparent and how it is easy to see how they have approached and managed to take over so many blogs, and done so by maligning another democrat and half the democratic party that supports her. If you dare, follow below the fold.

Sounds like the cries of “RINO” and traitor that came flying out of the far right when Bush did not toe their line, creating a civil war that resulted in the GOP losing Congress in 2006. If the Obamabots are dissing the unclean on the democrat side (which they clearly are) then I can see the Obama campaign doing for Democrats what Bill Clinton did – which is destroy their base of support.

I have claimed that this year Americans wanted to stay out of the fringes, stay out of purity wars. Whichever party can create bonds of respect with the moderate middle will win, those who feel they must rant and rave against compromise and impurity in the cause will lose. With both sides taking the low road to some degree, it really is hard to figure out who will win this thing!

This is way too weird (and convenient) to be coincidence:

A major plot line of the novel is the presidential campaign of Democrat Jesse Wood, aiming to be the country’s first African American president — “Wood was handsome, smart, charismatic, and being mentioned increasingly often in the press as someone who could unite a twenty-first century America growing more, not less, racially and economically divided.” (p.35)

He’s a U.S. Senator from New York and former senior partner at a prestigious law firm. His backers include “some of the old Black Panthers.” He wants to make Puerto Rico a state, and a recurring figure in his campaign is a controversial minister from Philadelphia called “Jefferson Roundtree.”

Yep, you guessed it, there is a video tape of the candidate talking about “Whitey” in the story line. The book is from 2006 – coincidentally when Obama was running for the Senate and was clearly heading to a White House run. How convenient is this?

Now look, if there was a story about blackmailing a candidate using a video tape of him making racist comments, that would be an interesting tie-in. If the candidate was black, that would be an interesting coincidence. But if the character precisely described Barrack Oama and his signature campaign theme? That is too convenient. And the character had a minister problem? How many coincidences can we get here?

And the tape was used by an opponent – and not found by the news media? And the racist comment was “whitey”? Then there is way too much more coincidence:

Later the tape is used for blackmail by an ally, and then the real badguy — a Texan who owns a giant oil company named Hewitt (sorry, Hugh) — gets his hands on the tape. The description of the appropriate timing of the release of the videotape on p. 237 will sound familiar to those tracking the rumors of the alleged Michelle Obama tape.

Hewitt thought for a second. “I’m going to let Jesse win the nomination and let the public get used to him as the Democratic candidate. Give the country some time to get to know Jesse Wood, to start to like him. And they will because he’s a very likeable guy. Then I’m going to drop the bomb, after everyone’s started to like him. That way the clip will have maximum effect and people will be as angry as they can be. Whites and blacks. Whites for the obvious reason, blacks because they’ll feel like he let ‘em down.”

OK, some of this could be driving Johnson’s smear campaign. But how is it the timing of the release is now following the script so well? Is this author prescient? Or was this book written and published for other reasons …. ? Wonder what political connections Frey has? (my tongue is in my cheek, in case you folks can’t figure it out).

Update: The book doesn’t sound like something I would read, but it does sound like the typical liberal’s biased view of businessmen (accept for investment firms – of course) and those evil conservatives. I’m going out on a limb here and say Frey is a classic NYC liberal. I especially have to laugh at the idea of pushing Mexico to become the 51st state of America. Where do people think these things up? If this was something pre-positioned I guess they never expected McCain to win!

The fight against ‘government’ corruption” is way too pat as well. And to add to all the ridiculous coincidences character Jesse Ford, the black candidate running for President, is a US Senator. The Book came out December 2006 (after the election). Was Obama the inspiration?

Update:  I would like to know where Geraghty got his tip from in the original post, because he refers to “Jesse Wood” and not “Jesse Ford” (what I assume is the character’s actual name after being on a few sites now with book reviews of the story).   Why does this sound like Geraghty caught a tip from someone ’special’ and just miscalled or miswrote the name? Update - Reader Snapple notes that Geraghty got the character’s name right, the sites selling the book were mistaken!

