Conservatives seize on Obama video
WASHINGTON (AP) — Conservatives on Tuesday used a speech President Barack Obama delivered as a candidate in 2007 to accuse him of using racially charged rhetoric.
"There's no way you can listen to this speech and not hear it as a deliberately divisive speech that pits Americans against each other and does so largely with racial innuendoes that are very, very clear when you hear the speech," former Republican presidential candidate Newt Gingrich said on Fox News, which aired segments of the videotaped speech.
At issue Tuesday, one day before the first presidential debate and as Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney trails in polls, was a speech then-candidate Obama made to black clergy at Hampton University, a historically black institution in Virginia. Media outlets including The Associated Press and Fox News covered the remarks at the time.
Obama — now the nation's first black president — said in the speech that the Bush administration did nothing to defuse a "quiet riot" among blacks that threatened to erupt in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Then a U.S. senator from Illinois, Obama also said the Bush administration "was colorblind in its incompetence."
Fox News host Sean Hannity said the speech "contains some of the most divisive class warfare and racially charged rhetoric ever used by Barack Obama."
Conservative pundit Tucker Carlson of The Daily Caller, which posted video of the speech online, argued that the speech features "racial rhetoric designed to make people fearful." And The Drudge Report, a regular Obama critic, predicted the video would "ignite accusations of racism — in both directions!"
Obama campaign spokesman Ben LaBolt quickly dismissed the criticism, accusing "Mitt Romney's allies" of recirculating video of a widely covered speech in "a transparent attempt to change the subject" from Romney's comments about 47 percent of Americans who don't pay federal income taxes.
Romney's campaign did not immediately respond to a request seeking comment. The Republican previously distanced himself from a conservative group considering an advertising campaign featuring Obama's former spiritual adviser, the Rev. Jeremiah A. Wright Jr., whose race-related sermons stirred controversy in Obama's first campaign.
"There's no way you can listen to this speech and not hear it as a deliberately divisive speech that pits Americans against each other and does so largely with racial innuendoes that are very, very clear when you hear the speech," former Republican presidential candidate Newt Gingrich said on Fox News, which aired segments of the videotaped speech.
At issue Tuesday, one day before the first presidential debate and as Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney trails in polls, was a speech then-candidate Obama made to black clergy at Hampton University, a historically black institution in Virginia. Media outlets including The Associated Press and Fox News covered the remarks at the time.
Obama — now the nation's first black president — said in the speech that the Bush administration did nothing to defuse a "quiet riot" among blacks that threatened to erupt in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Then a U.S. senator from Illinois, Obama also said the Bush administration "was colorblind in its incompetence."
Fox News host Sean Hannity said the speech "contains some of the most divisive class warfare and racially charged rhetoric ever used by Barack Obama."
Conservative pundit Tucker Carlson of The Daily Caller, which posted video of the speech online, argued that the speech features "racial rhetoric designed to make people fearful." And The Drudge Report, a regular Obama critic, predicted the video would "ignite accusations of racism — in both directions!"
Obama campaign spokesman Ben LaBolt quickly dismissed the criticism, accusing "Mitt Romney's allies" of recirculating video of a widely covered speech in "a transparent attempt to change the subject" from Romney's comments about 47 percent of Americans who don't pay federal income taxes.
Romney's campaign did not immediately respond to a request seeking comment. The Republican previously distanced himself from a conservative group considering an advertising campaign featuring Obama's former spiritual adviser, the Rev. Jeremiah A. Wright Jr., whose race-related sermons stirred controversy in Obama's first campaign.
Here's the latest on the coward flip flopping robme. remember when he said in one of his speeches that he would recind obama's exec order on legalizing people here more then 5 years without papers, WELL, Just monday Robme said that he would let them stay. One complete flip flop right?  But it don't stop there. this morning or last night robme said that now he would let them stay until his pres appointment. After that he would close the door! This guy is screwed. robme me can't even make up his mind on whether he took the dog off the roof or not. LOLÂ
 @swimmer Flip floppling Ronmey? Swimmer - did you listen to the debate last night? I bet you didn't.Â
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Ah, er, excuse me again, Swimmer- even Chris Mathews (the great Obama apologist) could not discern what Obama was trying to assert.Â
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But you know all of that , already. Right. Â You took the time to watch Mr. Obama spew for yourself - last night, right? Or is your mind already made up - as it was in 2008. And you base nothing substantive behind your vote, ever, ever, ever, Swimmer?Â
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Ah, Swimmer - flip flopping is all that Obama knows how to do. And look/see where all of that gross abuse of power and misuse of the people's tax dollars have SUNK this country. Or don't YOU care about any of that. Â The past four years, that is.Â
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And robdmes past coming to haunt him ?? I thought they disassembled robots when they killed ??
