From The Road
July 30, 2008 9:41 AM

Obama: Presumptuous or Taken Out of Context?

From CBS News' Steve Chaggaris:

A quote in today's Washington Post has Barack Obama's opponents salivating at the prospect of using it against him while Democrats are insisting it's taken completely out of context.

While speaking to a closed door meeting with House Democrats yesterday, the Post quoted him as saying, "This is the moment . . . that the world is waiting for... I have become a symbol of the possibility of America returning to our best traditions."

The Republican National Committee sent around the quote first thing this morning as part of its "Audacity Watch," where they've been hitting Obama for acting presidential before he's even elected.

A House Democratic staffer, however, tells CBS News that this quote is taken way out of context.

"The Post left out the important first half of the sentence," the staffer said, adding that the quote was more like, "It has become increasingly clear in my travel, the campaign, that the crowds, the enthusiasm, 200,000 people in Berlin, is not about me at all. It’s about America. I have just become a symbol...”

House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn, D-S.C., who was in the room, pointed out to Fox News that the line was taken completely out of context.

"It was not about him," Clyburn said.


Tags:
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Topics:
Barack Obama
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by mbcsmith July 30, 2008 10:52 AM PDT
No wonder BS is is in CBS''s name. Everything Nobama does is about Him. Guess we know who CBS is supporting.
Reply to this comment
by blessed1959 July 30, 2008 10:53 AM PDT
he is arrogant just like the pastor he learned from so well! we are in big trouble if he gets elected! his god complex is showing through... he wants to be our saviour not our president...
Reply to this comment
by oneamerican_ July 30, 2008 10:56 AM PDT
With all of his arrogant "presidential" posturing, Barack Obama seems to have little regard for that pesky little thing called...an election.

That is the true sign of a dictator in the making.
Reply to this comment
by redbds July 30, 2008 10:58 AM PDT
Oblama is the most arogant and self important candidate that I have ever seen in my lifetime. The new campaign slogan should be "Obama - I am the real change, I am the light." That would better reflect what he believes. This liberal love fest makes me sick.
Reply to this comment
by ladyesq1 July 30, 2008 10:59 AM PDT
Hitler, Statlin, Marx, Obama....whats the difference?!
Reply to this comment
by jmurrieta1 July 30, 2008 11:08 AM PDT
More Republican lies and smears--and their toady Fuxnews prints them all. That''s all the Repugs have left after 8 years of Bush lies and incompetence.

And the usual scum trot out their smears.
Reply to this comment
by pvperson July 30, 2008 11:08 AM PDT
Hitler, Statlin, Marx, Republicans...all the same.

What does Obama have to do with it, nothing.

Reply to this comment
by gary_hurd July 30, 2008 11:09 AM PDT
These right-wing rants are like music to this liberal''s ears.

They have no defendable positions and they are reduced to squeals of piggish outrage.

They are so used to the mainstream media merely accepting and repeating lies that the shock of actual fact-checking has undone them.
Reply to this comment
by gurv07728 July 30, 2008 11:10 AM PDT
I don%u2019t see why McCain has to worry even though Barak Obama is getting a lot of press attention, it seems to me to be more negative (always questioning his ability or something like it) as opposed to John McCain who gets his gaffes, mis-statements, and bad answers covered up and glossed over (not asking more questions when he says things about Iraq / Pakistan border, his pundits says mental recession) and things of that nature. Do you remember the last time the press took a bad answer that Obama gave get cut and wind up on the %u201Ccutting room floor%u201D, if someone on the CBS staff didn%u2019t sneak it out we would never even know it existed.
Reply to this comment
by gurv07728 July 30, 2008 11:11 AM PDT
When it comes to what their pastors and the pastors that gave them public endorsements, what Obama%u2019s says is still making news on an almost daily basis by way of constant reminding of what Rev. Wright said, while it was barley mentioned at the time and is never even mentioned anymore period.
Reply to this comment
by gurv07728 July 30, 2008 11:11 AM PDT
McCain came into conflict with higher-ranking personnel, he did not always obey the rules, and this contributed to a low class rank (894 of 899) that he did not aim to improve.

McCain was then stationed in A-1 Skyraider squadrons, on the aircraft carriers USS Intrepid and USS Enterprise, in the Caribbean and Mediterranean Seas. The planes he was flying crashed twice and once collided with power lines, but he received no major injuries.

