Fox News: Leading The Obama Smear Campaign?
While it was to be expected that some would seek to portray Barack and Michelle Obama in a bad light, I doubt anyone really thought Fox News would be leading the pack. First they invoked the “terrorist fist jab”, and now they’ve outdone themselves with a disgusting slur.
Fox News likes to pretend that their reporting is fair and balanced. Unfortunately, the more they fear that the Democrats might defeat their beloved GOP, the more they exhibit their bias and serve as a shill for the party.
The degree to which their bias is evident took an exponential leap since Barack Obama became the presumptive Democratic candidate. In fact, it didn’t take E.D. Hill long to infer that the “pound” (fist bump) Barack and Michelle exchanged could be interpreted as a “terrorist fist jab” (see the video clip below). Now I don’t know about anyone else, but I knew what Barack and Michelle were doing the instant I saw it…and I am still trying to figure out exactly what a “terrorist fist jab” looks like.
Granted, had Barack and Michelle simultaneously raised and shook semi-automatic rifles in the air, I would have connected that with terrorists…but the gesture I witnessed couldn’t be remotely associated with “extremist” body language.
As if that weren’t enough hyperbole, Fox News anchor Megyn Kelly invited Michelle Malkin, a pillar of partisanship, to join her in a discussion on the efforts of a number of conservatives to make Michelle Obama an issue in the upcoming election. The Fox News modus operandi is to amplify any item they can find to raise doubt about those they oppose.
In this segment, Kelly opens the piece with a pointed and misleading segue when she states, “Well Michelle Obama is back in the news”. In my opinion, the statement is an effort to infer that this report is a follow up to, or an extension of, the prior negative publicity on the Senator’s wife. The truth of the matter is that Michelle Obama had neither said or done anything to draw the attention of the media.
In fact, Kelly proceeds to reference an anti-Obama documentary (that I doubt most voters have ever heard of) that is being compiled by a conservative group…that will “reportedly include” the clip of Michelle Obama commenting that she is, for the first time in her adult life, proud of America. So what we have is a piece designed to allow Fox News to reexamine any and all of the negative publicity that Michelle Obama has garnered.
Ah, but it gets even better. Throughout the segment, Fox News inserts taglines into its blue banner that are nothing short of inflammatory and one is, in my estimation, flat out racist. This use of taglines is a Fox strategy that happens all the time…and when challenged, it is defended as nothing more than the network repeating the statements made by others that are, of course, relevant to the discussion (according to Fox). Yes, they maintain plausible deniability…but I doubt an objective media/journalism critic would view the tactic as little more than purposeful and pungent propaganda catapulting.
With that said, I took the time to compile four still shots from the video to highlight the Fox New strategy (see the graphic below). The first derogatory tagline states, “Outraged Liberals: Stop Picking On Obama’s Baby Mama!” Again, pardon my cynicism, but there’s nothing accidental or uncertain about the insinuation delivered by this tag. The following four entries are the definitions one will find at Urban Dictionary for the term “baby mama”…and none of them are remotely complementary.
In fact, the racial overtones are palpable and it’s clear they are intended to remind the viewer that the Obama’s are African Americans…and thus connectable with all of the negative cultural stereotypes that might lead a voter to question the prudence of placing them in the White House.
1. baby mama
The mother of your child(ren), whom you did not marry and with whom you are not currently involved.
Oh her? She ain’t nothing to me now, girl, she just my baby mama. So, can I get your number?
2. baby mama
A term used to define an unmarried young woman (but can be a woman of any age) who has had a child. As mentioned before in another definition, most of the time it is used for when it was simply a sexual relationship, compared to ex-wife or girlfriend. Usually this has a negative connotation, a lot of baby mamas are seen as desperate, gold digging, emotionally starved, shady women who had a baby out of spite or to keep a man. Sometimes they may act like this because of missed child support payments, unfulfilled promises by the father, or convenient sex by the father. Either or both may exist in any situation.
Joe didn’t have any relationship with that chick, she was the “other woman” who ended up being his baby mama.
3. baby mama
single mother of a child
4. baby mama
Basically a woman you had a child or children with who you didnt marry and or no longer involved with. Usually associated with hoodrats and trailer park bitches.
The second tagline states, “Malkin Calls Michelle Obama’s Bitter Half”, which I suspect is again a reference to the Michelle Obama comment noted above. I believe it is also intended to invoke the rumored video that has been discussed on the internet for the better part of the last two weeks…a video that has curiously never been released for public viewing. As the story goes, according to a friend of a friend who saw the video, Michelle Obama is on tape railing against the the handling of a number of issues in America…all delivered with a notably racial bent. During the exchange, Kelly and Malkin discuss the possibility of other “unsubstantiated” internet rumors.