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http://blogs.browardpalmbeach.com/pulp/2012/08/did_mitt_romney_kill_leola_anderson_conspiracy_theory.php
I donât know if Barack Obama will ever fix our economy, especially given the paralyzing partisanship currently afflicting our government, but I do know that Mitt Romney absolutely will not. This isnât partisan; itâs history. Romney and his Republican cohorts want to take us back to the days of trickle-down economics in a deregulated business environment. Thatâs great for the rich and affluent, bad for the rest of us.
 @noneofyourbizzness noneofyourbusiness - you know everything about Romney because what again ?- Romney he successfully lead the BLUE state of Massachusetts and balanced their operating budget multiple time s over  - every year he was the Governor of that blue state. And he did so by bringing BOTH SIDES TOGETHER. Or don't you count any of that as a PLUS for Governor Romney?Â
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Ah, noneofyourbusiness - Governor Romney improved the jobless numbers in his state each year he was governor of Massachusetts, too. Benefitting dems and the gop. Benefitting ALL OF THE CITIZENS OF MASSACHUSETTS, as a matter of fact.Â
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And noneofyour business - Governor Romney collaboratively and successfully worked out a budget sustainable HEALTH CARE PLAN for his state -with help from the GOP and from democrats in his state. So what say you again about Governor Romney being unable to bring both sides together and work with them?Â
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Faux News calling someone divisive......hello kettle? I wonder why, if this video has been around for 4 years, are they bringing it up now? Sounds like a desperation move to me.
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Note to people- we will NEVER get out of debt, we borrow every dollar we spend and have to pay it back with interest. As long as this system continues it's impossible to get out of debt, literally.
@deejm2112 WOW.....and your saying the abc-nbc-cbs are not?
When will the Obama haters admit they are in the minority? After he wins his second term? Never?
@criticalreason The Nobama koolaid drinkers will be surprised when when they have a one term president. More people want to dump the chump. We are the Resistance and will never give up on ridding the land of this pox on freedom. Death to the new world order - Long live the Republic.
@The Resistance ... George, if you truly had any sense you'd realize that electing Romney would all but guarantee a two term Democrat starting in 2016. I'm guessing you're more of a checkers kinda guy.
 @criticalreason criticalreason - because Americans remain free to call it like it is. That's why. Just as Dems tried to make the 2008 election all about George Bush - and not one bit about Barack Obama's inexperience.
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If, in 2012, you criticalreason, cannot accept that Obama has failed - that is on you. Blindly voting for a candidate in 2008 who had less experience as a governmental leader than Romney - look/see where that got all of us.Â
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Consider it plausible that re-electing Obama will solve or resolve the critical issues still facing our nation - after Obama has had his partisan "fun" for four years - and blasted through/completely wasted trillions of our dollars - on his friends and his partisan agendas - ie. TOTALLLY corrupted energy "economy". How does that make any sense?Â
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Romney has a succesful record of RESOLVING ISSUES AND WORKING WITH BOTH SIDES. And penciling out the long term cost of his ideations. Balanced budget wise. Honestly. Truthfully. Openly. Dismiss him - and vote for more of the same from inept President Obama? How does that make any sense - at all?Â
 @criticalreason When will the Obama drones accept that their Messiah is a race baiting pathological liar?
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 @wahoo  @TimBurr Get a grip. You're losing it. Maybe cut the Prozacs in half next time.
 @TimBurr As soon as you can actually persuade us you live in reality and that your opinion is more than just that. Back it up with some facts, if you can.
 @rem417  @criticalreason  @TimBurr That's not what he said, and I'm neither a hypocrite or a racist.