McCain requested a combat assignment, and in December 1966 was assigned to the aircraft carrier USS Forrestal flying A-4 Skyhawks. McCain''s combat duty began when he was 30 years old, in summer 1967, when Forrestal was assigned to a bombing campaign during the Vietnam War. In August 1968, a program of severe torture began on McCain. He was subjected to rope bindings and repeated beatings every two hours, at the same time as he was suffering from dysentery. Further injuries led to the beginning of a suicide attempt, which was stopped by guards. After four days, McCain made an anti-American propaganda "confession". He has always felt that his statement was dishonorable, but as he would later write, "I had learned what we all learned over there: Every man has his breaking point. I had reached mine."
Reply to this comment
by broncfan1661 July 30, 2008 11:11 AM PDT
"BARACK OBAMA" A LEGEND in his own mind!
Also in the minds of the networks and NY Times.
Reply to this comment
by gurv07728 July 30, 2008 11:11 AM PDT
I notice they do in-depth looks into Michelle%u2019s back ground and report what ever insinuated or slightly bad thing they can find, while not mentioning Cindy%u2019s drug use and stealing of drug prescriptions from the charity she ran not even a mention in passing. Brief bio:

Much has been made of allegations of possible youthful use of illegal drugs by Republican presidential candidate George W. Bush. Meanwhile, his chief GOP opponent, Arizona Sen. John McCain, has admitted that his wife not only illegally used drugs but walked away from criminal charges. The McCains have worked to make Cindy McCain''s addiction into a political asset--despite the fact that she stole the drugs from a charity she directed and used them while mothering four young children.
In 1994, Mrs. McCain admitted that she had solicited prescriptions for painkillers from physicians who worked for an international charity that she founded, the American Voluntary Medical Team. She then filled the prescriptions in the names of her staff.
Reply to this comment
by suzyku July 30, 2008 11:12 AM PDT
This is ridiculous, the WAPO "mis"quotes Obama, leaves out the first half of what he "really" said and the idiot right wingers are posting here, buying the lies. The ignorance and stupidity of these people is beyond belief! These are the same fools who voted for bush not once but twice and are responsible for the rotten state this country is in now! They''re too stupid to learn anything!!!
Reply to this comment
by gurv07728 July 30, 2008 11:12 AM PDT
Why do the Republican''s want a traitor and druggie in the White House. Do they think it will be easier to control them or what????
Reply to this comment
by notblue July 30, 2008 11:15 AM PDT
The libs don''t like it when the shoe is on the other foot, as if the press never takes any statemnent given by a republican out of context! LOL! That''s the leftwing way twist to suit an agenda! Unfortunatley the 67 percenters always believe.
Reply to this comment
by bobnjersey July 30, 2008 11:18 AM PDT
the republicans are using misleading statements to get their sheep to follow ... who would have thought this to be at all possible?
Reply to this comment
by broncfan1661 July 30, 2008 11:21 AM PDT
This is ridiculous, the WAPO "mis"quotes Obama, leaves out the first half of what he "really" said and the idiot right wingers are posting here, buying the lies. The ignorance and stupidity of these people is beyond belief! These are the same fools who voted for bush not once but twice and are responsible for the rotten state this country is in now! They''''re too stupid to learn anything!!!

Posted by suzyku at 11:12 AM : Jul 30, 200
_______________________
With this post you are not only showing YOUR stupidity but you short temper as well. By the way, I am not a Republican but I do NOT like Obama.
Reply to this comment
by gurv07728 July 30, 2008 11:22 AM PDT
Why must the republicans always take things out of context? It seems the only way they can make themselves look good is to lie about what others have said! It is aparent that if you take half of what someone said and portray it as all they said you are lying, because you are not repeating what they said but only your version of what they said.
Reply to this comment
by anotherview2-2009 July 30, 2008 11:22 AM PDT
Here we go. Obama''s campaign telling us what he really said.

Obama is doing exactly what he did during the primary with the media''s help. Acting as if he is it.
Reply to this comment
by oneopinion July 30, 2008 11:22 AM PDT
hese are the same fools who voted for bush not once but twice and are responsible for the rotten state this country is in now! They''''re too stupid to learn anything!!!
Posted by suzyku

AMEN!! Wake up for God''s sake. McCain is another "proud of my lackluster performance in school" politician. Let''s give brains a shot.
Reply to this comment
by dnsallday July 30, 2008 11:24 AM PDT
We need to be aware that there are people trying to use us to spread misinformation and do their dirty work for them. We live in a democracy and there are powerful interests who fear the idea of letting us choose our own leaders. Some have exploited the flaws in our democracy to get their hands on the levers of power and they don%u2019t want to let go. One of their standard tactics distort an actual quote so that it fits with the perception they are trying to push, trusting that we will blindly distribute it to all our friends. This is terribly destructive; not only to democracy, but to our personal lives because the tactic exploits the trust we share with those who are closest to us.


