CNN's Amy Holmes falsely accused Hillary Clinton of fostering doubt about Obama's religion
SUMMARY: On Larry King Live, Amy Holmes falsely asserted that "Hillary Clinton herself said she wasn't -- she thought he [Sen. Barack Obama] was Christian, as far as she knew." In fact, during the 60 Minutes interview to which Holmes was referring, when Clinton was asked whether she "believe[d] that Senator Obama is a Muslim," the first three words of her response were, "Of course not."
On the August 13 edition of CNN's Larry King Live, CNN political contributor and Republican strategist Amy Holmes accused Sen. Hillary Clinton of fostering doubt about Sen. Barack Obama's religion. Holmes mischaracterized Clinton's response during a March 2 60 Minutes interview to the question of whether Clinton "believe[d] that Senator Obama is a Muslim," falsely asserting that "Hillary Clinton herself said she wasn't -- she thought he was Christian, as far as she knew." As Media Matters for America has repeatedly documented, contrary to Holmes' claim, Clinton's first three words in response to the question were, "Of course not." Indeed, during the interview with CBS correspondent Steve Kroft, Clinton equated the false rumors about Obama's religion to false rumors about her: "Look, I have been the target of so many ridiculous rumors. I have a great deal of sympathy for anybody who gets, you know, smeared with the kind of rumors that go on all the time."
From the March 2 edition of CBS' 60 Minutes:
KROFT: You don't believe that Senator Obama is a Muslim?
CLINTON: Of course not. I mean, that's -- you know, there is no basis for that. You know, I take him on the basis of what he says. And, you know, there isn't any reason to doubt that.
KROFT: And you said you'd take Senator Obama at his word that he's not a Muslim.
CLINTON: Right. Right.
KROFT: You don't believe that he's a Muslim --
CLINTON: No. No. Why would I? There's no --
KROFT: -- or implying, right?
CLINTON: No, there is nothing to base that on, as far as I know.
KROFT: It's just scurrilous --
CLINTON: Look, I have been the target of so many ridiculous rumors. I have a great deal of sympathy for anybody who gets, you know, smeared with the kind of rumors that go on all the time.
From the August 13 edition of CNN's Larry King Live:
HOLMES: I agree with Peter [Beinart, Council on Foreign Relations senior fellow]. I don't think Barack Obama should give this any more attention, any more oxygen. But I would like to say that so much of this criticism in this book is being laid at the feet of the GOP, as if this is a conservative -- concerted conservative smear machine, which it's not. And let's remember, back in the Democratic primary, it was Bill Clinton questioning Barack Obama's love of country, when he said that he thought if McCain and Hillary ran that you would have two candidates who loved their country and were devoted to their country. So I would like to, you know, kind of put this out on the table, that a lot of this was coming from Democrats, long before this [Jerome] Corsi put out this book.
BEINART: Well, but Mary Matalin is the head of this publishing house.
LARRY KING (host): Yeah. Mary Matalin is.
HOLMES: I understand that. I understand that. But so much of the attacks on this is that this is only the GOP and that it's somehow coordinated and concerted, when, in fact, in the Democratic primary, we saw left-wing blogs attacking Barack Obama on religion. Hillary Clinton herself said she wasn't -- she thought he was Christian, as far as she knew.
watch out-- I can hear the Hillary haters starting up, who will claim that the "as far as I know" means that she and Bill were deviously plotting to destroy the Democratic Party for their own wanton, evil gain.
Isn't that what we heard here a few months ago, from the pathological Obama supporters? So guys, don't even start.
Snoopy, my clueless friend: How and when did Clinton exactly "start" the "paint him as foreign" strategy? Where did you see or read that?
To: Senator Clinton
From Mark Penn
Date: March 19, 2007
"Lack of American roots":
All of these articles about his boyhood in Indonesia and his life in Hawaii are geared towards showing his background is diverse, multicultural and putting that in a new light.
Save it for 2050.
It also exposes a very strong weakness for him—his roots to basic American values and culture are at best limited. I cannot imagine America electing a president during a time of war who is not at his center fundamentally American in his thinking and in his values. He told the people of NH yesterday he has a Kansas accent because his mother was from there. His mother lived in many states as far as we can tell—but this is an example of the nonsense he uses to cover this up.
How we could give some life to this contrast without turning negative:
Every speech should contain the line you were born in the middle of America to the middle class in the middle of the last century. And talk about the basic bargain as about the deeply American values you grew up with, learned as a child and that drive you today. Values of fairness, compassion, responsibility, giving back.
Let’s explicitly own ‘American’ in our programs, the speeches and the values. He doesn’t. Make this a new American Century, the American Strategic Energy Fund. Let’s use our logo to make some flags we can give out. Let’s add flag symbols to the backgrounds.
http://www.theatlantic.com/a/green-penn-3-19-07.mhtml
Clinton started the "paint him as foreign" garbage.
That's just nonsense.
Please quit whatever your smokin', it's making your brain soft. No Liberals or Democrats ever accused Sen. Clinton of doing any such thing. The whole BS "Obama is a Muslin" thing started with the RIGHT, was perpetuated with the RIGHT and will die with the RIGHT. The only people focusing on "as far as I know" are YOU IDIOTS ON THE RIGHT! That reporter just kept asking the question until Sen. Clinton answered it in a way that left a 1% chance for doubt / misinterpration. How the hell does "Of course not" fail to close the issue?! She answered the damn question - MOVE ON. But that 1% chance was enough for you brain-damaged die-hards on the right to make it look like it was one of US spreading the rumor, as opposed to YOU.
