How embarrassing.Two of the biggest Obama Boosters at McClatchy -- Warren Strobel and Jonathan Landay -- are caught lying, and the evidence against them is on McClatchy's own web site.
Here are the details. After the debate Strobel and Landay wrote a blistering piece accusing McCain of several falsehoods and "mischaracterizations". I find several of the charges against McCain to be bogus but I will give the the most flagrant whopper. Here is Strobel and Landay, after the debate, accusing McCain of "clearly mischaracterizing" Obama's initial response after the Russian invasion of Georgia:
McCain clearly mischaracterized Obama's reaction to Russia's August invasion of its neighbor Georgia. "His first statement was, both sides ought to show restraint — again a little bit of naivete there," McCain said.
However, in a statement to reporters on Aug. 12, Obama condemned Russia's action and called for the attacks to stop. "There is no possible justification for the attacks," he said. He then said Georgia should refrain from using violence in the disputed areas of South Ossetia and Abkhazia.
That is flat out not true. McCain accurately stated Obama's initial response -- which was just what McCain called it, a call for restraint on both sides. As evidence, just look at Obama' initial statement at McClatchy's own website:
“I strongly condemn the outbreak of violence in Georgia, and urge an immediate end to armed conflict. Now is the time for Georgia and Russia to show restraint, and to avoid an escalation to full scale war. Georgia’s territorial integrity must be respected. All sides should enter into direct talks on behalf of stability in Georgia, and the United States, the United Nations Security Council, and the international community should fully support a peaceful resolution to this crisis.” (bold added)
So McClatchy's own web site shows you McCain characterized Obama's initial statement honestly and accurately. You can read the same quote (from August 8, 2008) on Obama's web site.
Not wanting their favored candidate to look bad about a weak response to Russian aggression, Strobel and Landay give readers a quote from Obama 4 days later, after he modified his stance due to getting pounded for several days over not recognizing Russia's aggression. (Talk about giving Obama a Mulligan!) By August 12 Obama had modified his position and was taking a stand against Russian aggression. That is the statement Strobel and Landay use -- but again, in the debate McCain was clearly talking about Obama's initial reaction.
At the time, observers called this a "3:00 AM moment" which Obama flubbed badly.
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.The evidence shows McCain has more command of the facts than Obama -- not to mention Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum (Strobel and Landay).
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Truth to Power?
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Pppffft. (Photo credit PBS)
UPDATE 2:20: The RealRevo put together this video addressing Obama's weak initial response:
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