Whiteygate.

Obama channels Gary Hart by insisting wife Michelle never used the word "whitey," and that she has never spoken from the pulpit at Trinity Church.

A response to the response is here.

Fight the Smears, a site with the picture of an American eagle with the Obama logo on its stomach, tries to counter "Whiteygate."

I suppose an eagle picture is better than Obama's head being superimposed on Jesus' body.

Whiteygate.

Whiteygate is allegedly the reason the Obama campaign has decided to aggressively go after people who dare post the truth, er, smears about the presumptuous Democratic nominee.

As Larry Johnson notes in his blog, pay close attention to WHEN the rumor got started:

When the Obama campaign got wind of the rumor in April, Michelle's close friend and adviser Valerie Jarrett asked Michelle if there could be anything to it; the candidate's wife dismissed it out of hand. But by mid-May, it was picking up steam on the Internet, and Michelle's advisers decided it was time to have a serious talk with her about it. On a campaign swing through Oregon, Michelle's chief of staff Melissa Winter grilled her on the particulars of the various versions. Had she ever spoken at Trinity Church? Could she ever recall having uttering that racial epithet? No, no, Michelle answered again and again. Additionally, she said, "whitey" is simply not a word that African Americans of her generation tend to use — or that she herself would ever say. Michelle was shocked and frustrated when her aides approached her the second time about the alleged incident.

As Johnson points out, it wasn't until MAY that he even knew and wrote about the tape. In other words, the Obama campaign knew about the "rumor" before everybody else did.

And that raises even more questions as to whether Whiteygate really is a "rumor."

Whiteygate II.

Somebody had the nerve to ask Barack Obama about the "whitey tape" rumor:

“We have seen this before. There is dirt and lies that are circulated in e-mails and they pump them out long enough until finally you, a mainstream reporter, asks me about it,” Obama said to the McClatchy reporter during a press conference aboard his campaign plane. “That gives legs to the story. If somebody has evidence that myself or Michelle or anybody has said something inappropriate, let them do it.”

Asked whether he knew it not to be true, Obama said he had answered the question.

What a bizarre answer. Why not just flatly deny him and his wife saying anything inappropriate?

His "answer," if you can call it that, is like Gary Hart daring the media to follow him around.

It's almost an admission one or the other or both did.

Whiteygate.

Although it's a dead issue now, at least in terms of the HillBuzz "report," I did receive an email back from WLS-TV:

Thank you for taking the time to contact us. ABC 7's Karen Jordan and
Cheryl Burton emceed the 2004 Rainbow-Push Women's Luncheon. Other
employees of ABC 7 attended along with hundreds of Chicago area civic,
professional and media representatives. No one recalls Michelle Obama
speaking at this luncheon and our archived video does not show Michelle
Obama.

We appreciate your interest in ABC7 news.

We know nothing happened at that event regarding Obama that was recorded, but I thought I'd share this.

Whiteygate III.

Via Cannonfire, is ABC News Chicago anchor Karen Jordan the answer to the mystery of Whiteygate? She was there at the conference as a co-chair.

There are no doubt many other witnesses. SOMEBODY needs to come forward to either confirm Michelle made those remarks or deny them. Why hasn't anybody come forward? You don't need any tape of the event to find out if Michelle Obama said what she is alleged to have said.

I have tried to contact Ms. Jordan repeatedly. Unfortunately, neither she nor anyone else connected with that event will return my calls. Earlier today, I had foolishly hoped to get her exclusive comments on what happened. But this story is far more important than are my dreams of acquiring a scoop. So: If she won't return my calls, perhaps she will return yours.

If you call this number, you can ask to be patched through to her line: 1(312)750-7777.

That's the WLS-TV line, by the way, not Jordan's office or home phone number. This number is online and is public information.

Update from Cannonfire:

When I call the ABC Chicago switchboard now, they tell me to write a letter. I get the feeling they've been swamped with inquiries. If there were nothing to the story -- if Michelle spoke politely on that occasion -- why won't these two eyewitnesses reveal the truth?