SO DON'T START. WE'RE NOT BITING. WE'RE NOT FALLING FOR IT. ONLY YOUR BRAIN-ADDLED VOTER BASE WILL BUY THAT KIND OF CRAP!
(And why do ALL THE TROLLS keep adding random numbers to their handles? No one else does that!)
(And why do ALL THE TROLLS keep adding random numbers to their handles? No one else does that!) Sorry to paint you as a RW'er. I got a bit foamy at the mouth there. But this is RW nonsense. It has little to nothing to do with Obama. We shouldn't fall for this kind of BS.
Eddie, is your post directed at me? If so, I'd be happy to respond.
After saying "NO" 9 times in various ways.
Kroft couldn't let it lie. He had to badger on and as a result of his efforts, he delivered 5 magical words to the legions of right-wing professional liars on a sliver platter. And it is these words that the right-wing slime machine has clung to while conveniently casting aside Hillary's initial repeated and vehement denials.
She said "as far as I know" after stating that there was nothing on which to base any belief that Obama was a Muslim.
Do I need to parse that some more? As far as she was aware, there was NOTHING on which to base the belief that Obama was a Muslim. There MIGHT be something out there that would lend a spark of possibility to the idea that Obama was a Muslim, but if it was out there, she was not aware of it. Up to the point where she was asked if Obama was a Muslim, she had not been knowledgable of any information justifying that consideration. For example, if there was a guy in New Jersey who saw Obama coming out of a mosque wearing a burqa, Hillary had not been notified of such an event. If Obama took his oath of office on the Koran, Hillary was not privvy to that information. If the report card from the madrassa where Obama learned bomb-making slipped out of his pocket when he kneeled down to face Mecca during a Senate hearing, Hillary didn't see it.
Need I go on?
The Pro-Hillary spin is showing. Anyone who watched the 60 Minutes with anything close to intellectual honest would have to admit her response would create doubt with anyone not familiar with the facts.
I'd like to see the Hillary deadenders go to the top of the Denver convention center and do a mass swan dive. it would be great for ratings AND put the nonsense to rest.
it was likely hillary knew she would be asked such a question, because it was a topic of heavy conversation at the time. if she had some plot in mind to sow doubt, her first answer would have been something far more ambiguous. it wasn't. people who think she was trying to create some controversy have to bend over backwards to make it look so.
The only thing Hillary is qualified to say is what her opinion is, what her judgment is resulting from all she's heard and seen regarding Obama. She answered that in no uncertain terms, including the "as far as I know" part.
The only doubt that leaves is doubt that is going to remain no matter what she says, because she is not an omniscient Oracle.
I'd like to see the Hillary deadenders go to the top of the Denver convention center and do a mass swan dive. it would be great for ratings AND put the nonsense to rest.
This kind of inanity is the reason why many Hillary supporters are not going to be motivated enough to go to the polls. Some of the Obama supporters are B.'s worst enemies-- and he knows it.
What happens if he picks Hillary for VP? You guys gonna go crazy?
And not going to the polls is the inanity the Clinton supporters must get over. Your candidate lost, the party didn't. It was a fair nomination process. Where's the beef? You'd rather have the Republicans win to prove your point? I don't think that Hilary would want that? Do you?
Carlilb, this election isn't about personalities. It is about the future of this country. War, energy and the Supreme Court all hang in the balance. And remember, McCain may talk about a one term presidency. GREAT...two lame duck Presidents in a row. That should scare the hell out of every American...When a politician is not running for re-election, he cares less about anything and this McCain guy is a war-monger.
So, for the Clinton supporters who are just plain mad about losing, do your thing. For those who want things to be different, why not give it a try? Or, vote for Bob Barr to massage your egos.
Religion is just an opinion. I'm not a big Hillary fan, but to press her to confirm somebody else's opinion is ridiculous. The most anyone can say about another's opinion is "as far as I know".
I can't believe shit like this is still baffling people.
Larry King's Carnival Debate
I find this kind of debate,used by Larry King, Chris Matthews, Dan Abrams and a host of others, very unproductive. Two or more people going back and forth like exampled on the video tends to give the impression facts associated with the argument is just an opinion to be debated. Yet, this is the new form of “fair and balanced” the conservative media has come up with. This comes close to circus entertainment .
This current form of contrived fairness has not been evaluated enough by officials given the task of overseeing this form of news. This is why Swift boating John Kerry was so popular because it was set up and presented in this form for debate. It takes away the fact that the truths involving the central issue is sorely lacking.
I am not suggesting we take away someone’s right to speak. I am saying we should not give credit to something which has not earned it. Corsi lied in his first book and everybody knows it. Why does he get a stage like he's been getting? Somehow, many would feel they could not get away with lying there way into legitimacy. In affect, this is what this kind of back and forth formate promotes.
Joseph (vote in my online presidential poll here)
You Are Ok
There is nothing wrong with your knowledge base. You are absolutely right. If you can't reach the same conclusion you and I came up with after looking at the video, something is wrong with your brain.
Also what you are seeing in this instance is the power of a Republican persuasion tactic. This is the very essence of their Party attack strategy. Persuasion and ignorance has served this Party well. When you can convince someone a freedom vote means you should vote to cut your medical benefits, you are playing on the ignorance on a grand scale.
Joseph