(Check Out The Bolded Portion) - Contested Video Spreads Like Wildfire Online - WaPo

[WillyT]

<snip>

A provocative video clip alleging to show a longtime friend of Hillary Clinton using a racial slur to describe the citizens of Indiana was sent to political reporters this morning by an independent public relations consultant who favors Barack Obama. Both the filmmaker and the subject of the film excerpt are calling the clip a fraud.

Eric Schmeltzer, a political and communications consultant based in N.Y., says he came across the YouTube video this morning on Digg.com, a popular content-aggregating site. The clip was posted to YouTube today by someone using the moniker "Indy007q" -- clear references to both the upcoming Indiana primary on Tuesday and fictional British secret agent James Bond.

The 37-second clip was purportedly taken from "The War Room," the 1993 documentary about Bill Clinton's first presidential campaign, and displayed white subtitles over fuzzy sound. In the clip, Mickey Kantor -- a long-time friend of the Clintons, former U.S. Trade Representative, Commerce Secretary and Hillary Clinton adviser -- is shown speaking in the most disparaging terms of Indiana voters. At one point the video clip, he uses the N-word to describe white Indiana voters.

Boom. Within hours, the video had gone viral, gracing the front page of the Drudge Report and topping Daily Kos's "Recommend Diaries," among other websites.

In an interview, Kantor called the clip a fraud and angrily threatened to sue whoever posted it for libel.

He didn't deny the first line, where he says, "Those people are s- - t" in reference to poll data he was discussing in the clip with James Carville and George Stephanopoulos, which showed Clinton up 42-40 in Indiana. But Kantor said he was referring to the polling outfit, not the voters of Indiana.

(Kantor may deny he was speaking of the people of Indiana, but others in the past have heard otherwise. A November 1993 article on the movie by Washington Post film critic Desson Howe made note of its realism, saying, "Whether Carville and company are play-acting somewhat for the cameras becomes less important as the film progresses. One can only keep up an act for so long -- especially in the throes of a campaign. Carville's tearful farewell speech to his staff as they close up just before the election, Stephanopoulos's frank talk with a potential blackmailer and a Mickey Kantor comment about the people of Indiana (when it looks as though Clinton's ahead in Dan Quayle's state) attest to this.")

As for the N-word, Kantor angrily said he is a civil rights lawyer. His father was kicked off the Nashville school board for favoring integration.

"I am outraged about this. I would ever ever use that word about anyone at any time," Kantor said. "If I find out who did this, I'm suing them for libel."

<snip>

Link: http://blog.washingtonpost.com/the-trail/2008/05/02/dirty_tricks_gone_viral.html?hpid=topnews

:shrug:

[WillyT]

1. Kick !!!

:kick:

[suston96]

2. In addition, the director of the movie made it very clear that the clip is a fake.....

http://www.politico.com/blogs/bensmith /

Pennebaker: Clip Doctoered

I just spoke to D.A. Pennebaker, the director of "The War Room," who said his film had been doctored to produce a widely-viewed YouTube clip.

In a clip from his film on the 1992 Clinton campaign, posted to YouTube today, Clinton advisor Mickey Kantor is -- according to subtitles -- seen referring to Indianans with an expletive and to his colleague George Stephanopolous with a racial slur.

"He does not say that. He does not say that," said Pennebaker, after viewing the clip.

He said the initial expletive referred to the anticipated reaction in the Bush White House to the fact that Ross Perot's polling numbers were holding strong.

"What he says is he’s surprised Perot’s numbers are holding," said Pennebaker in a brief phone interview. "He says they must be shi**ing in the White House."

The second expletive, he said, appeared to have been entirely fabricated, with new audio dubbed onto the original movie.

Pennebaker appeared surprised and amused by the video.

"A thousand people saw that film in theaters and didn't think" the second expletive had been used, he said. "It's very clearly understandable. It's not like it was in Bulgarian."

Listen really closely and you will hear the toilet flushing a wet dream away......LMAO!

[olkaz]

4. This makes four times you're posted the exact same thing.

Your "paste" function is getting worn out, I think.

[suston96]

7. And how many times have new threads started with the same invalidated story? nt

[olkaz]

10. Invalidated?

The "n-word" part might be scurrilous, tbe the "s**t" hasn't been disproven at all, especially with old reviews of the movie confirming our take.

Say what you want, and it could turn out to be wrong, but we're not crazy. It does sound like that.

[suston96]

13. You ain't listening: the director of the movie knows what he directed. The clip is invalid crap!

[olkaz]

14. I'm glad we have guys like you to tell us what our opinions should be!

Sorry, it's up to interpretation, and I choose to think for myself.

[suston96]

15. The director's words are NOT subject to interpretation nor are they opinions....

....they are facts!

[Quixote1818]

17. But part of the above article is NOT based on the latest clip. It's based on reviews of the

original movie. It shows the Director was lying! :rofl:

(Kantor may deny he was speaking of the people of Indiana, but others in the past have heard otherwise. A November 1993 article on the movie by Washington Post film critic Desson Howe made note of its realism, saying, "Whether Carville and company are play-acting somewhat for the cameras becomes less important as the film progresses. One can only keep up an act for so long -- especially in the throes of a campaign. Carville's tearful farewell speech to his staff as they close up just before the election, Stephanopoulos's frank talk with a potential blackmailer and a Mickey Kantor comment about the people of Indiana (when it looks as though Clinton's ahead in Dan Quayle's state) attest to this.")

