HUH????
You know, the cynic in me is saying that Obama is being so magnanimous so that people don’t go snooping into his fuzzy family history…I keep thinking about Bill Clinton’s references to the “Constitution” before and during the Convention…
Anyway…
So, after lifting nary a finger to express his concern over the misogynist references to Hillary Clinton by the media and his followers, and, indeed, GIVING her the finger, Obama is being “classy” and telling the hounds to lay off Sarah Palin’s daughter. (Funny, I don’t remember any concerns about the Schuster “pimping Chelsea” comments on MSNBC.)
September 1, 2008, 3:48 pmObama Says Palin’s Family Is ‘Off Limits’
Amy Chozick reports from Monroe, Mich., on the presidential race.
Barack Obama had harsh words for reporters asking about Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin’s pregnant teenage daughter: Don’t go there.
“I think people’s families are off limits and I think people’s children are especially off limits. This shouldn’t be part of our politics. It has no relevance to Gov. Palin’s performance as a governor or her potential performance as a vice president and so I would strongly urge people to back off these kinds of stories,” Obama told reporters after a Labor Day BBQ in Monroe, Mich.
The response comes after Palin and her husband, Todd, released a statement that their 17-year-old unmarried daughter, Bristol, is five-months pregnant. A rumor circulating the blogosphere claims someone inside the Obama campaign leaked the pregnancy to the media. An unnamed McCain aide said the same to Reuters, according to the news wire service’s report.
Obama said he was “offended” by the accusation.
“We don’t go after people’s families, we don’t get them involved in the politics, it is not appropriate and it is not relevant. Our people were not involved in any way in this and they will not be. And if I ever thought it was somebody in the campaign that was involved in something like that they would be fired,” he said before getting into his campaign bus visibly disturbed by the question.
Obama had gathered reports to release a statement about Hurricane Gustav and the latest efforts to make sure evacuees have adequate facilities and can return safely to their homes as soon as possible. But the brief press conference quickly shifted to Palin’s daughter — the buzz of the day on both campaigns.
Obama and wife, Michelle, have tried to shield their two young daughters from the spotlight. The Democratic nominee came under criticism earlier in the campaign cycle for saying his wife, who actively campaigns on his behalf, was “off limits” to media scrutiny.
By the way, this story omits a comment by Obama that was shown on FOX; he said that “after all, his mother had him at 18.”
So, let’s take this WSJ story one underlined comment at a time.
Obama thinks children should be off limits and he’s shielded his two kids? What was that party all about with all the video that was released? Oh, yeah, he decided it was a mistake after it had been shown.
As for his comments about Michelle…well, I wrote a piece about this victim business (Politico’s Jim Vandehi Shills for Michelle “Camille” Obama) Seems to me that the Obama camp went into “victim” mode after Michelle had shot her mouth off a few times and got some flack. Let’s see, she called Hillary a “bitch,” wanted to “tear Bill Clinton’s eyes out,” and said that Hillary if couldn’t manage her own marriage then she couldn’t handle being President. Of course, any criticism of the delicate Michelle was “off limits…”
And now, we see that Obama is “offended” by the accusation that this his campaign pushed the story. Gee, haven’t we heard this line this before????
And if I ever thought it was somebody in the campaign that was involved in something like that they would be fired,” he said before getting into his campaign bus visibly disturbed by the question.
Followed by the outrage and SHOCK that such a thing could even be suspected, of course. Which, again, puts him into the wounded victim mode we’re used to seeing at the same time he appears “above it all.” Meanwhile, his surrogate Donna Brazile thinks Bristol Palin is “fair game.” So, when does she get FIRED?
Frankly, if the McCain camp thinks the Obama crowd got this thing going, then I’m inclined to believe them. It also shows that the McCain camp knows exactly the sort of game the Obama campaign likes to play and is willing to bring it up.
There’s one other thing that is striking about this whole business. McCain and Palin certainly didn’t try to hide Palin’s daughter in the attic and there are pictures around which do show her with a fairly large abdomen. It’s not as if they tried to pull a “John Edwards denial.” I give McCain credit for not using this sort of thing as an excuse to eliminate Palin from consideration, and I give Palin credit for telling McCain about it.
It’s also interesting that while the McCain camp thinks the story about Bristol Palin’s pregnancy was leaked by the Obama campaign, they make no such accusation relating to the initial rumor that Sarah Palin was the mother of her young baby born this past spring.