ABC News anchors Cheryl Burton and Karen Jordan co-chaired the meeting. It thus stands to reason that ABC News taped the event.

A few days ago, before Hillbuzz had identified a likely specific date, Roger Stone said that "a TV network" possessed the tape. Immediately after he said those words on FOX News, right-wing blogs spread the rumor that the network in question was...(wait for it)...ABC.

And this is interesting about Cheryl Burton:

In 1993, Ebony Magazine recognized Dr. Wright as one of the nation’s top fifteen most influential black pastors. Having pastored Trinity since 1972, Wright’s fiery preaching and community outreach has pushed its membership to nearly 10,000. Chicago personalities such as Oprah Winfrey and local news host Cheryl Burton commonly fill the pews. Over ten percent of Trinity’s congregation can be found in the upper level income bracket.

Whiteygate II.

Bill Cosby probably pissed off Michelle Obama as well when he appeared at the 2004 conference (at a separate event, of course):

Bill Cosby pleaded with blacks to stop blaming the "white man" for their problems on Thursday, and he reiterated his harsh critique of the current state of African-American culture.

"It is almost analgesic to talk about what the white man is doing against us, and it keeps a person frozen in their seat. It keeps you frozen in your hole that you are sitting in to point up and say, 'That's the reason why I am here.' We need to stop this," Cosby said in an address before Jesse Jackson's 33rd Annual Rainbow/PUSH Coalition conference in Chicago.

The 66-year-old Cosby struck an introspective tone. "There is a time, ladies and gentlemen, when we have to turn the mirror around," he told the crowd of 500 people at the Sheraton hotel.

link

Whiteygate.

Just as I thought, the Whiteygate "tape" is actually a DVD sold by the Trinity United Church of Christ, so it exists.

There are probably many copies in circulation, though it's been pulled now by the church:

For about 30 minutes, Michelle Obama launched into a rant about the evils of America, and how America is to blame for the problems of Africa. Michelle personally blamed President Clinton for the deaths of millions of Africans and said America is responsible for the genocide of the Tutsis and other ethnic groups. She then launched into an attack on "whitey", and talked about solutions to black on black crime in the realm of diverting those actions onto white America. Her rant was fueled by the crowd: they reacted strongly to what she said, so she got more passionate and enraged, and that's when she completely loses it and says things that have made the mouths drop of everyone who's seen this.

The "tape" is a DVD that Trinity United sold on its website, and possibly offered free for download up until March 2008 when Trinity's site was scrubbed and the DVDs were no longer offered for sale.

This outburst happened just one month before the 2004 Democratic Convention, when Barack Obama delivered the keynote address.

UPDATED: It seems really easy for Chicago local media, especially, to determine whether or not this is the right tape of Michelle Obama. All they need to do is pull the tape from this 2004 Conference (particularly the panel Michelle was on), which should be readily available (since this was a very large multi-day event). All a journalist needs to do is watch this tape: if this is not the right one, they'd know immediately and this issue would be debunked. But, logically, this seems to be the most likely source of the tape people have been talking about at NoQuarterUSA.net

Wasn't it Fox News that obtained a bunch of DVDs from that church? And yes, the local Chicago media should have it reported someplace.

A search of the Chicago media turns up empty; I cannot find anything from the Chicago Tribune or the Sun-Times about this conference. I am referring to the meeting Michelle attended and spoke, not the one where Bill Cosby and Bill Clinton spoke and generated media buzz. However, there is this:

With "2004: A Year Of Critical Choices for Inclusion and Growth" as its theme, the Rainbow/PUSH Coalition and Citizenship Education Fund held its 33rd annual conference in Chicago.

The six-day conference at the Sheraton Chicago Hotel and Towers also marked the 20th anniversary of Rainbow/PUSH Founder and President the Rev. Jesse Jackson's 1984 U.S. presidential campaign--the first serious bid by a Black American for the nation's highest office.

