# Who looks worse? Breitbart or Obama WH? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [July 21, 2010, 11:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-looks-worse-breitbart-or-obama-wh/547448 "2010-07-21T11:20:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 11
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2010, 3:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-looks-worse-breitbart-or-obama-wh/547448/201 "2010-07-23T03:19:45Z")
> [@samclem](#): > > . > If you have evidence that the WH was consulted on this before Vilsack acted, post it. [Posted](http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2010/07/21/white-house-says-review-needed-of-sherrod-firing/?fbid=tTF7_q7nTXx). **A White House official told CNN Tuesday night that President Obama had been fully briefed after Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack’s original decision and fully supported that decision. Vilsack says he’s now willing to conduct a thorough review and consider additional facts.** ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2010, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-looks-worse-breitbart-or-obama-wh/547448/202 "2010-07-23T03:32:11Z")
> [@Magiver](#): > > I made a clear point regarding her choice of words. You are free to discuss the point without being a jerk about it. I wasn’t the person who fired her. I never promoted the idea of firing her. I didn’t support the video in any way. > > I think she needs counseling and a review of her past dealings with the public. You’ll note that she was not offered her old job back. Did you ever ask yourself why? No but since you are making stuff up, i am sure you can tell me why. They offered her a promotion by the way. They panicked and it was wrong. They could have waited it out a little, but the right wing would have raised a huge fuss over the false video. They would have plastered the story all over until it was too late to diffuse it. You have to move fast to stop lies. If they waited a few days, they would never get the story out. The righties would never believe that they were led astray again. You sound like Brietbart. They just confronted him with what he did and he said it was not his fault. it was Obama s fault because he fired her. I don’t suppose if he showed the whole film, he would not have had any story at all. If Brietbart did not create a false impression about what she said, if he did not dishonedstly edit the tape, there would have been no story at all. He created an entirely false impression. I find that dishonest. Brietbart is also a party in the ACORN/OKeefe video lies. Do any righties understand that the ACORN story was false? I doubt it but It took root, just like this one would have. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2010, 4:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-looks-worse-breitbart-or-obama-wh/547448/203 "2010-07-23T04:03:05Z")
> [@gonzomax](#): > > No but since you are making stuff up, i am sure you can tell me why. > They offered her a promotion by the way. > They panicked and it was wrong. They could have waited it out a little, but the right wing would have raised a huge fuss over the false video. One would think a President of the United States would exercise a little better judgment. Nice of them to offer her a new job after running her through this fiasco. ---
**Author:** ![Bosstone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@Bosstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosstone)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2010, 5:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-looks-worse-breitbart-or-obama-wh/547448/204 "2010-07-23T05:04:36Z")
> [@samclem](#): > > If you have evidence that the WH was consulted on this **before** Vilsack acted, post it. > [@Magiver](#): > > A White House official told CNN Tuesday night that President Obama had been fully briefed **after** Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack’s original decision and fully supported that decision. Vilsack says he’s now willing to conduct a thorough review and consider additional facts. Prepositions. Terrifying little beasts. Obama still shouldn’t have given the action his approval, but I just love the direct contradiction here. ---
**Author:** ![cosmosdan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a6a055/32.png) [@cosmosdan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cosmosdan)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2010, 5:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-looks-worse-breitbart-or-obama-wh/547448/205 "2010-07-23T05:23:12Z")
> [@Magiver](#): > > One would think a President of the United States would exercise a little better judgment. > > Nice of them to offer her a new job after running her through this fiasco. Not every decision made within the various departments of an administration are made directly by the president. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2010, 5:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-looks-worse-breitbart-or-obama-wh/547448/206 "2010-07-23T05:52:58Z")
> [@Bosstone](#): > > Prepositions. Terrifying little beasts. > > Obama still shouldn’t have given the action his approval, but I just love the direct contradiction here. Uh huh. If that subtle difference helps you sleep at night. The President didn’t fire her directly, he just fully supported the decision to do it. Personally, I’m wondering how a President is viewed by world leaders when he can’t handle the simplest of problems. If someone like Breitbart can punk him what is going to happen when a real crisis comes along? ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2010, 6:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-looks-worse-breitbart-or-obama-wh/547448/207 "2010-07-23T06:01:52Z")
> [@cosmosdan](#): > > Not every decision made within the various departments of an administration are made directly by the president. But this one was directly fed to him and he supported it. What’s your point? ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2010, 8:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-looks-worse-breitbart-or-obama-wh/547448/208 "2010-07-23T08:07:45Z")
I’m going to cut Obama some slack on this one. I fully understand how people can get a bit shell-shocked by collapsing ratings and rush to get out in front of another bad PR story. But more importantly, he’s fully owned up to the mistake, apologized to Sherrod, offered her her job back, etc. That was exactly the right thing to so. The quality of the apology erases the offense, as far as I’m concerned. ---
