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Limbaugh Falls for Obama Thesis Hoax - But Is In No Rush to Apologize
New York Daily News ^ | Sunday, October 25th 2009 | Michael Saul

Posted on 10/26/2009 12:37:12 PM PDT by nickcarraway

And still no apology.

Even when conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh runs with a fabricated story, he doesn't apologize for the error.

Limbaugh, who seizes on every opportunity to blast Obama, ended up with egg on his face when he read an Internet satire piece that claimed President Obama dissed the Constitution in his college thesis at Columbia University.

A transcript of his Friday broadcast remains Sunday at the top of Limbaugh's web page under the headline, "Obama's Disdain for Constitution: We Know He Thinks It, Don't We? When we discover a hoax, we correct it immediately."

But apologize? You betcha there's none.

Limbaugh sounded off Friday on a supposed report that Time magazine reporter Joe Klein had unearthed Obama's college thesis, titled "Aristocracy Reborn," in which he sounded off on the nation's Founding Fathers and the Constitution and the distribution of wealth.

The only problem - the report was pure fiction.

The original post with the fabricated details about Obama's college thesis was written as a satire on a humor blog. An obscure blogger, Michael Leeden, mistakenly picked it BYup, reporting the satirical post as fact, and then Limbaugh ran with it on his national radio show Friday.

Leeden has since apologized.

Limbaugh? Not so much.

In fact, he says, why the President never said what the hoax claimed, "we know he thinks it."

"So here is who we have as our president of the United States: an anti-constitutionalist man who finds it an obstacle and is finding ways around it on purpose, unconstitutionally," Limbaugh said on his show.

"Much of what he's doing is unconstitutional, and I'm waiting for the lawsuits to be filed by some of these people at some point," Limbaugh added. "How is that hope and change working out for ya, folks?"

Later in the same program, when Limbaugh learned the report was a hoax, he corrected the record, alerting listeners that the quotes from the thesis had been fabricated. But he insisted the fabricated thesis was still in line with what the president thinks.

"So I shout from the mountaintops: 'It was satire!'" Limbaugh said on the program. "But we know he (Obama) thinks it. Good comedy, to be comedy, must contain an element of truth, and we know how he feels about distribution of wealth."

Limbaugh said he has license to go with the fabrication because other members of the media have done this to him. "So, I can say, "I don't care if these quotes are made up," he said. "I know Obama thinks it.

"You know why I know Obama thinks it? Because I've heard him say it."

The fabricated thesis pokes fun at the president's position on economic freedom.

"The so-called Founders did not allow for economic freedom," the satire on Obama's thesis says.

"While political freedom is supposedly a cornerstone of the document, the distribution of wealth is not even mentioned. While many believed that the new Constitution gave them liberty, it instead fitted them with the shackles of hypocrisy."

In a post Friday, Time's Joe Klein says the report is false.

"A report is circulating among the wingnuts that I had a peek at Barack Obama's senior thesis. It is completely false," he wrote. "I've never seen Obama's thesis. I have no idea where this report comes from--but I can assure you that it's complete nonsense."


TOPICS: Culture/Society; Extended News; News/Current Events; Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: 4alltherecords; doublestandard; getrush; lapdogmedia; liesbyomission; limbaugh; media; obama; obamathesis; offtheair; pravdamedia; rushbashing; rushisntworkingtoday; smearcampaign; stalinisttactics; subpoena; subpoena4records; subpoenaall
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1 posted on 10/26/2009 12:37:13 PM PDT by nickcarraway
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To: nickcarraway

Actually, Rush first started out reading it that it was ‘unverified’ and he was checking the source, then, before the show was over, he had already corrected the record that it wasn’t real.

The NY Daily News is playing fast and loose with the facts on this.


2 posted on 10/26/2009 12:38:49 PM PDT by mnehring
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To: nickcarraway

I guess then all the news outlets that smeared Rush on the NFL Rams deal would apologize for lying too, huh?


3 posted on 10/26/2009 12:39:32 PM PDT by b4its2late (Ignorance allows liberalism to prosper.)
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To: nickcarraway

Personally, I like the idea of a professional admitting to and correcting an error over someone saying they are sorry.

Emotion v. substance.

No worries.


4 posted on 10/26/2009 12:39:45 PM PDT by Blueflag (Res ipsa loquitur)
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To: nickcarraway

As I recall, Rush talked about the story, but he did mention that it was not sourced so he was suspicious of it.


5 posted on 10/26/2009 12:40:12 PM PDT by Enterprise (When they come for your guns and ammo, give them the ammo first.)
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To: mnehring

You are correct, I heard him apologize also. The left never gives up with their lies.


6 posted on 10/26/2009 12:40:14 PM PDT by ohiogrammy (12)
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To: mnehring

The NY Daily News isn’t even good for the bottom of the bird cage.