A question I urge you to ask yourself is why the exploiters of power who started this lie don%u2019t have the integrity to be honest with the American people? The vast majority of Americans know that the economy is not working and the country is going in the wrong direction. But a few are profiting like never before at our expense and they are afraid of policies that would respect and value the efforts of hard-working Americans. Rather than challenge such policies head on, they prefer to use us to spread their propaganda.

Smears like this are meant to draw our attention to some moral failing in our leaders. The real moral failing is in the people who concocted this smear in the first place and thought so little of us when they sought to hijack the democratic process that makes America great.
Reply to this comment
by broncfan1661 July 30, 2008 11:25 AM PDT
AMEN!! Wake up for God''''s sake. McCain is another "proud of my lackluster performance in school" politician. Let''''s give brains a shot.

Posted by OneOpinion at 11:22 AM
_______________________
You had your chance to do that, but you all voted for Obama!
Reply to this comment
by govwatch-2009 July 30, 2008 11:26 AM PDT
All well and good but, Obama Hussain said it. "Oh I did not really want to say, but if I were to say, I would say....."
Reply to this comment
by peterp111 July 30, 2008 11:28 AM PDT
This is really getting ridiculous- out of hand- over the top- quite ego driven, self centered, and way too much nonsense-all about a man, ( well,barely) who with some luck, bounced his way to win a primary, and voices empty rheteric, promises pie in the sky socialisist dreams, and does not believe in a few amendments, did not vote many times in the senate ( all of his ''glowing'' 2 years) and claims to have experiance to lead a country. WHAT AUDACITY. . Anyone who prefers to live in ''his fantasyworld'' better take a second look, last I heard it was quite expensive. You think you have it tough now? He will rasie your taxes and provide nothing of any subsequent change that will benefit anyone. Sad as it is, and as blunt as this sounds, Obama is very wrong for the USA
Reply to this comment
by smiley676 July 30, 2008 11:29 AM PDT
Why must the republicans always take things out of context? It seems the only way they can make themselves look good is to lie about what others have said! It is aparent that if you take half of what someone said and portray it as all they said you are lying, because you are not repeating what they said but only your version of what they said.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Posted by gurv07728

Really? Like the Democrats didn''t completely misquote McCain when they said he said he would stay 100 years in Iraq? Did you ever bother to read what he really said? The Dems cut out almost a whole sentence in between Iraq and 100 years.

This is the nature of campaigns. Both sides missquote the other. Don''t ever be fooled into thinking one side is better than the other.
Reply to this comment
by nowdecided July 30, 2008 11:31 AM PDT
I can''t believe that Senator McCain is stooping so low in this campaign, when he said he would run a respectful, positive campaign. I can''t believe he hired someone from Karl Rove to do these kinds of things. He''s going to push a lot of people like me off the fence and into voting for Obama.
Reply to this comment
by txgrouch2006 July 30, 2008 11:33 AM PDT
So what if he DID say it as it''s quoted?

IT''S TRUE!!!
Reply to this comment
by TommyCraig July 30, 2008 11:35 AM PDT
Anyone about half tired of politics by now? If we could get this much energy from our politicians during the off-election years!
And, do we really need a president?
(satire)
Reply to this comment
by aldon61 July 30, 2008 11:46 AM PDT
Judging from the vast majority of the posts here, it appears as if McCain supporters can''t or don''t wish to discuss the real issues concerning this election. When people are reduced to name-calling, spreading rumors, or out and out lying, they are defeated! Fear and hatred are weapons of choice when civil discourse breaks down. Discuss the issues, or put it to rest.
Reply to this comment
by aldon61 July 30, 2008 11:49 AM PDT
This is the nature of campaigns. Both sides missquote the other. Don''''t ever be fooled into thinking one side is better than the other.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Posted by smiley676 at 11:29 AM : Jul 30, 2008