The McCain campaign was outraged by the blog rumors.
“There’s no doubt that liberal blogs such as one called www.barackoblogger.com and some in the mainstream media were pushing a false story about Gov. Palin’s most recent pregnancy with fervor,” said senior McCain adviser Nicolle Wallace.
A senior McCain official said its camp had no evidence that the campaign of Democrat Barack Obama was pushing the story, but said the blog rumors circulating on websites that appeared to support Obama had the effect of being “a real anchor around the Democratic ticket.”
This indicates to me that the McCain camp isn’t into wholesale accusations but is willing to differentiate between what are campaign actions versus the actions of supporters. I think this is worthy of some respect.
As for Obama…I’m back to my original thoughts…it’s easy for him to say the story is “off limits” even if his campaign didn’t bring on the game. Perhaps they view the quick declaration that the story as “off limits” and his “understanding” of the situation as a necessary thing…after all, we wouldn’t want to start people to start thinking about Obama’s own background, right? But, I guess no one from the mainstream media will be “filling in the details” about Obama’s birth and his comment about his mother having him at 18 is probably the end of the story. Meanwhile, I’m still wondering why he didn’t bring his wife and kids to see grandma in Hawaii and why no one ever commented on how odd that was. (Wasn’t the excuse “security,” or something like that?) I may be way off base with my take on the Obama reaction and denials, but I don’t trust a thing that comes out of that campaign…
And I sure wish BIll Clinton would let us know what he’s thinking about the Constitution these days…
Filed under: Current Politics | Tagged: Barack Obama, Bill Clinton, Bristol Palin, Chelsea Clinton, David Schuster, Donna Brazile, John McCain, MIchelle Obama, Sarah Palin, the Constitution |
InsightAnalytical -- Watching Our World 
Here’s a question that’s gnawing at me- If the Palins were so concerned about Bristol’s privacy, why did they choose to throw their kid under the bus when it became politically expedient to do so? If they were genuinely concerned about making sure her pregnancy did not become an issue, they could have simply kept her out of the public eye for the next two months. That’s what they wanted to do anyway. Instead they decide to quell those “nasty rumors” by dropping the dime on their daughter. They could have simply released Trig’s birth records instead, and everyone would have gotten red in the face and slinked away. Something is definitely rotten in the Great White North Territory. This needs to be addressed. The Palin family and the McCain campaign have made it all fair game right from the beginning.
Great analysis. I haven’t clicked the link about Donna Brazile just yet. I think I’m going to have to fix myself a cup of hot tea to calm my nerves before I do. I heard folks on the news earlier questioning whether McCain and Palin should have revealed that her daughter was pregnant before the information leaked. I’d just like to know how in the fugg they might have done that and why ANYBODY would think it necessary. The girl isn’t running for VP. If Palin was doing a one on one interview and decided to reveal it then, that’s one thing. But, at a press conference? Why would she HUMILIATE her daughter, who has nothing to do with politics, with such an announcement? I’m just digsuted.
My take is that she decided to be completely honest as she dispelled the rumors about HER (Sarah Palin)! Over at KOS (I checked) they were all speculating about her daughter being either pregnant or the mother of the baby. (check my prior post on this.) Palin decided to shut it all down. She didn’t play it like John Edwards and try to hide anything. We also don’t know if Bristol agreed to the revelation. I wouldn’t be surprised if she did. She was at the announcement event and there are pictures of her with a large abdomen which were being salivated over by the likes of the KOS crew.
With Donna Brazile saying she is fair game, who knows what Camp Obama had up its sleeve???
The McCain camp came clean and stopped all the speculation. We all know that speculation can be as damaging as the original story. Frankly, I think the rumor and innuendo would have been even MORE humiliating to Bristol Palin…
It’s a shame that she had to do that, but I understand why.
Please provide a link to Michelle Obama calling Hillary a “bitch”. If you can’t provide please be honorable enough to delete this slanderous charge. It’s not true and you know it. Y’all so jealous of Ms. Obama.
Also, Michelle and children visited with Obama’s grandmother often when they vacationed together recently in Hawaii. That’s another completely unfounded lie you just told with no link or anything to back up your claim. There are pics of the Obamas going into the apt with gifts for Grandma that Michelle made by hand.
Also, the comment about wanting to scratch Bill’s eyes out needs to be recognized for what it was a response to a question about how she really felt about him , to which she made that response you quoted but then said “just kidding”. She was making fun of the question which obviously had the intent of opening up controversy between her and Bill.
