An Attack That Came Out of the Ether

The Washington Post ^ | June 28, 2008 | Matthew Mosk

[plangent]

The e-mail landed in Danielle Allen's queue one winter morning as she was studying in her office at the Institute for Advanced Study, the renowned haven for some of the nation's most brilliant minds. The missive began: "THIS DEFINITELY WARRANTS LOOKING INTO."

[athelass]

This is what passes for news at the Washington Compost these days? It’s propaganda. You have to get half way through it before you find out the good Dr. is an Obamite. That information should have killed the story. They also equate the McCain “love child” rumor and the Swift Boat Vets even though the first was nothing but a provably false rumor and the other was a group of men with first hand knowledge and the facts who made themselves available to the press. Then it leaves out the fact that Muslims believe that any child born to a Muslim is a Muslim, like being born a Jew. Radical Muslims would consider Obama an apostate because his father was a Muslim. Clearly, his Christian theology is not what anyone would consider mainstream. Personally, I’m much more concerned about the fact that his mother was an atheist and a Marxist! But we can’t talk about the white side of the family, now can we?

[expatguy]

That which everyone is seeking has been secured.

[InterceptPoint]

Personally, I’m much more concerned about the fact that his mother was an atheist and a Marxist!

Hmmmm. Never heard that one before. Is this a new FR rumor (just kidding) or do we actually have some evidence.?

[Bronzewound]

I’m much more concerned about the fact that his mother was an atheist and a Marxist! But we can’t talk about the white side of the family, now can we?

No need to; they're typical. : )

[SVTCobra03]

The only way Obama will be elected POTUS will be if he is the Anti-Christ.

[Bronzewound]

The only way Obama will be elected POTUS will be if he is the Anti-Christ.

I keep waiting for him to show with a blue turban.

[NathanR]

Who says he can't be BOTH a Marxist and a Muslim?

[OKIEDOC]

It also aggressively disregards the fundamental principle of free societies that one be able to debate one's accusers.

Comment:

I guess Allen forgot to mention that all references to who files a Child Protective Service report is anonymous.

The accused never gets to see or hear from the accuser.

If you have a child, then as a parent you are at the mercy of anyone wanting to get even or take revenge with you by filing a child abuse report.

Yesterday, I saw where the liberals want to institute a plan and new laws, requiring all parents to be vetted to see if they comply with proper parenting skills.

I wonder if Miss Misguided Allen thinks the above is a fundamental of a free society (NOT).

[gost2]

Please. Read up. He can be the False Prophet but he can’t be the Anti-Christ.

Unless of course his birth certificate really is totally false and he was actually born somewhere East of Istanbul, West of Iran and Northish of Iraq.

[Carling]

Dr. Allen is engaged in yet another “smear the smearer” witch hunt. I personally don't care if Obama is Christian, Muslim, Jewish, or Wiccan; he is not getting my vote under any circumstance.

I consider this more a shot across the bow by the WaPo toward those who aren't voting for McCain. Obama’s America, with his media and academic sycophants, will be the most restrictive America in terms of free speech that we will see in our lifetimes.

[StAnDeliver]

Somebody beat me to md4bush. Whoever you are, I salute you.

Also, the original piece is obvious satire, in keeping with Barry's campaign.

[A message]

The fact that Dr Allen is an Obama supporter automatically disqualifies her as someone with a brilliant mind.

[DoughtyOne]

I guess I'd be a lot more inclined to believe the hype about this nut job's intelligence, if she didn't stoop to doing the very thing she focuses her wrath on in this article.

But long before this, Allen had been obsessing about the origins of her e-mail at the institute, which is most famous for having been the research home of Albert Einstein. Allen studies the way voters in a democracy gather their information and act on what they learn. She was familiar, of course, with the false rumors of a secret love child that helped sink McCain's White House bid in 2000, and the Swift boat attacks that did the same to Democrat John Kerry in 2004. But the Obama e-mail was on another plane: The use of the Internet made it possible to launch anonymous attacks that could reach millions of voters in weeks or even days.