Rev. Jackson, noted that the theme of the conference reflects Rainbow/PUSH's ongoing mission to protect and expand civil rights in every aspect of American life--including access to quality health care, education, law and justice.

Of course neither Obama was a household name then. There might not be a recording from the Chicago media of it; after all, there were several events at the conference. Bill Cosby and Bill Clinton would get the lion's share of the ink and video.

HillBuzz has the copy-and-paste as well of the event.

Unless somebody comes forward with the DVD, or the Chicago media looks in their archives about the meeting, this may come up empty. Then again, maybe somebody out there has it and is holding onto it until they can sell it for a big amount of money.

Here is the picture that's been circulating all around the internet, taken from Jet magazine:



At nearly six feet tall, Michelle towers over almost everybody.


Update: What I would like to know is how HillBuzz knows what is on the purported video if nobody has come forward to say they have seen it? A possible answer is in this blog's comments.

Via Cannonfire, the National Review takes a somewhat cynical view of the purported video.

If somebody has it, show it. Then we will know for sure if it is for real or a hoax. Or the media needs to interview people who were there. Right now nobody is saying a word. The silence could tell the whole story.

Whiteygate.

Rumor has it there is a "bombshell" that's coming out tomorrow about Obomba, supposedly about the Michelle Obama "whitey tape," but I will believe it when I see it:




Vegas billionaire Sheldon Adelson is rumored to have a copy, and I wish he'd mail me a copy of his copy so I could download it here. I am tired of the suspense and all.

More Campaign Follies.

It appears the "transcript" of the video being pushed around the internet was nothing more than a bad joke, kind of like Barack Obama.
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Since the superdelegates' positions aren't binding until the convention, there is no reason whatsoever why Hillary Clinton would drop out, wishful thinking by the New York Times to the contrary.
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Campaign Follies.

Once again No Quarter's Larry Johnson sticks his neck out regarding the infamous "Whitey tape" purportedly of Michelle Obama.

I was finally able to get on the No Quarter site after a delay, and according to Larry Johnson, the tape shows Michelle Obama on a panel with Louis Farrrakhan when she made that crack.

Notice Michelle has been very quiet as of late.

Johnson says he has five sources now. I think a lot of people were hoping he had firsthand access to the recording.

Update: Take this "transcript" of what Michelle supposedly said with a grain of salt:

“Once again, the white man keeps us down, what’s up with Whitey, Why’d he attack Iraq, Why’d he let Katrina happen, Why’d he leave millions of children behind. This is the legacy the white man gives us”

If she said that, I'd like to see the video just before and after the remarks for some context.

(HT: Joseph at Cannonfire.)


Update: Along these lines, the Obama campaign claims the whole story is a lie, yet it supposedly has a transcript of the video in question, which makes utterly no sense at all.

More Update: There is no official denial.

So Does the Michelle "Whitey"

tape exist?




Larry Johnson of No Quarter keeps hammering on this. I will believe it when I see it, even with Stone's claim at least seven news organizations are bugging him about it.

Campaign Notes.

John McCain is in good shape for the shape he is in.

The big concern is whether he has any recurrence of his cancer, especially melanoma:

But one, on his left temple in 2000, was invasive melanoma, what doctors call an ''intermediate risk'' melanoma because of its thickness -- 2.2 millimeters. McCain required delicate surgery to remove and examine lymph nodes that showed no sign of spread.

''We don't have a crystal ball, but we have no way to say anything at the present time would preclude him from running for office,'' said dermatologist Connolly.

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The media are still trying to push Hillary Clinton out of the race by peddling the rumor she is interested in being the big loser's running mate.
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So does the purported Michelle Obama "whitey" tape really exist?

It seems to get more and more interesting.
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Campaign Follies.

Could that purported Michelle Obama video actually be a fake?

Things like that are always possible, even likely.

I am going to say the tape is bullshit until otherwise proven.

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