The other two stills I’ve included in the graphic were photos of Michelle Obama that were overlaid during the dialogue. While relatively innocuous, they represent images of Obama that I’ve never seen and that depict her differently than what one would expect to see if one had been watching the primaries. Whether there is any purpose in Fox News using two pictures in which she has a distinctly different hairstyle is open to debate.
Not long ago, I wrote a similar piece called “The River Rafting Of Barack Obama”, a title intended to invoke the swiftboating of John Kerry. At the time, the issue was Reverend Wright and a video that had appeared on YouTube designed to connect Senator Obama with the imagery of “the militant black agenda”. In that posting, I speculated that backroom operatives in the GOP would do their best to capitalize on any such incidents. I was right as to intention…but little did I know that the messenger would be none other than Fox News. What a shameful development.
Still Shots From The Fox News Video (Click To Enlarge)
Fox News Video: Malkin On Michelle Obama
Fox News’ E.D. Hill On The Obama “Terrorist Fist Jab” (VIDEO)
In comparison to what I have seen on MSNBC, NBC, CNN, etc. this is extremely mild and you are even questioning the photos in which she is smiling but you don’t care for her hairstyle. Why don’t you take captions of the unflattering photos which were used of Sen. Clinton and Sen. McCain?
I still will back Fox News on this one. Maybe a caption wasn’t appropriate but you really need to spend more time on the other stations to get an overall better view of where it is “truly” slanted. I am sure, since your writing is “fair and balanced”, I will be able to return to this site and see if you have followed through on that which you have been so critical of others for not doing.
I loved the Youtube video of an MSNBC anchorbabe hanging her head when negative things were said about Obama. They are so in the tank for him that he should have to declare their coverage as an in-kind political contribution. Liberals criticize Fox because they give conservatives a chance to speak as well as liberals, but this is why they kick the hell out of all the strictly liberal cable channels in the ratings.
Fox’s News ratings are tanking. I guess America really is becoming more liberal. I would expect Murdock to pull the plug on the extreme bias and move to a softer bias. Obama is too positive a figure to be so negative on. Negativism is never a long term ratings winner.
We’ll see how liberal America is after the new more Democratic Congress gives the envirocrits everything they want and gas goes up to new heights. It should be fun. Like Obey said, “we can’t drill our way out of this one.”
Since you cannot take off your Fox is evil goggles long enought to see the truth, here is what you are missing. Fox clearly identifies when someone is giving a personal opinion as opposed to straight news reporting. Anyone who sees Michelle Malkin knows clearly that she is a conservative who will push her point of view. Same with Hannity & Colmes. These are people whose jobs are to give opinions and analysis - not report news. And by the way, everything Michelle Obama does is news because in Obama’s own words she is the closeste advisor to a him and that puts her in play. The minute Cindy McCain asserts herself in a policy role she also becomes fair game. Contrast this to MSNBC who has chosen as its election news ANCHORS Chris “Obama sends a shudder up my leg” Matthews and Keith “shut up Mr. President” Olbermann. And never forget, CNN is the network that gave Jessie Jacksn a show titled “Both Sides.” If you cannot see the unintended comedy in that show name your brain is not working. Like all Fox haters, though, facts are not as important to you as discrediting the only major network that is not totally in the tank for liberals.
I’m with Fox on this. Obama takes offense at everything that is generally used in a campaign. That may have worked with Hillary but it shouldn’t work in the general election.
Fox is focusing on what you term “minor issues” because Obama doesn’t have any track record on anything and is offering nothing new.
I support FOX News on this. Obama has no accomplishments (oh yeah, he ‘worked with’ Sen. Lugar on something or other) and has led nothing but his 2008 “movement”. Reporters should, indeed, question any candidate who wants public power, especially one with such a slim resume.
MSNBC is more pro-Obama than FOX is anti-Obama or pro-McCain. MSNBC has the most biased coverage in favor of a candidate than any network in history. Last night, Keith Olbermann’s Countdown featured a poll that made Obama look strong among Hispanics, and Olbermann interviewed a song-writer who was wrtiting a nice, sweet poem about Obama. Olbermann then blasted McCain for his stance on the war. Even Olbermann’s facial expressions give him away.
Olbermann should be questioning whether Obama, as a first-term Senator, is ready for the highest public office in the world. Instead, Olbermann treats Obama as some kind of Savior, and assumes that viewers will just naturally agree with him.