Yes they do both use misquotes, doesn''t make it right though. As an observer, it does appear to be more frequently used by the McCain supporters, but your overall statement, I agree with.
Reply to this comment
by talkingham July 30, 2008 11:50 AM PDT
As if it weren''t obvious before, Fox lies is going to do everything they can to lie McCain into the presidency. If this keeps up they will perhaps truly fire-up the large democratic base that might not have come out for Obama. Keep it up Fox lies, by now most people realize just how unfair and imbalanced you are.
Reply to this comment
by mattcat25 July 30, 2008 11:57 AM PDT
It%u2019s the possibility of turning America away from rampant corruption.
Reply to this comment
by credibility2 July 30, 2008 12:00 PM PDT
Why is it that whenever Obama says something this outrageous he and his camp jump on it asserting that it was either taken out of context or that''s not what he meant? Come on, Obama is an arrogant presumptive candidate. Why wasn''t it also reported that he gave assurances to the British PM about his already having commitment for more troops in Afghanistan? As if to say that he''s got it in the bag as president and he''s already garnering assurances of others to get with his program? Things like this attributed to Obama are at face value. No, this latest arrogant comment wasn''t taken out of context and Obama actually believes himself to be the ruler of the new world order he wants to enact. And somehow, Obama is going to make everything nicey-nice and kumbaya once he''s elected. He''s already acting like he''s been elected. It''s nauseating and disgusting.
Reply to this comment
by obamalogic July 30, 2008 12:00 PM PDT
There are those who believe that it is a legitimate political tactic to deliberately create misperceptions about one''s political opponents. I do not. This has gone on too long in American politics. It is disrespectful to the ideal of truth, and disrespectful to the voting public and ultimately destructive to our political process. One of the reasons Obama is running for the Presidency of the United States is to demonstrate that it isn''t necessary to sling mud at one another in order to persuade the voting public of the relevancy of one''s ideas.
Reply to this comment
by obamalogic July 30, 2008 12:01 PM PDT
There are those who believe that it is a legitimate political tactic to deliberately create misperceptions about one''s political opponents. I do not. This has gone on too long in American politics. It is disrespectful to the ideal of truth, and disrespectful to the voting public and ultimately destructive to our political process. One of the reasons Obama is running for the Presidency of the United States is to demonstrate that it isn''t necessary to sling mud at one another in order to persuade the voting public of the relevancy of one''s ideas.
Reply to this comment
by cbs4me3 July 30, 2008 12:02 PM PDT
Presumptious? Try arrogance. It is interesting that his line is now being revised by staff. Remember on the floor of the Congress during the State of the Union Address when Hillary greeted Teddy but this guy spurned a greeting from Hillary. Pretentious? When I saw his action, I immmediately knew that I would never vote for him.
Reply to this comment
by obamalogic July 30, 2008 12:08 PM PDT
There are those who believe that it is a legitimate political tactic to deliberately create misperceptions about one''s political opponents. I do not. This has gone on too long in American politics. It is disrespectful to the ideal of truth, and disrespectful to the voting public and ultimately destructive to our political process. One of the reasons Obama is running for the Presidency of the United States is to demonstrate that it isn''t necessary to sling mud at one another in order to persuade the voting public of the relevancy of one''s ideas.
Reply to this comment
by mattcat25 July 30, 2008 12:09 PM PDT
All of the Republicans in Congress and the Bush Whitehouse should be charged and sent to prison for all the corruption. And, all registered Republican Voters should be levied a Republican Tax to help relieve the debt that has been created, and then stolen.
Reply to this comment
by ademeyer July 30, 2008 12:10 PM PDT
cbs4me3 You can''t fault Obama for his position on the issues so you smear his character and try to "create a narrative" that he is arrogant. News Flash: all politicians are arrogant, Obama just happens to be right and arogant, whereas McCain is arrogant and wrong.
Reply to this comment
by ramos937 July 30, 2008 12:12 PM PDT
During breakfast, I tuned into Fox & Friends. The commentators were making a very big deal of Obama being presumtuous because of this. I know know the full story.

Fox calls itself "Fair and Balanced". A much better description is "Unfair and Unbalanced".
Reply to this comment
by vastr-wcon July 30, 2008 12:19 PM PDT
And it came to pass when the whole land from the Arabian desert to the shores of the Great Lakes had been laid barren, that a Child appeared in the wilderness.

The Child was blessed in looks and intellect. Scion of a simple family, offspring of a miraculous union, grandson of a typical white person and an African peasant. And yea, as he grew, the Child walked in the path of affirmative-action special treatment and righteousness, with only the occasional detour into the odd weed and a little blow.