7 posted on 10/26/2009 12:40:25 PM PDT by b4its2late (Ignorance allows liberalism to prosper.)
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To: nickcarraway

They can expect their apology the minute they apologize to Rush for slandering him with unsourced quotes.

Not so funny when the shoe’s on the other food, is it, MSM? Barry?

Of coure, Barry, we’re heard the other crap you’ve spewed about the Constitution — we had no problem believing it.

Psst — by the way, I believe Rush already SAID it was satire on his show - of course, you’re only looking at the one minute clip from Media Matters.


8 posted on 10/26/2009 12:40:27 PM PDT by Right Cal Gal (Ronald Reagan: "our liberal friends....know so much that isn't so...")
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To: nickcarraway
"A report is circulating among the wingnuts that I had a peek at Barack Obama's senior thesis. It is completely false," he wrote. "I've never seen Obama's thesis..."

Lost in this contrived fit of liberal finger-pointing is the fact that no journalist has seen Obama's thesis. Or college transcripts. Or other critical aspects of Obama's life history. Yet they are more inclinded to get after Rush...

9 posted on 10/26/2009 12:40:43 PM PDT by dirtboy
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To: b4its2late

My thoughts as well.

Perhaps Rush should “apologize”,

as soon as he’s “made whole” over the libel that the media perpetrated on him.


10 posted on 10/26/2009 12:40:51 PM PDT by MrB (The only difference between a humanist and a Satanist is that the latter knows who he's working for.)
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To: nickcarraway

But the left kept saying that it was the seriousness of the allegation that was important.


11 posted on 10/26/2009 12:41:03 PM PDT by SpaceBar
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To: nickcarraway

Rush Limbaugh is not on the air Saturday or Sunday and is off today.

When the Left makes up facts, they are “fake but accurate” (National Guard memos, Rush “wikiquotes”...) but when they Left trolls hoaxes to the right, it is THEIR OWN FAULT for not fully vetting the story.

The MSM routinely buries retractions within the paper rather than putting them on the front page.


12 posted on 10/26/2009 12:41:16 PM PDT by a fool in paradise (I refuse to "reduce my carbon footprint" all the while Lenin remains in an airconditioned shrine)
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To: nickcarraway

He got spoofed, and as soon as he knew it, he said so.

Thats more than the frauds on the left have done. They invent quotes that he never said and they don’t even retract them, much less apologize.


13 posted on 10/26/2009 12:42:28 PM PDT by marron
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To: nickcarraway
I don't think Rush was duped. Here was Rush on Friday:

Rush himself on Friday: "However, I have had this happen to me recently. I have had quotes attributed to me that were made up, and when it was pointed out to the media that the quotes were made up, they said, “It doesn’t matter! We know Limbaugh thinks it anyway.”

Money quote. Fake but accurate. What's the frequency Kenneth?

14 posted on 10/26/2009 12:42:34 PM PDT by Servant of the Cross (the Truth will set you free)
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To: mnehring

I haven’t listened to Rush in the past several days, but my guess would be that he was probably engaging in some dry humor and ironic play based on the press’ recent activities in attributing racist remarks to Rush that he never said (in relation to the NFL controversy). The press treats Limbaugh in the same way this article claims that Rush is treating Obama, “We know he thinks it”, so it’s OK to attribute fictional quotes to him.


15 posted on 10/26/2009 12:42:45 PM PDT by Elvina (BHO is doubleplus ungood.)
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To: ohiogrammy

I should also point out that FReepers caught that it was a hoax pretty quickly, mostly because the source is a known bogus one.


16 posted on 10/26/2009 12:42:58 PM PDT by mnehring
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To: mnehring

NY Daily News just doesn’t ‘get it’ at all, do they?


17 posted on 10/26/2009 12:43:30 PM PDT by Eagle Eye (3%)
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To: nickcarraway
Rush should hang out more at FR and develop a FReeper’s sense how to sniff out Onion-like material.
18 posted on 10/26/2009 12:43:43 PM PDT by colorado tanker (Mr. Flyingsaucerballoonboymediawhoreman - this Bud's for you!)
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To: ohiogrammy
You are correct, I heard him apologize also. The left never gives up with their lies.

They are claiming that it is still on the website.

Lies by omission, as the writer is doing here, are lies too.

19 posted on 10/26/2009 12:44:20 PM PDT by a fool in paradise (I refuse to "reduce my carbon footprint" all the while Lenin remains in an airconditioned shrine)
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To: nickcarraway

If media matters/soros or moveon.soros says it it must be true.

Pray for America’s Freedom


20 posted on 10/26/2009 12:45:01 PM PDT by bray (Hope and Corruption)
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