Tuesday, September 09, 2008

Possible Traction?

Unlike the story described in my last post, which I expect not to provoke much backlash, the McCain campaign's constant lying about the "Bridge to Nowhere" in commercials and on the stump might just gain some traction.

The leftosphere has been up in arms about this, accusing the MSM of doing their usual thing of reporting a story once and then dropping it, saying there's nothing new to report. (I don't remember hearing this from the MSM about Jeremiah Wright, lapel pins, or the word "bitter," but that's different, right?) Many of us would like to see the MSM not let McCain and Palin continue to get away with this. As long as McCain and Palin keep trotting out this lie in an attempt to build Palin's "maverick" image, we would like to see every instance reported.

TPM has been part of this hammering on the MSM. Here's their video summary of the sham:

(alt. video link)

It may be that the online outcry is having some effect. Several major outlets have weighed in; e.g., TNR, Newsweek, the WaPo, and the AP. TPM has links.. Even noted non-member of the "liberal media," The Wall Street Journal, has a fairly sharp piece about it.

The Obama campaign is also pushing on this, and to their credit, they're calling it for what it is: a lie. Here's a recent ad they put out:

(alt. video link)

2 comments:

jiminy jilliker said...

Thanks for calling it a lie. It's a lie. A lie. That is to say: The McCain campaign is lying about this.

I saw Obama on Olbermann last night and he wouldn't call it a lie (of course-you can't be too frank in campaigns these days), but it is.

The difference between a lie and the other softer euphemisms we use (spin, distortion, exaggeration, misstatement) is intentionality. If there is knowledge of the falsity of the statement and intention to make the hearer believe the opposite of what the speaker knows to be true, the statement is a lie. This is a lie. They know the truth (at least, they know it now-never mind that they may not have when they first stated it-that's a whole other problem with the feeble vetting apparatus) and they want voters to believe the opposite of that known truth.

Liars. Outright, plain, clear, bald-faced liars. Let us shout it from the (digital if not literal) rooftops.

bjkeefe said...

Well said, JJ.

And yeah, Obama probably feels a lot of hesitation to use the L-word himself. Not part of his image, for sure, and not part of his personality, I feel.

It's up to us.

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