When he was twelve years old, they found him in the temple in the City of Chicago learning all from the Prophet God D@#! America Jeremiah and the Elders. And they went forth singing the praises of Hope-Change, Change-Hope, Hope-able Change, Change-able Hope and similar droppings from the massive bull.

In the great Battles of Caucus and Primary he smote the proficient Hillary, wife of the deposed King Bill the Priapic and their barbarian hordes of Working Class Whites.

And so it was the Child ventured forth - for the first time - to bring the light unto all the world, and he was declared "TheOne".

Rejoice America, the callow Child savior from the loony-left is here. Forget the vote ye bitter non-believers clinging to thy guns and false religions, for the liberal media hath already anointed TheOne president. Also behold that Sarkozy (The Flamboyant) and al-Maliki (The Wayward Puppet) have acknowledged him as divine ruler of all mankind.
Reply to this comment
by vastr-wcon July 30, 2008 12:20 PM PDT
All must now stoop to the Child''s level; resistance is futile.
Reply to this comment
by bobnjersey July 30, 2008 12:25 PM PDT
[He''''s already acting like he''''s been elected. It''''s nauseating and disgusting.]
[Posted by Credibility2 at 12:00
PM : Jul 30, 2008]

so you weren''t nauseated by gwb talking about being talked to by god ... about being told this was his calling ... his time ... his purpose?

why don''t you just say that you would be nauseated by anything obama does or says ... cause you see the world one way ... and he sees it another ... and you just can''t understand why.
Reply to this comment
by kofiananimus July 30, 2008 12:34 PM PDT
1) shame on the media for taking him out of context.
2) Having a presidential candidate act presidential... how awful. It is so much better to have a president who acts like an unprofessional dufus/moron, like Bush. (Sarcasm, for those unable to recognize it)
Reply to this comment
by dnsallday July 30, 2008 12:37 PM PDT
We need to be aware that there are people trying to use us to spread misinformation and do their dirty work for them. We live in a democracy and there are powerful interests who fear the idea of letting us choose our own leaders. Some have exploited the flaws in our democracy to get their hands on the levers of power and they don%u2019t want to let go. One of their standard tactics distort an actual quote so that it fits with the perception they are trying to push, trusting that we will blindly distribute it to all our friends. This is terribly destructive; not only to democracy, but to our personal lives because the tactic exploits the trust we share with those who are closest to us.


A question I urge you to ask yourself is why the exploiters of power who started this lie don%u2019t have the integrity to be honest with the American people? The vast majority of Americans know that the economy is not working and the country is going in the wrong direction. But a few are profiting like never before at our expense and they are afraid of policies that would respect and value the efforts of hard-working Americans. Rather than challenge such policies head on, they prefer to use us to spread their propaganda.

Smears like this are meant to draw our attention to some moral failing in our leaders. The real moral failing is in the people who concocted this smear in the first place and thought so little of us when they sought to hijack the democratic process that makes America great.
Reply to this comment
by o2brich July 30, 2008 12:39 PM PDT
Peterp111 hit it right on the head; this is why I will still be voting for McCain despite all the rhetoric about him giving us more of the disservice we got from Bush. Obama is, as they say, an empty suit. He''s just good at creating the appearance of change and success. McCain''s record (not his talk) makes it clear that he is willing to work both sides of the aisle and "swim upstream", if you will, to address the real problems of the our country. We haven''t had a congress or president willing to do that for decades, democratic or republican. Let''s hope that changes with this election.
Reply to this comment
by allurfears July 30, 2008 12:41 PM PDT
During breakfast, I tuned into Fox & Friends. The commentators were making a very big deal of Obama being presumtuous because of this. I know know the full story.

Fox calls itself "Fair and Balanced". A much better description is "Unfair and Unbalanced".

Posted by ramos937 at 12:12 PM : Jul 30, 2008
-------------

Don''t worry. the only people left regularly watching (or believing) FOX Fake News are the true believers and the other 5% of Americans with an IQ less than 80.
Reply to this comment
by realpatriot1 July 30, 2008 12:49 PM PDT
The Republicans have to make it about him because they can''t face up to the fact that the world yearns for someone other than them.

Practically everyone on earth who is not a member of the Republican
Party realizes that we''ll be better off when they''re out of power.
Reply to this comment
by realpatriot1 July 30, 2008 12:51 PM PDT
It''s not like Obama has agreed to sell arms for hostages while still a private citizen like Reagan & Bush,Sr. did.
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