Well, that’s worse than any Michelle tape – I would assume. - end update

Ugh – I hate to do this, but I have to agree with Larry Johnson on one point. Barrack Obama’s non-denial denial yesterday, regarding the existence of a damaging Michelle Obama video, is actually a sign there is a video of Michelle making some harsh comments against whites, and the Obama campaign know it exists,  Here is Obama’s reply to a question about the video:

 

We have seen this before. There is dirt and lies that are circulated in emails and they pump them out long enough until finally you, a mainstream reporter, asks me about it,” Obama said to the McClatchy reporter during a press conference aboard his campaign plane. “That gives legs to the story. If somebody has evidence that myself or Michelle or anybody has said something inappropriate, let them do it.”

Asked whether he knew it not to be true, Obama said he had answered the question.

“Anybody”?  Sort of leaves it wide open.   Yep, that pretty much answers it, Obama’s response is clearly a dodge.  I have to agree with Johnson here (as much as it pains me), that was a telling answer by Obama. If I had to guess I would say the video exists and has some potential to damage him (though I still say it is minor since the video is not out now and requires so much hype).

Johnson goes on to once again assert his sources have seen the video ( or the sources of his sources – whatever) and that the Chicago news media has it:

Then you have the frantic scrubbing of Trinity websites. How about efforts to check the video files of Chicago TV stations? Stymied. The local ABC station says they will only give up a video if there is a subpoena.

No idea where is getting the ABC information, could be more BS.  I don’t admire Johnson for his dirty whisper campaign.  But it can be diffused, and quickly, if the media just releases the video, well before the convention.  If the GOP has it there is no point in letting it sit until they can use it for maximum benefit.  And if Clinton has it there is no use waiting until she can use it right before the convention to see if she has one last chance to topple Obama.  The media is not doing its job by hiding this (whether they are doing it for Obama, Clinton or the GOP) – which is why this entire story bothers me.  Americans should be free to select their leaders with all the information available.  The news media should not be trying to help any candidate or hide any information that would influence those decisions.

I should note the Johsnon’s source for the Obama quote pretty much slams his already busted reputation.  I can’t believe the news media would let this farce go on for weeks and months.  Reader DaleInAtlanta refers us to a great post outlining Johnson’s issues with truth and veracity.   It is a good recap of what happened, though I need to note all good lies have a grain of truth in them – covered up with pure BS.  The post pretty much tracks with my posts on the matter.

I should note others took Obama’s response as a strong denial.

Addendum: I like the way the Reason Magazine story notes the discrepancies in Johnson’s posts and his own non-denial denial. Time to put this story to bed until something real happens.

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.

The Michelle Obama Rant Tape was filmed between June 26th – July 1st 2004 in Chicago, IL at the Rainbow/PUSH Coalition Conference at Trinity United Church: specifically the Women’s Event. 

Michelle Obama appeared as a panelist alongside Mrs. Khadijah Farrakhan and Mrs. James Meeks. 

Bill Clinton spoke during the Conference, as did Bill Cosby and other speakers, but not at the panel Michelle attended. 

Michelle Obama spoke at the Women’s Event, but referenced Bill Clinton in her rant — his presence at the conference was the impetus for her raving, it seems. 

For about 30 minutes, Michelle Obama launched into a rant about the evils of America, and how America is to blame for the problems of Africa. Michelle personally blamed President Clinton for the deaths of millions of Africans and said America is responsible for the genocide of the Tutsis and other ethnic groups. She then launched into an attack on “whitey”, and talked about solutions to black on black crime in the realm of diverting those actions onto white America.

There’s more at Hillbuzz.  I guess the irony of who the diatribe is aimed at is why this tape has limited value in some ways.  Larry Johnson, claiming he wanted to save the blogger Hillbuzz the site traffic, stole the entire post from the Hillbuzz, clearly without permission:

I am not trying to steal thunder from HillBuzz. That blogger is breaking important news. I’m posting the article in full because, having seen what happened to our site, a link to his will kill his server with the flood of traffic. Until Sunday, I was operating on one server. We’re up to four and barely keeping pace. 

