Of course it is all bullshit, but do you think these types of email and blog campaigns will work? I like that the Obama camp has learned to slam every one down as they come along - having learned from the Kerry campaign that ignoring bullshit lies does not make them go away.
Still, when email #1,582 hits people’s in-boxes, claiming Obama is Idi Amin’s love-child with Jane Fonda and he was secretly born in Hanoi, do you think people are going to wonder if it is true too?
Does the culmination of hundreds of slur emails eventually put doubt into people’s minds?
I don’t think they are very effective, since, mostly, they are ‘preaching to the choir’ – they tend to circulate among like-minded people. So they are sent by someone who is a republican, and already plans not to vote for Obama, to his friends, who are also mostly republican, and also not planning on voting for Obama.
Net effect: nobody’s mind is changed about Obama, just reinforces the existing mindset of the recipients.
I agree…or certainly hope so but think it is likely.
Take the recent one on “Obama’s Baby Momma”. You have the whole PUMA PAC thing running with many Clinton supporters claiming sexism and the DNC being unfair and “stealing” the candidacy from Clinton. But, as the Republicans show themselves to be even more sexist and willing to take cheap shots and play unfair I think a lot of those people will decide the Republicans are the ones that need punishing more than anyone else.
As t-bonham@scc.net noted these tend to work for people who already hate Obama and look for any straw to grasp to reinforce their notions of him no matter how outrageous (for instance people who will proclaim him a Muslim and in the next breath tell you he is bad because of his 20 year association with Rev. Wright and the place where his children were baptized and never notice inherent contradiction there).
But then I guess you never know in this country where Swiftboat and McCain’s fathering of black children out of wedlock (he didn’t) were used to good effect. I can only hope that a genuine distaste for Rovian tactics has settled in.
There’s smears in every campaign, on both sides. It won’t be any different this time either. Hell, 60 Minutes used forged documents and offered to coordinate their smear with the Democrats’ “Fortunate Son” campaign. Did that work?
I think you’re underestimating these emails, or overestimating the intelligence of the American people.
Last week a friend (who isn’t normally known for political activity) sent out one of those Obama-smearing emails (the “Muslim” one) to me and about 30 other people. I was a little astonished that he did it, so I emailed him “Do you really want to go down this road?”
I then had about 10 people, including the sender, email me back with responses like “What’s wrong with that?” and “What do you mean?” And these are college-educated people with Internet access. They’re just not that political or interested in current events. If they hadn’t asked me what was wrong with that email, they would’ve gone on believing it, and it would’ve affected their vote, more than likely.
It’s easy for us to assume that people will “discover the truth,” but the reality is most people don’t read sites like this, or research “facts” they receive in their inbox, or go much beyond the surface when it comes to politicians.
They might if Obama weren’t proactively trashing them. All you have to do now, if you get one of those e-mails, is return a link to http://www.FightTheSmears.com. There, the idiots can have a look at his birth certificate and whatnot.
This is why I am deeply cynical about American voters. I want to throw things at the TV anytime I hear any candidate remark on how intelligent and discerning the American voter is because I know it is not true and I suspect they know it to (although I understand none of them could say otherwise).
In the above you have the perfect example. Intelligent (or at least educated) people buying into the “Obama is a Muslim” shtick. Did they totally miss the Rev. Wright scandal? They’d have to be living under a rock if they did. Rubbing all of two brain cells together should set off your bullshit meter on the Muslim part. Unless they think Obama is some Muslim version of The Manchurian Candidate. :rolleyes:
“The best argument against democracy is a five-minute conversation with the average voter.” - Winston Churchill
Yeah…I like the one where he supposedly was not born in the US. Funny thing is John McCain actually was born outside of the US (he was born in Panama on a military base…no issue there whatsoever just kinda funny I think given which way the mudslinging goes). Not to mention the constitution requires a candidate to be a natural-born citizen of the US to be eligible. Maybe Obama just snuck in and hoped nobody would notice. :rolleyes:
Yeah, they can work. I recall the day after the West Virginia primary, The Daily Show ran clips of interviews with voters who appeared to take it as established and not even disputed fact that Obama is a Muslim.
Obama’s new approach is to fight back rather than ignoring the smears.
Probably if they claimed that as a fact (would seem a clear disregard for the truth I think).
However they sidestep it by reporting the controversy. E.g. “There many people talking about Obama being raised as a Muslim.” That keeps them out of court as there are people claiming this and the media is just reporting on that.
Yes. Legally an action for defamation can be predicated on anything that damages the plaintiff’s reputation. It doesn’t matter whether the “damage to reputation” is rational; I could sue you for saying I’m gay, and the court could award me damages without implying gayness is bad.
I didn’t think it needed it’s own thread, but if you disagree, feel free. It’s deeply disgusting and yet horribly funny that someone thought this was a good idea, (assuming it wasn’t racist, which I heavily doubt).
From long personal experience I can say with confidence that this is the case. I have often made the mistake in assuming that if someone is educated and intelligent, well spoken, well read, etc., that they are also asute about what is going on in the world, in the news in general and in politics. Nope, not the case. And that is the educated, intelligent ones!