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Brent Bozell: Obama Lies About His Mother and the TV Networks Yawn
CNS News ^ | 7/21/11 | L. Brent Bozell III

Posted on 07/21/2011 7:07:53 AM PDT by markomalley

On July 3, 1999, The New York Times exposed Al Gore for lying about his family in a national convention speech as vice president of the United States. In 1996, Gore had moved the Democrats to tears by claiming that when his sister Nancy died of cancer in 1984, he vowed then and there to oppose the tobacco industry. How courageous – and completely untrue.

The Times found Gore campaigned in 1988 boasting of his tobacco-farming prowess. So he lied through his teeth. Network coverage from ABC, CBS, or NBC on this whopper, even as Gore prepared a presidential run? Zero.

On July 13, 2011, this cycle repeated itself, when The New York Times reported on another national Democrat lying about a death in the family in his convention address, presidential debates, just about everywhere. That was Barack Obama in 2008 claiming his mother Ann Dunham died of cancer battling with insurance companies all the way through. Dramatic? Yes. But an utter lie. Network coverage of this new jaw-dropper on ABC, CBS, and NBC? Also zip, zilch, zero.

How pathetic. This is the same set of networks that devote multiple heavy-breathing stories to “correcting” non-candidate Sarah Palin’s historical knowledge of Paul Revere, or Michele Bachmann’s location for the birthplace of John Wayne. But Obama lies about his mother – a shameless, pandering tug using his mother to get socialized health care, and they’re mute!

In a story published on page 16, reporter Kevin Sack explained “The White House on Wednesday declined to challenge an account in a new book” that Obama “mischaracterized a central anecdote about his mother’s deathbed dispute with her insurance company.” The headline said the book “challenges” the Obama story, and in the story they used the word “mischaracterized.” It was a whole lot more than that.

The new book, by Times reporter Janny Scott, is titled “A Singular Woman: The Untold Story of Barack Obama’s Mother.” Scott quoted from correspondence from Ann Dunham to assert that the 1995 dispute concerned a Cigna disability insurance policy. Her actual health insurer had reimbursed most of her medical expenses without argument. The Times noted that although candidate Obama often suggested that Dunham “was denied health coverage because of a pre-existing condition, it appears from her correspondence that she was only denied disability coverage.”

Obama lied to an entire stadium of supporters in his August 28, 2008 convention speech. "As someone who watched my mother argue with insurance companies while she lay in bed dying of cancer,” he announced, “I will make certain those companies stop discriminating against those who are sick and need care the most.”

The same line was declared in the October 7, 2008 presidential debate, carried by all the networks like the convention speech. "For my mother to die of cancer at the age of 53 and have to spend the last months of her life in a hospital room, arguing with insurance companies because they're saying that this may be a preexisting condition and they don't have to pay her treatment, there's something fundamentally wrong about that." (Afterward, the networks brought their outrage to the slight that John McCain had described Obama as “that one.” They put on focus-group liberals who found the remark “picky and childish.”)

Obama also mentioned her in a 2007 campaign TV ad: “In those last painful months, she was more worried about paying her medical bills than getting well. I hear stories like hers every day.”

The Times went to liberal Harvard professor Robert Blendon to pronounce the obvious: if Obama’s phony storyline had been discovered during the 2008 campaign “people would have considered it a significant error.” Or not an error – a lie. Blendon added: “I just took for granted that it was a pre-existing condition health insurance issue.”

So did the entire American news media.

There’s one last interesting tidbit in the Times. Obama’s mother wrote to Cigna after they declined her claims that she had turned the case over to “my son and attorney, Barack Obama.” Scott could not determine from the documents she viewed whether Obama had ever written to Cigna on his mother’s behalf. Isn’t it interesting in all of Obama’s rhetoric about his mother’s insurance battles, he always left himself out of the storyline? Did this lawyer son ever get involved?

In the Bush years, media liberals (and even Joe Scarborough) suggested George W. Bush was dangerously stupid because he was so “intellectually incurious.” Our media are so incurious about the truth behind Obama’s often-mythical life story, one might ask “Are they dangerously stupid?”


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Culture/Society; Editorial; Government
KEYWORDS: lie; lying; obama; obamalying
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To: curiosity

So you never mocked me for calling Obama a liar? [Check your posting history—you’ve done it repeatedly.]

You never told me I don’t even know what marxism is? [Check your posting history—you did it.]

You haven’t repeatedly defended Obama from the charge of marxist? [Check your posting history—it’s all there.]

So roughly how many lies to you think Obama has told? Two? Three? Half a dozen?

You just can’t post to me without calling me stupid, can you? You know who accuses conservatives of being incapable of comprehending nuances?

I think you do.


21 posted on 07/21/2011 10:28:08 AM PDT by Fantasywriter
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To: Fantasywriter
I really have no desire to explain to you, for the 20th time, the difference between an outright lie and an misrepresentation of the truth. You obviously can't or don't want to get it.