Olbermann’s Overtly Obaman, to the point that viewers have figured out MSNBC’s unprecedented bias and are turned off by it. MSNBC consistently ranks THIRD!
your on fox with this? this isn’t about what obama does or does not have, this is about a derogatory slur aimed at his wife. what racists or whatever you like to call yourselves to disguise that you are.biased fool.
Sorry to disappoint Fox News and all the Fox News apologists out there, but the American public is not buying the smear job on Obama. He leads by 4-6 points in all the national polls, and recent polls in battleground states like Michigan, Wisconsin, Iowa, Colorado all show him in the lead. I guess the American public is more interested in hope for the middle class, rather than right-wing smear jobs.
What brought all the trolls on here? Is it the link on realclearpolitics?
Clearly a reference to a “terrorist fist bump” and a reference to a “baby Mama” is an attempt to try to ghettoize Obama. That a news source would allow any commentator to do so reflects poorly on the news source. That a commentator, yes, an opinion maker, would think that such terms were legitimate opinion is to reveal that commentator as trying to press an agenda that centers on race rather than ideas, and that uses falsehoods and ugly exaggeration to press that point.
That those of you on here are defending FauxNews on this is very sad, but not surprising.
I am a 64-year old, white, southern male, conservative Republican. Cranky and
opinionated and somewhat set in my old fashioned ways of mom, baseball and
apple pie.
But I stopped watching Fox News when Sean Hannity finally exposed his blatant
racist heart. He is nothing but a smear monger, and his entire show(s) is devoted
to nothing but smearing Barack and Michelle Obama.
Sean Hannity is a racist.
Rush Limbaugh is a bafoon.
Ann Coulter is a screeching nutcase.
Laura Inghram is Ann Coulter with better legs.
Michelle Malkin is a Sean Hannity Stepford Wife.
And Dick Morris is a bitter toe sucker.
God help me, I think I’m becoming a Liberal…
God help me, I think I’m becoming a Liberal…
Allow me to be the first to welcome you to the reality-based community, Jim. I’m glad you could join us.
Thanks to all for sharing their comments and observations. Unfortunately, a number of the comments simply exemplify the disturbing bias that continues to dominate this election cycle.
Those who have consistently read ASZ would know that we have criticized other media outlets and their reporters for biased acts…inclusive of MSNBC’s biased treatment of Hillary Clinton by Chris Matthews, Keith Olbermann, and others. We write about incidents when they happen.
Those who want to defend and rationalize this Fox News example by citing the actions of others, or prior attacks on other candidates, simply have a tit for tat mentality. What is wrong with being honest and calling out bias when it happens? Is partisanship so blind that it cannot be truthful?
The truth of the matter is that each time someone whitewashes reality, we’re all diminished. I’m amazed at the petulance of many of my fellow Democrats (my mother included) with regards to the Obama - Clinton contest. Blaming Barack Obama for the actions of a biased media is akin to blaming Hillary for Bill’s indiscretions. Take a moment and think about it. The level of irrational contempt is startling and it is a poison we can ill afford.
In America, everyone is entitled to vote for the candidate of their choosing. Is it really necessary to look for opportunities to sully the candidate we don’t support with specious accusations and racist innuendo? Apparently a number of Americans simply prefer to give lip service to fair play. What a fine example we provide to our children. It’s nothing short of shameful.
Regards,
Daniel
Jim Whittaker, I think you are bvecoming human. I suspect you have always been so. Since you cliam to be a lifelong Republican, I think this calls for congratulations.
I am pretty sure Jim Whittaker was never a republican/conservative
Welcome to the real world Jim! Congratulations.
Fox can put question marks after all the racist/ignorant crap they want, they are still racist/ignorant shills for the reich wing.
To quote Jon Stewart:
“The Question Mark:
A prophylactic protecting Fox News from anything it might contract during its extensive GOP C**ksucking?”
Weird.
I thought it was Obama himself leading the Obama smear campaign. It’s associations he has chosen that are the fodder here. It’s his failure to reject those same associations until it becomes crystal clear they are a liability for his Presidential aspirations that renders him vulnerable.
But hey, I’m just a stupid conservative.
Yashmak, you are severely twisted.
Yeah, well an addiction to reading political commentary will do that to you.
I think this is outrageous and Fox News has been unfairly attacking Obama…We need to force Fox to change their bias reporting. I have a campaign that demands the immediate stopping of these attacks: https://www.thepoint.com/campaigns/taking-on-foxs-racist-attacks-on-michelle-obama-one-sponsor-at-a-time-first-up-dell-computers