The idea of unsubstantiated charges whispered through gossip trails has been a tried-and-true political technique since well before Machiavelli's time, Allen said. Traditionally, the best approach to combating them has been to "flush the charges out into the open."

That was easier when the rumors flew off a printing press, or when they appeared -- as with Swift boat attacks against Kerry -- in television ads paid for by a well-funded group of partisans. The attacks on Obama are different, Allen says. The level of anonymity, the technical efficiency, and above all the electoral impact of Internet-based smears all represent a new challenge.

I realize the article is written by Matthew Mosk, but he references Danielle Allen's comment rather extensively.  Make no mistake about it, she is the one making the charges.  And what does Allen do?  She procedes to classify the Swift Boat Vets as the disminators of unsubstantiated charges whispered through gossib trails.  Oh she provides an out for herself by indirectly saying the Swift Boat Vets did this.  She sets up the framework for the types of actions she finds fault with, then later names the Swift Boat Vets as peveyers of the classic tactics.  She states there were false rumors, unsubstantiated charges, whispers, gossip trails, attacks, paid for by a well-funded group of partisians.

I'm sure the Swift Boat Vets would be surprised to know they were well-funded by a group of partisians.  The funds weren't that easy to come buy.  People made donations.  I guess that borders on criminal activity if you're taking a leftist nut-job like Kerry to task.  And evidently it doesn't matter if you have eye witness accounts and government documents to go by.  You're still a very bad person (or group).

If you're a brillant, sharp, nit wit with worthless Ph.Ds., I suppose it's okay to take $500,000 awards and help to drum up tens of millions more so you can wax rhapsodic never holding a real job.  Then when you slander others, it's okay.  Those of us who donate $25 to $100 dollars when we can, are crooks.  Folks who donate $500,000 dollars are just down to earth folks don't you know.

For such a sharp tack, this woman sure has a problem with free speach.  I don't advocate folks trash Obama for things that aren't true, but there are plenty of questions about Obama's youth that are not being answered, at least not to some of our liking.  I've seen videos of some of the schools Obama attended as a kid.  They didn't look like Christian schools to me, but I haven't been there.  I try to keep up on what is going on, but it's tough to do.  I'm not even sure Obama was born a citizen by this point.  And it does seem like that would be an easy enough thing to prove.  Is his birth certificate valid?  Some folks don't seem to think so.

Should we wait for the media to look into this?  Will the media look into this?  We're four months away from the election, and they haven't yet.  Obama is the Democrat nominee, and they haven't yet.

Sssssssssh everyone, don't mention this.  Danielle Allen will provide your name and home town if you do.  It's called intimidation.  It's what the left does best, because it has nothing wholesome to offer.

Personally I'm glad the Swift Boat Vets have her name and home town.  Only I hope they go after her ass.  She should know better than to do what she did here.  She has all those degrees.  She preaches like a champ.  Too bad she's lapsed.

[weegee]

Ayers said he’d wished he’d done more.

I’m sure that the Obama scampaign staff will claim that was taken out of context. And that Ayers was not the political radical that Obama knew.

[Carling]

Wow, I totally forgot about Mosk’s shenanigan's on the Erlich matter. I knew his name sounded familiar.

He seems to have a fascination with FR. I wouldn't be surprised if he spoon-fed this Obama supporter some info and let her do the research on our dime.

[Cacique]

Under Islamic law he is a Muslim. His father was one so therefore he is also. End of story.

[tsmith130]

Allen noticed what she thought was an important pattern

Well just because she thinks it was an important pattern, doesn't necessarily make it so.

[Carling]

But, but...she’s a genius!!! Why bother with putting feet on the street and trying to find the real story when you can just harass people simply for posting on an Internet site?

[romanesq]

“Who says he can’t be BOTH a Marxist and a Muslim? “

Add me to that list. David Horowitz has spoken of the unholy alliance in his book of the same name but that’s a different matter.

Obama is a marxist, and works toward socialism as the core path to get there.
Black Liberation theology is not Christian either. It’s a marxist construct taking the core of Christianity and replacing it with a statist role.

[I_like_good_things_too]

Very interesting post.