Then he adds types the URL (no clickable link).  Johnson is such a prima donna – and a thief of Intellectual Property!  He should have let HillBuzz get credit and simply point to his site.  Anyway, the DVD was once for sale by Trinity Church – which means lots of people have the video:

The “tape” is a DVD that Trinity United sold on its website, and possibly offered free for download up until March 2008 when Trinity’s site was scrubbed and the DVDs were no longer offered for sale. 

Bill Cosby and Bill Clinton on a DVD – hell yes lots of people have this, including the news media which is playing games with the American people by sitting on this while we all voted in primaries, apparently willing to only release it once the votes are in and the matter is out of the American people’s hands.   I have low respect for the news media already.  I try and remind myself it provides a service.  But clearly it is doesn’t – it’s a manipulative propaganda outlet too many times, not reporting but framing reality.

Now, ponder who could have this DVD that was being sold at Trinity Church?  Well the first person that comes to mind is the Reverend Jeremiah Wright!  Maybe that is why he was smiling so much last month as he went on his Bust-Obama media tour? Maybe the price for his 3 days of fame, provided partially by Clinton supporter Barbara Reynolds, was the DVD of Michelle and Mrs Farrakhan?  But as I said above, a DVD that was for sale for 4 years with Bill Cosby, Bill Clinton and others of notoriety is in the hands of lots of people. I am just speculating here.

The video will come out sooner or later. But as Kim Priestap at Wizbang notes, the DNC and Dems leaders are forcing Super Delegates to choose their candidates by Friday – thus trying to force Clinton out of the race. That may not be enough time for the video to do its damage.

Clearly the impression left by many that there was some hard nexus between Obama, Rezko and Farrakhan on a video tape was too good to be true.   There is not one. This proves Larry Johnson’s propaganda stunt was mostly disinformation and false impressions meant to get the Dem Super Delegates to turn on Obama.  Why else basically give people the impression Michelle was ranting about “whitety” with Farrakhan himself?  Why – because the tape is weak and may not do what Clinton needs done.

That is why their collusion between the news media and the Johnson/Clinton cabal regarding the timing of any release, along with allowing the vague innuendoes to persist while the truth was held from the public, is so damn wrong.  It is bad enough much of the news media is giving Obama a pass instead of doing due diligence on Obama’s background.  But to pick sides and work to maximize the impact of stories to the benefits of one campaign over another is an abuse of the trust of the American people.

The news media let Larry Johnson’s false impression live beyond their time and essence.  The reason the video is not out yet is twofold:  (a) because it is weak it required weeks of build up and establishing preconceptions by one Larry Johnson – avid Clinton support, and (b) because the risk of blow back against Clinton and the potential to cripple the Democrat Party for years to come made this a last ditch act.  The destruction of the first African American with a chance at the Presidency by a fellow Democrat could explode back on the Clinton’s if they did not find a way to provide plausible cover and deniability.

As I posted earlier today the plan seems to be comprised of the following stages:

1. Suspend (but don’t end) the Clinton campaign (now accomplished)
2. Release the video of Michelle, allowing Clinton to feign surprise and disgust at the GOP
3. Watch Obama’s support crash in the general election polls between now and Denver’s September convention
4. Clinton comes to the rescue of the Democrats by stepping in for the mortally wounded Obama, noting how he once offed another black leader from her public position (in other words, he wasn’t that good of a democrat anyway)

Step one was completed tonight.  Step two is supposed to happen tomorrow (June 4th), though the cover being blown on this political backstabbing of Obama may have to be delayed a bit because the cover story is not holding up too well.  We shall see, but the stage is set for Clinton to save the Democrats if Obama stumbles.  All she needs now is for Obama to trip up and stumble….  So will Bob Beckel’s prediction on step 2 come true tomorrow?