Must be nice to have an outlet on the web to rile hatred against O bama’s wife with unfounded claims. Oh, the freedom of speech.
shame on you
When I saw the headline at RawStory just a few minutes ago, I thought the same thing.”Of course the families are off limits — now that it’s the Precious’ family that might be in the next set of headlights.”
After I clicked the link to the D**** B****** Ijust realized this what the next 4 years will look like if Precious One is selected. DB and the thugs of the DNC aren’t going to be much different from the thugs from the RNC.
I just cannot believe how far this nation has fallen …Where was I?
I have other thoughts about Bristol and Sarah and the rest of the Palin family. None of them align with Brazile et. al. of the DNC.
Merge divide, the innuendo you’re defending is so greasy you should be called “Slippery when wet.” It was nobody’s business if Bristol Palin was pregnant and decided to keep it a family matter. Nobody tried to hide it, either; her pregnancy was well-known in Wasilla and throughout Alaska.
But somebody decided 17-year-old girls and infants with Downs were grist for the rumor-mill, and it became necessary to issue a statement. Families should be off-limits. Donna Brazile, if the Democrats have a shred of integrity, should be fired for her behavior throughout this election, and especially for encouraging this.
Dave, if I missed seeing all the visits, then I am in the wrong. Can you provide a link?? I’m serious…
Michelle’s “just kidding” doesn’t cut it. Her comment about “tearing Ciinton’s eyes out” is vicious, personal, and over the top. You can’t deny its hostility with a “just kidding.” Michelle Obama’s whole personality conveys anger and hostility. There have been many reports about how she has been given a less public persona and about her charm campaign on “The View.”
My comment about Michelle calling Hillary a bitch was current with the news that was discussed widely at the time …see the piece I’ve linked. I don’t make up things…Much of this stuff is now ingrained in our minds.
Believe me, I am not jealous of Michelle Obama.
Karl’s Pinky Ring,
Yeah, well that’s exactly what I’m saying. There was NO NEED for her parents to address the rumors by employing her pregnancy. It reflects very badly on their judgment.
Families would be off limits if the “family values” card wasn’t played in such a heavy-handed way.
Merge divide…apparently there was a need, considering Donna Brazile’s comments…
That we are even discussing this girl’s pregnancy, with Democrats, as if this is 1950 is just pitiful. Ordinarily, this kind of thing would be coming from the RNC, but the Obama supporters are so desperate to have him win, they don’t even see that they have become the EXACT thing they claim they want to get rid of………………..
I used to be proud to be a Democratic woman. Now I don’t even remember why. I went to DK yesterday, and the posts there were so disgusting it took my breath away. First, the one about Sarah’s newest baby really being Bristols’s was so pathetic, so mind-numbing to me, and then they got on the kick that Sarah is an abusive mother because she stayed in Texas after her water broke to give a speech, just such trash!
Where do all these people come from? Michelle Obama said America is a “mean” country. I have never thought that in my 65 years on this earth. But if she is hanging around with the people who support her husband, I can very well see where she might get that idea. Mean, vile people with absolutely no boundaries, no sense of decency, no moral compass.
Funny you should talk about Obama’s magnanimous gesture. As soon as this story hit, a right right wing blog referenced Obama’s past. There was a man named “Frank” that mentored Obama in Hawaii, while growing up.
The charge is that Frank is Obama’s father, not Obama Sr. Below is a link to a story about their relationship. Does anyone know if this story has been vetted and debunked?
http://www.aim.org/aim-column/obamas-communist-mentor
Donna Brazille likes to play in the mud which is why she was fired from a campaign. She must liken herself to Karl Rove, but isn’t nearly up to his level..or maybe down to his level as the case may be.
This is all going to back fire on the democrats and progressives. Their hypocritical self righteousness will mirror the religious right who will rally around Sarah and energize them.
As for who is the real father of Obama? C’mon that is just foolishness and distraction.
This is going to be one ugly campaign so get ready folks to wade through the BS from here to November.
It’s also the good cop/bad cop deception he’s been running since the primaries. His surrogates will continue the smears. W did that in 2004 with the swiftboaters. he came out with some lame “that’s not nice” too.
Obama is Jr.jr
Spot on.
And never mind that it took Obama a week to issue this statement. It was only released after his campaign realized that trashing Palin was working against them.