 @Eris7  @TimBurr I'm not here to provoke, and my comments are not childish just because you classify them as such. That's a slimy effort to minimize one's opponent in a debate.
@criticalreason @TimBurr Did you not watch the video - do yo listen to the man when he speaks to black audiences - Thats all he does during the speaches is tell them how the white man continues to bring them down!!!!!!! - You are either a hipocrite or a racist!
 @TimBurr  @criticalreason Tim, You must accept that for progressives like *criticalreason* facts are completely irrelevant.  Eventually, CR will be forced by life itself to conclude that reality isn't optional after all. Â
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CR isn't here to discuss, he's here only to provoke. Â The best way to handle CR is to ignore the stream of incredibly childish comments.
 @TimBurr Yeah, the poor are really inconvenient. I wonder what your Jesus would have done about them?
 @criticalreason  @TimBurr Did you not watch the video? The ends justify the means in your world. Obama could claim he is a fan xyz dictator and you wouldn't care because he gives you "free" stuff - birth control, food stamps, unemployment benefits etc etc. and furthers incremental socialism.
 @criticalreason I may be in the minority, but that doesn't mean I am wrong.
 @Altazi It also doesn't mean you represent reasonable opinion either.
@criticalreason @MadMax64 So you are saying this man has made his best efforts to bring people to gether, reduce the debt and be open and transparnent ??
 @MadMax64 We'll see won't we. I suspect it's the conservatives that will be crying likes babies on the internets.
Boy are you going to be disappointed in November.
The race card is always an easy one to play. Michelle Obama did the same thing only very recently.
This is interesting. What did she do, nobody? oh please explain
 @Nobody Really? Please share. What did she do?
 @Nobody No seriously, can you please explain what Michelle did?
Fox Entertainment's host Sean Hannity said the speech "contains some of the most divisive class warfare and racially charged rhetoric ever used by Barack Obama. Â haha, who cares what that moron says? desperate republicans say all kinds of stuff, Â sometimes, rarely, it's actually factual. Â Taking any thing from fox as "news", is like expecting intelligent political analysis from an Extra, Entertainment Tonight, or TMZ host.
This is sad. The nearly 2 year old Republican presidential campaign that was supposed to be about the Big Ideas and the economy has reduced itself to little more than racial trolling.
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A bunch of conservative media all-stars team up and rehash a 2007 speech in which the Obama dares to raise the possibility that black people haven't always had it easy in America. Then he accurately cites the fact that the Stafford Act hampered recovery efforts in New Orleans. (Here's Republican Senator David Vitter making the same point: http://www.homeland1.com/domestic-international-terrorism/articles/335561-FEMA-needs-overhaul-says-La-senator/).
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It's all a conspiracy, of course. The media is covering it all up. Obama is the racist. Illegals are going to vote in droves (probably get their votes counted four or five times).
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This is all the Republicans have.
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They should have nominated Gingrich - he's a pig so he's better suited for rolling around in this sort of filth.
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@Eris7
Third question first: It's tough to figure how much Katrina aid went to New Orleans rather than the entire Gulf Coast (the Daily Caller didn't bother to take a stab at this). Let's assume that in the end, New Orleans got more than New York. That makes sense because New Orleans suffered a larger disaster. 911, horrible as it was, affected a portion of one part of the city. Katrina affected almost all of New Orleans.
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The other questions: Tell me what my game is. As I see it, I'm calling race baiting, well, race baiting. Not everyone who disagrees with (not "opposes") me is racist. Far from it. But, when race baiting is introduced into the election, I don't see any reason to call it anything else.
@Max Quinn  """""has reduced itself to little more than racial trolling."""""
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C'mon Max there is plenty of mud slinging on BOTH SIDES...... Pointing out Mittens mud slinging but glossing over B HO's mud slinging is very disingenuous at best.
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""""This is all the Republicans have."""""
seriously????, If B HO is as great as you say he is......... THEN WHY THE HELL ISN'T HE BRAGGING ABOUT THE LAST FOUR YEARS??????  All I hear out of B HO's mouth for the most part is mud slinging and "forward" ..... i.e.  more crap he wants to do....but actually very little on the last four years.
