Comments on: Fox News Contributor Jokes About Obama Assassination

By: PeteRivers

PeteRivers — Thu, 29 May 2008 09:40:06 +0000

What I find especially offensive about the reference is that the 1968 Democrat Convention — the one HRC uses as a model, was rigged by the Daley forces to put in Hubert Humphrey. Those who remember will recall not only was RFK killed, but George Wallace ran as a segregationist — he could have won WV and Ky!!. 1968 is remembered for that cop riot and for the worst kind of Republican-style slandering of the anti-Vietnam war movement. In 1968, the delegates were pretty much all old men who decided amongst themsleves who would run. 1968 was the Convention that showed that the nomination process needed to be changed to put the power to nominate into the hands of the members. So this is the year Clinton points to as her model of why she’s still in the race, and like Daley, she’s trying to drag down the candidate who has done most to get people enthusiastic about voting.

In the end, it was Nixon who benefited from the division in the Democrats.

So Hillary is not only offensive when she brings up the Kennedy assassination as her excuse for going on. Even if she denies that this is what she meant, she certainly did mean to evoke 1968 and all its ugliness — which is highly appropriate in her case.

By: redfish

redfish — Tue, 27 May 2008 06:18:31 +0000

runasimm,

I'm just saying there have been examples like this on other networks also; plus Liz Trotta isn't a hack.

I also don't think Murdoch created this problem. It has also been pushed to the limits in part because of bloggers also.

By: GreenDreams

GreenDreams — Tue, 27 May 2008 05:39:46 +0000

Dear Hillary,
Here's how it's done. It's not that hard. Try this:
“I apologize for my remark the other day. I really didn't mean it the way it sounded to some, I fully understand people being upset about it and I truly regret having said it.”

By: runasim

runasim — Tue, 27 May 2008 05:05:17 +0000

Redfish,
The focus on FOX news is not due to its politics. It is, rather, an example of whattsort of excesses are permissable these days: anything to fire up the viewers, and increase viewership, regardless of consequences.
Murdoch, initially with his newspapers, started the trend by proving how much more profitable scandals and scandalous behavior can be. relative to serious journalism and intelligent commentary. . .Other corporationons owning media outlets have been only too happy to follow suit.

The public certainly seems only too happy to let it all hang out in public. Many very thoughtful blog posts are followed only by mindless,, no holds barred insults and slurs.

When there are no standards, the meaning of normal behvior and speech just sinks lower and lower, and society turns into a mob.

If Liz Trotta's apology seemed lame, it's only because she knows her bosses will accept anything that causes a stir, It's not Trotta that bothers me. It's the whole culture of cheap thrills for profit, with no responsiblity attached.

By: queenpinnana

queenpinnana — Tue, 27 May 2008 02:35:18 +0000

I agree with you. Her apology sounded half hearted. Her Osama remark was telling to say the least!! At least Liz Trotta apologised if you want to call it that, but Hillary never apologised to Obama at all, even if it was just to say, I wasn't referring to you in any way by my remarks. I think she was referring to him.

By: queenpinnana

queenpinnana — Tue, 27 May 2008 02:08:34 +0000

Seems like Teflon Hillary wins again with her stupid remarks. How many does she have to rack up before people realize what kind of a person she really is? What she was really saying is that she wants to stay in just incase Obama is “taken out”. She knew what she was saying when she said it.
This journalist must be a Hillary Supporter or McCain for her to joke about this. I found it about as distasteful as Hillary's remark…birds of a feather flock together they say. It is quite evident where Fox news stands, and Sean Hannity's hatred of Obama. He may cut his wrists if he is elected!!!!! I quit watching Fox news 2 months ago because of the “addiction” of Hannity's hatred for Obama, and I am not an Obama supporter….just a person who can't stand back stabbing because of a persons race, religion, or issues. This election makes me sick to my stomach.

By: redfish

redfish — Tue, 27 May 2008 00:42:32 +0000

You people are focusing too much on the fact that this was on Fox.

As the post points out, she's had a long career, she's worked with NBC covering the Vietnam War, and for the Washington Post. She was one of the first successful woman journalists on TV.

And it was in bad taste, and Huckabee's joke was in bad taste, but trying to imply either of them wanted Obama harmed is like implying Hillary wants Obama harmed.