[suston96]

19. For one thing it is a fucking movie. A movie with a director who recalls the scene..

...and recalls it precisely. Read what I posted. They were talking about a new poll that would have "the White House shitting". The outrageous bullshit about calling Indianans shit or "white n.....rs" is bullshit and has been invalidated by the movie's director.

[Exilednight]

27. This wasn't a scripted scene, it is a documentary, and don't pretend like the director isn't .......

biased. You do know that people are capable of misrepresenting their work, don't you?

Quit acting like the director's word are the end all be all and should be taken as gospel.

[olkaz]

18. You realize that there wasn't a script, right?

If there was no script, it is up to interpretation.

It was real-life, off-the-cuff conversation.

[suston96]

21. Script or no script there was a director who has spoken out today! Get it? Today.

The claims of shitting on Indianans and calling them "white n.....rs" are pathetic attempts to smear Hillary Clinton that have seriously backfired.

But you know what? Keep it all alive. I want to hear Obama himself stammer and stutter through these phony and outrageous smears.

[olkaz]

22. So the director knows exactly what was said. Like a script. But there was no script.

The essence of a documentary is that it leaves the viewer to judge the situation themselves.

But you're going to tell me that what was said during the scene, what we AND the director heard (the exact same thing), we're supposed to just take his word?

Oh yeah, Obama has nothing to do with this. But if they decide to ask him, I hope he responds "I don't know, you'll have to ask the Clinton campaign".

Oh lord that would be sweet.

[suston96]

24. I am not telling you anything. The movie's director tells it. And he should know -

- script or no script.

You keep it alive. In addition to looking desperate here, this may well get to Obama and he is painfully inept at unscripted commentary and rebuttals.

[olkaz]

25. Thank you for continually kicking this thread.

And honestly, at this point, I don't care whether it's true or not. It's hilarious, especially after "finger-gate", to see this sort of crap fly back in your faces.

It's been a great day and an even better way to start the weekend.

Oh, and I know, Obama's **so** terrible at speaking. Lord, What will we do?

[JackORoses]

28. the director is directly contradicted by Kantor himself

Kantor say he was calling Pollsters shit.

The director said he was saying the White House was shitting.

So which was it?

They took to long to get their stories striaght.

[merh]

12. I wonder what all this does to the new documentary this fella is working on?

He is making War Room - 15 years later, do you think they are going to close their doors to his camera crews now - do you think they will take a chance of him capturing and not properly editing the "fuzzy" statements?

Will the documentary have a shot at meaning anything if Hillary doesn't get the nomination?

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=132&topic_id=5782886&mesg_id=5782886

[Quixote1818]

16. Did you read the OP. It shows the director was wrong

This is based on reviews of the actual movie. :rofl:

[OzarkDem]

20. More dirty tricks from Obama's campaign?

Playing the "race card", albeit fraudulently, again.

[WillyT]

3. AND... From ABC...

<snip>

Ben Smith of Politico today talked to D.A. Pennebaker, director of "The War Room," agreed that the racial slur was not Kantor's, that someone had doctored the video in that other clip.

As for the "Those people are s---" line, Pennebaker told Smith that Kantor had said, "he says they must be s---ing in the White House."

Watch the clip, what do you think he said? When "The War Room" came out other folks interpreted Kantor to be impugning Indiana residents.

In The Washington Post's review of the film in 1993, critic Desson Howe referred to "a Mickey Kantor comment about the people of Indiana (when it looks as though Clinton's ahead in Dan Quayle's state)."

And a 1995 story in the Sydney Morning Herald said that "As for the good folk of Indiana, they are still recovering from the 1993 documentary War Room, which revealed the grim truth behind the Clinton election campaign. It showed Mr Kantor bursting in on election night to tell other campaign staffers that incredibly, Mr Clinton was doing well even in Republican Indiana. 'And those people are s---!' he declared breathlessly."

<snip>

Link: http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalpunch/2008/05/the-mystery-of.html

:shrug:

[Poll_Blind]

5. Those two reviews confirm that this is not the first time his comments have been recognized.

  Which is significant.

PB

[WillyT]

9. Yep... And Look How Quickly They Had Their Responses Ready

They must have known that this was a potential problem for them, and were prepared in case it came up.

:shrug:

[Poll_Blind]

11. Also, notice that the filmmaker is WORKING with Hillary on a War Room +15

HERE I mean, no wonder he claims it's been doctored. Though, it doesn't appear to have been. Before this, I'd seen the movie about 5 times. It's a great documentary.

PB

[Tinksrival]

6. Well,

It really does seem as though he cuts of the word shit..(ting)to say excuse me to the camera people.. then you can barely hear him say White House. The other part does not match up at all with "White Ni****". IMO


OBAMA 08!!

[Life Long Dem]

8. No defense on this one for Hill supporters.

Once again Obama supporters point out the hate in Clinton's group.

[jmg257]

23. A whole bunch thought they "have heard otherwise" They are wrong.

"Doesn't matter if we win. Those people are shitting...oh excuse me...you work here...in the white house". Followed by something LIKE "How would you like to be trying to ??? this one?"

[WillyT]

26. Kick !!!

:kick: