Senator Barack Hussein Obama (D- Ill), Osama Bin Laden, CNN

OBAMA OSAMA FUN

CNN Gaffe Infuriates Lefties







When it comes to protecting their beloved senator from Illinois, so- called "progressives" sure can be touchy. Even the slightest bit of confusion over Senator Barack Hussein Obama (D- Ill) and his tricky name can send the left reeling, or worse, cooking up kooky media conspiracy theories.

And after another gaffe over Obama's name yesterday, this time from CNN, lefties were fit to be tied. Though it was an obvious mistake, they have demanded and received an apology from the network.

And somehow, conservatives are always to blame for the mix- ups, even though it was none other than Democrat Senator Ted Kennedy who first confused "Osama" with "Obama" in public.

From Crooks and Liars, a leftist site:

CNN owes Barack Obama an apology

By: John Amato on Monday, January 1st, 2007 at 6:40 PM - PST

I expect this type of thing from FOX NEWS. The right wingers have been attacking Barack Obama's name for a few weeks now. I'm going to ask CNN to make a correction on the air.

From an earlier item at the same site:

Playing the Obama name game with some fashion tips

By: John Amato on Wednesday, December 13th, 2006 at 2:45 PM - PST

CNN is the latest to jump on Obama's name. As Eric says: "It makes you wonder if the ad man for GOP Senator Saxby Chambliss — who unseated Max Cleland with ads linking him to the two — is working for CNN now."

They also put him in a picture with Saddam as well.

CNN did include my Ed Rogers post about his slimy entry into the name game. (without credit of course) Meanwhile, Jeff Greenfield is playing the Fashon game with Obama:

Jeff Greenfield protests that his comparison of Barack Obama's fashion sense to that of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was just a joke.

Boy, maybe this is a right- wing conspiracy! Somehow, Republicans have taken over not only CNN, but the AP as well. Sadly, the sinister plot has now been uncovered.



From the Washington Post, here's how Kennedy started it all:

MODERATOR: This person asks, Senator Barack Obama of Illinois was elected with over 80 percent of the vote, and over a million of those voters were also President Bush voters. What did Senator Obama do that Senator Kerry and other Democrats not do?

And do you think the Democrats need to move toward the center to recapture the majority position?

And finally, If a Democrat wins the next presidential election, what are the most difficult problems he or she will face in 2008?

KENNEDY: There you go.

Why don't we just ask Osama bin -- Osama Obama -- Obama what -- since he won by such a big amount. Seriously, Senator Obama is really unique and special.

He was a community activist. He was out there on the streets pulling different groups together in Chicago. He was working with families out there about family needs and he rang the bell in Illinois.

He talked about that, but he also talked about bringing people together. You'll all have a good chance to hear him, I'm sure, often.

But I think -- I would hope that Senator Obama would agree with most of what I had to say today. I'll send him a copy. I'll let you know.

From YouTube, here's the original video of Kennedy's blunder:



From the "progressive" Raw Story, here's where the situation rapidly moves into unhinged moonbat territory:

CNN apologizes for Obama gaffe in Bin Laden graphic

Michael Roston
Published: Tuesday January 2, 2007


Update: Senator Obama's office called RAW STORY to comment on the incident and CNN's apology, which can be found at this link or at the end of this story.

A Monday night broadcast of CNN's Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer confused America's "number one enemy" with one of America's most popular senators, RAW STORY has learned. CNN apologized for the error, which came after a series of incidents in recent months in which Illinois Democrat Senator Barack Obama was subtly or directly linked with militant Islamic personalities who have been hostile to the United States.

During the Jan. 1 broadcast of Wolf Blitzer's nightly news program, a pre-commercial preview of the show's next segment included a story on the hunt for Al Qaeda's leadership. Over a photo of Osama Bin Laden and his second-in-command Ayman Al-Zawahiri, Blitzer stated, according to the transcript, "Plus, a new year, but the same mission. Will 2007 bring any new changes in the hunt for Osama bin Laden?"

But instead of asking "Where's Osama?" the graphic over the two Islamists read "Where's Obama?" referencing the surname of popular Illinois Democratic Senator Barack Obama.

A later segment of the show, which took up the topic of the 2008 presidential election, did discuss Senator Obama's political prospects if he chooses to run for president.

Blitzer apologized during this morning's coverage of the Gerald Ford funeral.

"I just want to make a correction, an apology, Soledad, for what we did yesterday. In 'The Situation Room,' we had a bad graphic," Blitzer said in a transcript delivered to RAW STORY by CNN's public relations staff. "We were doing a piece on the hunt for Osama Bin Laden in this new year 2007. Unfortunately, instead of saying "where is Osama," it said "where is Obama." I'm going to be calling Senator Barack Obama to make a personal apology."

A CNN employee also told RAW STORY an additional apology was offered by Soledad O'Brien earlier in the morning.

Bloggers rapidly highlighted the faulty graphic last night. At Daily Kos, a diary started by one user included comments from hundreds of users debating whether or not the graphic was constructed deliberately. While some noted the proximity of the program to New Year's Eve might have resulted in sleepy graphic artists at the cable network, others insisted that the 'B' and 'S' keys are far from one another on the keyboard, making a mere typographical error unlikely. Instead, they saw an anti-Obama bias in the news media as the source of the CNN graphic.

A variety of incidents over the course of recent months have created a perception that pundits and news organizations are attempting to link the popular freshman senator and possible presidential candidate with militant Islam.

In the end, the evidence points to mistakes made by a liberal Massachusetts senator and some mainstream media folks. Where's the right- wing conspiracy?


Osama grave: David A Lunde, Kennedy - Obama image: Rushlimbaugh.com

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