Sen. Obama moves up, and the Wash Post stoops to new low to bring him down, cbs piles on

[ourbluenation]

Washington Post Recycles False Obama Muslim Rumors On Front Page
November 29, 2007 -- 10:10 AM EST // //
Digby and BarbinMD have already dealt heavy blows to today's reprehensible Washington Post piece that recycles the rumors that Obama is a Muslim on the paper's front page.

But I wanted to add a couple more points about the story, because it really is a top contender for the title of Worst Hit Piece of Campaign 2008.

The piece opens with the following headline:

Foes Use Obama's Muslim Ties to Fuel Rumors About Him

It's dismal enough that WaPo's free acknowledgment that these are rumors didn't stop the paper's editors from running this garbage on its front page. What's even worse is the fact that it doesn't get around to explaining the substance of Obama's denial of these rumors until the 12th paragraph.

Incredibly, this denial comes after the piece tells readers that polls show that the public is hostile to electing someone who is Muslim to the Presidency. In other words, WaPo's editors thought that public hostility towards having a Muslim President is more important for readers to know about than the niggling details about whether the subject of these rumors on the paper's front page is actually Muslim or not.

http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/horsesmouth/2007/11/washington_post_9.php

CBS: Obama Is "Dogged By Muslim Rumors"
November 29, 2007 -- 1:29 PM EST // link //
Just to give you a sense of how the damage can spread from a story like the ridiculous front page Washington Post piece today recycling "rumors" about Obama being a Muslim, let's take a look at the front page of CBS News' web site, which is now featuring the WaPo story as its lead:

[annabanana]

1. You see what happens when 6 people own all the TV & Newspapers

& Radio...

[ourbluenation]

2. the entire thing stinks to high heaven...the bigotry, the smearing. n/t

[madokie]

14. and that is the issue we need to be worried about and working to correct

until this is fixed we as a democracy are screwed. this has all been happening since the nixon days, the right wing made it a point to buy up all the news organizations they could get their hands on which by now is most of them so they could control in flow of info. I remember reading about it way back when and I remember it scared the shit out of me then but like now I personally can't do much about it except to keep trying to raise awareness of the fact we have to have a free, open and honest press before we can have anything else. without it nothing else matters. you want to see a post drop like a rock just start one on the need for a free press and what we should do about it. mine are always dropped like they were hot cinders or something
sorry

[fightthegoodfightnow]

3. A Prime Example of How "NEWS" is Not News Today and Facts Don't Matter

.......... and the 'cannibal' press just keeps gnawing on their own relevance deluding themselves into thinking they are 'reporting' anything other than gossip, which has moved from page two to page one.

[ourbluenation]

4. i think it's a positioning of Obama "the closet muslim" against pastor huckabee...

do ya reckon?

[fightthegoodfightnow]

11. The Post Helped Create the Myth that the War on Terrorism Had Something to do with Iraq

............so it's no surprise they are helping to create this myth as well.

[MadBadger]

5. And by foes does he mean himself?

What the hell? Nobody is talking about this anymore. All the sources are months old. The writer is reaching for somethign that is not there. They dont even allege that foes are fueling the fire, only once with the madrassa thing. Fuck you WaPO.

[Rosa Luxemburg]

6. There is something called racism

TO me anybody, even the Washington Post, is fuelling racialist rumors about Barack Obama.

The Washington Post obviously doesn't want a black man as the President?

[AtomicKitten]

7. The Media Heathers are spreading the Muslim rumors, creating

the story, and then splashing it across the headlines.

Incestuous Media Heathers. Feh.

[Renew Deal]

8. I have a few guesses as to who pushed them to print this story.

[spanone]

9. They seem to be the only ones hearing 'muslim rumors'. I haven't heard any.

[ourbluenation]

10. there's an email circulating for months. andrew sullivan blogged that he rcv'd it too today.

my fundie relative sent it to me months ago

[fightthegoodfightnow]

12. Can Anyone Say "Swift Boating"?

Hhmmmm.......

[bigdarryl]

13. can anyone say CLINTON thats probably where this is coming from

[karynnj]

15. Unless there is some proof, this is too awful an accusation to make.

[madokie]

16. I doubt seriously if it has anything to do with clinton

this is straight out of roves playbook and no one else's. imo

[Faygo Kid]

17. This isn't any new information. No, this one all belongs to Washington Post.

Disgusting. Appalling.

[TahitiNut]

18. "Muslim Ties"???

Oooga Booga Mooga!