 @kramr  @Max I was talking about race baiting. Political campaigns have never been genteel.
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I was talking about conservatives, not Willard. I don't think Willard had anything to do with this. I think the Republicans are grasping for whatever they can and have reduced themselves to the "But he's black!" attack.
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And Obama is bragging about the last four years. Auto bailout, saving the economy from depression, Obamacare...
@JTesla   """"" Bush can be credited, in large part, for the auto bailout"""""
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agreed, And B HO saved the UAW by stealing the bond holder equity and essentially giving it to the UAW.
@Max Quinn @Max  """"" I was talking about race baiting."""""
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Well, your candidate sure knows a thing or two about that........
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just watch B HO's other raced video......
 @Eris7  @kramr  @Max Look at my response to Kachina above, smart guy. Disagree with him all you want. I disagree with his use of drones and his soft-touch wrt Wall Street. But when you start using racial innuendos (Foodstamp President) don't whine when you get called out for it.
 @Max Quinn  @kramr  @Max There it is!  No one is allowed to criticize Obama even in the mildest way, because he is, don't ya know, half black so that would be racist.  Disagreeing with *any* of Obama's policies makes one a (can you guess?) racist. Â
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Yet, when Obama and his appointees, pastor, associates, etc. behave and speak in an overtly, cannot-be-ignored racist manner, it's prohibited from mention because that would be  - you guessed it - racist!  What a convoluted, bizarre world liberals inhabit!  Â
 @Altazi  @Kachina  @Max  @kramr Just like when St. Reagan used to throw around the terms "Welfare Queen" or "Strapping Young Buck". Clearly, he didn't intend for those terms to have a racial meaning.
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Just like "States Rights" - that's just about, you know, states having rights.
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Or Bush Sr and Willie Horton - that wasn't about a scary black man, that was about a poorly managed parole program.
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Foodstamp President is the same thing - that's just about a president who's given out more foodstamps than previous presidents. That's why Newt used to call George W. a foodstamp president - he gave out more foodstamps than Clinton did.
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Thanks for setting me straight.
 @Max Quinn  @Kachina  @Max  @kramr Some people are gifted with the ability to detect racism even where there is none. You are clearly a member of that group. I, for one, don't automatically picture black people when I think of recipients of food stamps.
 @Kachina  @Max  @kramr  @Max Which policies? What arrogance? Which promises has he broken? So, he shouldn't campaign?
 @JTesla  @Max Bush made the first funds available on Dec. 19, 2008. From there on, it was pretty much Obama. He oversaw the bankruptcy of GM and the sale of Chrysler to Fiat along this the extending of additional funds. Depending on how you look at it, they are both to blame or they both deserve credit.
@Kachina@Max@kramr@Max
If people limited their criticisms to what you've just done, then, no, no one would have criticized him for his race. I don't agree with you, but you're entitled to those opinions.
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When Newt calls him the "Foodstamp President", however, we've crossed into racial politics. That term is meant to communicate to working whites that Obama is giving their money to unemployed black people. Then there's the birth certificate. And the obsession with illegal aliens voting by the billions. And "You Lie!"
@Max Quinn Bush can be credited, in large part, for the auto bailout and for trillions of dollars being added to the deficit to try to spend our way to a better economy (which some call âsaving the economy from depressionâ). Regardless of what anyoneâs view is on those items, Obama doesnât get the credit for them in my book. I will correct the conservatives by pointing out items that were signed by Bush and Iâll also correct the liberals on the same points.
@Max Quinn @kramr @Max Honestly, I don't think I've ever heard anyone denounce Obama because of his race. Those who dislike him feel that way because of his policies, his arrogance, his habit of leading from behind, his failure to not only stop the deficit from bleeding - but for adding more than 5 trillion to it. He hasn't lived up to anything he has promised, and seems to be oblivious to it. Rather than work harder at his job, he is working harder at campaigning. Besides, he is a much white as he is black......playing the race card is not real effective or useful./
 @Max Quinn Haha! So true. The Repugs are out of ideas and time. They are a party adrift at sea. They will lose the presidential election and be further split by extremists, much like those on this forum.