Also, if you still can't comprehent the difference between a Marxist and a European-style social democrat, then there's really no point in me discussing anything with you.

A while back, you asked to me never to direct a post to you or ping you, and I honored that request, until you posted something to me. I now ask the same of you: never direct another post to me again, and please never ping me again. I have no desire to converse with you, as you are a complete waste of time.

22 posted on 07/21/2011 10:56:38 AM PDT by curiosity
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To: curiosity

My questions were simple, honest and straightforward. You answered none of them, but simply leveled more accusations re: what you consider my stupidity. What is conservative about that kind of answer?

Since the exchange you mentioned, I’ve watched you mock other FReepers that are good conservatives, and whom I hold in high regard. That is why I pinged you.

That, and the fact that the owner of this site has since that time deemed Obama a marxist. I remain curious as to why you’ve mocked me for the same charge, but leave him alone.

Any insights to offer?


23 posted on 07/21/2011 11:01:47 AM PDT by Fantasywriter
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To: Fantasywriter
Any insights to offer?

Not to you, since you are obviously unwilling or incapable of comprehending them. This is my last post to you. Never ping me again.

24 posted on 07/21/2011 11:10:35 AM PDT by curiosity
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To: curiosity

I can see why you refuse to comment. Telling me I’m stupid for calling Obama a marxist can be done without repercussion. Telling JR he’s ignorant for saying the same thing will probably get you zotted.

Bid difference, isn’t it?


25 posted on 07/21/2011 11:14:12 AM PDT by Fantasywriter
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To: markomalley
This is the same set of networks that devote multiple heavy-breathing stories to “correcting” non-candidate Sarah Palin’s historical knowledge of Paul Revere, or Michele Bachmann’s location for the birthplace of John Wayne. But Obama lies about his mother – a shameless, pandering tug using his mother to get socialized health care, and they’re mute!

My question is: Is it liberal elite guilt toward blacks, media bias or group-think hatred of conservatives that's causing this one?

26 posted on 07/21/2011 11:18:53 AM PDT by GOPJ (Honk if I'm paying for your car, your mortgage, and your big, fat Greek bailout - mewzilla)
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To: GOPJ
My question is: Is it liberal elite guilt toward blacks, media bias or group-think hatred of conservatives that's causing this one?

I know you are not addressing me, but I just couldn't resist giving you an answer:

All of the above!

27 posted on 07/21/2011 4:34:17 PM PDT by Gabz (Democrats for Voldemort.)
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To: Gabz
All of the above!

Ding, ding, ding - we have a winnah!

28 posted on 07/22/2011 10:14:10 AM PDT by GOPJ (Honk if I'm paying for your car, your mortgage, and your big, fat Greek bailout - mewzilla)
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To: Fantasywriter

Curiosity is a troll. A romneybot that was pissed Romney didn’t get the nomination in 2008. Rather then vote for McCain, he or she voted for Mr. I Won. Since 12/2008, curiosity has done nothing on FR except try to defend the O Jug ears birth certificate, SS#, and everything else.... in other words, an OBOT. Past posts tell the real story.


29 posted on 08/16/2011 5:49:13 PM PDT by mojitojoe ( 1400 years of existence & Islam has 2 main accomplishments, psychotic violence and goat curry)
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To: curiosity; LucyT; Las Vegas Ron; Brown Deer; onyx; little jeremiah; MHGinTN; Red Steel; ...
Still, outright lies by Obama, though the occur from time to time, aren't all that common _________________________________ Photobucket
30 posted on 08/16/2011 6:09:10 PM PDT by mojitojoe ( 1400 years of existence & Islam has 2 main accomplishments, psychotic violence and goat curry)
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To: curiosity

Omc—is it true? Did you really support Romney? Why on earth? What did you like about him?

Surely you didn’t actually vote for Obama. You couldn’t possibly have been that deluded, could you?—say it ain’t so!

[Okay, actually I believe it. Given how fiercely you defended Obama here for quite a while, it seems immanently likely you did indeed vote for him. That explains so much!]


31 posted on 08/16/2011 6:53:05 PM PDT by Fantasywriter
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To: mojitojoe; Fantasywriter

The real question is why such trolls are allowed on FR. For years.


32 posted on 08/16/2011 7:35:41 PM PDT by little jeremiah (Courage is not simply one of the virtues, but the form of every virtue at the testing point. CSLewis)
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To: little jeremiah

I am scratching my head. Some mysteries are too deep for me. I wish FR allowed us to give out awards to certain posters. For the Most Arrogant and Condescending Award, curiosity would have no rivals. None.


33 posted on 08/16/2011 7:43:12 PM PDT by Fantasywriter
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To: little jeremiah

Because they fly well below the radar, post on threads where they think they won’t be noticed, and tell people that bust them to never post to them again and hope that they comply.


34 posted on 08/16/2011 8:07:21 PM PDT by mojitojoe ( 1400 years of existence & Islam has 2 main accomplishments, psychotic violence and goat curry)
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