Comments on: Time to exhale

By: Marktropolis

Marktropolis — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 00:18:06 +0000

Actually, I don’t think this is evidence of Obama’s glass jaw, I think it’s evidence of Obama doing what Kerry didn’t with the Swiftboaters. Which is take them on head-on. You may disagree with the tactic, but when a major radio station gives a hack (which Freddoso clearly is) airtime, and this is a station that should be serving the public interest, you fight back. If we were talking about David Duke, would you be responding in the same way? Now, I’m not saying that Freddoso is the same as Duke, but I will go a tad out on a limb with saying that they both make their livings playing fast and loose with the truth. Freddoso’s publisher is Regnery. Which in case you don’t know, is the premier imprint for the radical right. They just happen to be the same folks who published Jerome Corsi’s assault on John Kerry. Same pattern. Same publisher. And the Obama folks are just responding to the attacks. And they think (and I tend to agree with them) that responsible media outlets shouldn’t give platforms to folks that traffic in lies and obfuscation.

By the by, Regnery has been doing this for years. But their influence has increased in the past few years – due in no small part to the Internet, and sites like Townhall.com, and their ilk. Remember when Hilary Clinton was talking about the vast right-wing conspiracy? Well, she was half right. It was (and is) vast, but it’s not so much of a conspiracy – Regnery has been their since before Goldwater lost. This is the same company that published the works of Robert Welch (for those of you not tracking the right-wing, he’s the guy who founded the John Birch Society), including “May God Forgive Us”. At the time they were called the Henry Regnery Company. Just google Robert Welch Jr. and you’ll get your fill.

So. It makes a lot of sense to me that the Obama folks would be trying to fight fire with fire. Freddoso is selling tripe about Obama. Obama is countering that with his own troops. In the hopes that Freddoso won’t get anymore airtime. Kind of along the lines of no one wanting to let David Irving get any time on the radio (again, if you don’t know, Google it, he’s a prominent holocaust denier who’s actually lost lawsuits in Britain because of his lies).

By: Doc Searls

Doc Searls — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 22:48:20 +0000

Mike, I’m with you up right up to your last two sentences. There’s a difference between a candidate and a campaign. This looks to me like campaign zealotry that got out of hand, not the Hand of Obama himself.

But, I don’t know. Until I do I’m withholding judgement. Meanwhile I agree on the rest of it.

By: Mike

Mike — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 21:31:01 +0000

Nothing wrong with calling in to disagree. Nothing wrong with urging people to call in and express disagreement with Freddoso. But for a campaign to urge people to call in, not to disagree, but to express outrage that he is even allowed to be on the station, well that’s brownshirt territory. The talking points in the email were not refutations of Freddoso’s claims. Obama’s campaign was not arming its followers with counterpoints, but urging them to protest the fact that anti-Obama views were presented at all. That’s just pathetic. We don’t need a President with a glass jaw. What a wuss. Change we can believe in.

By: electric_larry

electric_larry — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 17:28:48 +0000

from WGN Radio website:
“Since 1973, Milt Rosenberg has been host of WGN Radio’s “Extension 720″, a two-hour discussion show with one hour reserved for call-ins.”

What’s wrong with calling a call-in show? Isn’t a call-in show looking for responses? The critics can’t be criticized? The aim is to engage in discourse, not restrain it.

Here’s a link to tips and talking points from the action alert:
http://my.barackobama.com/page/s/WGNstandards2

I have a hard time finding this unreasonable.