By: runasim

runasim — Mon, 26 May 2008 23:24:44 +0000

I just remembered: this is the type of 'journalism' at the heart of Murdoch's success in business. There is rot at the core of our apple, when there is such wide admirationa for him as a successful businessman.

“Successful businessman' is a free pass these days enabling a derour around questions of responsibility the rest of us mortals have to face.

By: Jim_Satterfield

Jim_Satterfield — Mon, 26 May 2008 22:47:00 +0000

I don't think Trotta's apology was much of one. Her statement was quite clear. First she said Osama accidentally instead of Obama and then said “…well, both if we could.”. There is in fact no way to interpret Trotta's remark in spite of what she said in her “apology” about it being a poor attempt at humor. And before making this statement I went back and reviewed the video again.

By: StockBoySF

StockBoySF — Mon, 26 May 2008 22:45:29 +0000

While HIllary did show bad judgement in bringing up the RFK assassination (and it's that judgement that concerns me more than the comment), I think it's pretty clear that Liz does believe her comment. Liz's apology was delivered with a condescending tone, I thought. She said the words but didn't mean them.

But it's Fox, so what do you expect? Partiality?

Oh, by the way, if Liz let's her true thoughts surface on the air, you can be sure that lots of other people are in agreement with her. They probably see her apology as something she was "forced" to do by the "liberals".

I'd like to know if the secret service even did a cursory investigation on Liz's comment. You can bet the secret service would take action against any such comments about Bush.

By: JoyP

JoyP — Mon, 26 May 2008 22:17:18 +0000

I agree she didn't mean it as it sounded and the media should be hounding FOX news to do something about their commentator other than an apology, but I suppose they wouldn't want to give FOX some free advertising. However, with Hillary, et al, coming up all sorts of rationalizations for the demise of her candidacy and the reasons she should stick around, you can see why some people would jump to an unfortunate conclusion. Unfortunately she and her people fumbled in the aftermath. It might have been laid to rest with a simple apology to the American people for dredging up terrible memories for a lot of people. Instead she sound haughty, at least to me. I just wish she hadn't made reference to it a couple of times.

By: runasim

runasim — Mon, 26 May 2008 21:59:35 +0000

This is just twisted on so many levels!

I've watched the clip of Hillary referring to RFK several times,, and there is no way people other than psychics and mind readers can make a dead certain case that her intention was to bring up the specter of assasination rather than simply earmark the timing of the final selection of a nominee. .

Yes, she said it before. Every candidate and every politician has his/her pet phrases to make a point, amd they use the same phrase over and over and over to make the same point.

This was a minor story made into a major story by blogs eager to jump on any potemtial controversy to increase the number of hits to their sites and raise their own fame and fortune. It's the cable news screaming heads mentality of the blogosphere.

As a result, there is no maniac in the world who has missed the message: that an assasination could be an expedient way to determine history and gain instant world wide fame.
Neverthless, it's Hillary who is pilloried, while blogmeisters are only practising responsible citizen journalism?!?!..

Then we get to Liz Trotta and FOX Hers was among the most irresponsible, reprehensible and unfunny comments yet to surface. But it;s treated only as a minor gaffe, a case of foot-in-mouth disease, meriting only a tsk tsk during a short pause before we all return to the 'what's wrong with the Cilinons'. narrative.

This is not he face of America that I could ever be proud of.
Take away my lapel pin at once!

PS This is not directed specifically at TMV or Joe, the author of the post.
It's an Internet wide practice, and it poisons minds, IMO.

By: Barack Obama » Fox News Contributor Jokes About Obama Assassination

Barack Obama » Fox News Contributor Jokes About Obama Assassination — Mon, 26 May 2008 19:41:06 +0000

[...] Hilary Climton.com – News, Updates, Campaigns, and Insight wrote an interesting post today onHere’s a quick excerptFox News Contributor Jokes About Obama Assassination May 26th, 2008 by JOE GANDELMAN, Editor-In-Chief Can someone please tell me? Is there something in their water? In the air? Is it what they’re drinking — or smoking? As Senator Hillary Clinton’s team used a host of methods to try and short-circuit her comment about the 1968 assassination of Robert F. Kennedy and the 2008 campaign (…She said it due to thinking about Ted Kennedy…But then it came out she said it before…So her campaign blam [...]