**Author:** ![E-Sabbath](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e19adc/32.png) [@E-Sabbath](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-Sabbath)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2010, 10:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-looks-worse-breitbart-or-obama-wh/547448/209 "2010-07-23T10:15:59Z")
> [@Magiver](#): > > [Posted](http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2010/07/21/white-house-says-review-needed-of-sherrod-firing/?fbid=tTF7_q7nTXx). > > **A White House official told CNN Tuesday night that President Obama had been fully briefed after Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack’s original decision and fully supported that decision. Vilsack says he’s now willing to conduct a thorough review and consider additional facts.** After is not before. I know things like that. ---
**Author:** ![Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/8edcca/32.png) [@Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hentor_the_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2010, 11:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-looks-worse-breitbart-or-obama-wh/547448/210 "2010-07-23T11:56:21Z")
> [@Sam\_Stone](#): > > I’m going to cut Obama some slack on this one. I fully understand how people can get a bit shell-shocked by collapsing ratings and rush to get out in front of another bad PR story. > > But more importantly, he’s fully owned up to the mistake, apologized to Sherrod, offered her her job back, etc. That was exactly the right thing to so. The quality of the apology erases the offense, as far as I’m concerned. And the Breitbart Award winner for the Best Partisan Attempt to Backhandedly Weasel the Misleading Fox News Narrative into a “Supportive” Comment goes to **Sam Stone** for his “Obama Ratings Collapse” post. Congratulations, **Sam**! Here’s the pertinent pages regarding Obama’s job performance ratings from Polling [Report.com](http://Report.com): > **[Obama: Gallup tracking](https://www.pollingreport.com/obama_job1.htm)** > **[Obama: Job Ratings](https://www.pollingreport.com/obama_job.htm#ObamaJob)** The figure for the 2010 data is exceptionally stable. Even if you look at the Gallup polling alone, the average daily tracker for the month of January 2010 was 49. The average for July 2010 was 46. A seven-month “collapse” of three points. Furthermore the rating from July 1 was 46 compared to the rating on July 19 of … 46! It’s almost like Wile E. Coyote standing on a puff of smoke on the wrong side of the edge of a cliff! Obama’s going to hold up a sign that says “Uh oh!” and the next shot will be an overhead view of his plummeting straight to the canyon floor below. Yes, you can see why they are in full-fledged panic mode! Thanks again for your consistent analysis, **Sam**. ---
**Author:** ![cosmosdan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a6a055/32.png) [@cosmosdan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cosmosdan)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2010, 12:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-looks-worse-breitbart-or-obama-wh/547448/211 "2010-07-23T12:19:47Z")
> [@Magiver](#): > > But this one was directly fed to him and he supported it. What’s your point? Glad you asked. My point is that this is being treated as if Obama made the decision to fire her and that doesn’t appear to be the case. The head of a department briefed him about a decision he had already made. Don’t you suppose he presented the decision in a way to make it appear to be the right one. IOW he probably didn’t say that he hadn’t done a thorough investigation and wasn’t really sure. The worst thing Obama appears to have done is to trust what a department head was telling him in a meeting. Having worked in companies that have tiers of management that seems normal to me. I have good reasons to question Obama’s judgment and motives because of things like Afghanistan and Guantanamo. This is barely a blip on the radar. Twisting this around to question his overall judgment is political hackery that gains no traction or respect with me. What I’d like to see is for the average conservative to say enough is enough concerning this repeated scummy form of politics. If conservatives want to have an honest disagreement about the very real and serious problems we face then let’s do that. We need it. I welcome it. What disturbs me is the embrace of these kinds of repeated lies and obvious distortion of the facts. This is reflected in this post. > [@](#): > > Originally Posted by **magellan01** > > Breitbart screwed up. He aired a video he had without first finding the entire video to judge context. No he didn’t just screw up. He intentionally distorted the truth to hurt Obama through hurting that innocent woman and fanning racial fears. It’s a theme that’s been used since Obama entered the race. The pattern repeats itself and conservatives keep dancing to the tune these liars play. They must like the song. That disturbs me very much. When conservatives as a group, be they republicans, Tea Party, or independents, reject this kind of slander with clear condemnation I’ll breath a sigh of relief. ---
**Author:** ![cosmosdan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a6a055/32.png) [@cosmosdan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cosmosdan)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2010, 12:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-looks-worse-breitbart-or-obama-wh/547448/212 "2010-07-23T12:21:26Z")
> [@E-Sabbath](#): > > After is not before. I know things like that. Yes oh wise Oracle. But how? ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2010, 12:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-looks-worse-breitbart-or-obama-wh/547448/213 "2010-07-23T12:42:34Z")
> [@cosmosdan](#): > > Yes oh wise Oracle. But how? Clearly he’s been watching that bastion of liberal propaganda, _Sesame Street_. ---
**Author:** ![Merijeek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f05b48/32.png) [@Merijeek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merijeek)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2010, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-looks-worse-breitbart-or-obama-wh/547448/214 "2010-07-23T13:44:52Z")
> [@Gyrate](#): > > Clearly he’s been watching that bastion of liberal propaganda, _Sesame Street_. Bunch of white people and brown people living on the same street! Terrifying, it is! It’s all to pave the way for the one-world-government. The one where whites are a minority! -Joe ---
**Author:** ![joebuck20](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/74df32/32.png) [@joebuck20](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/joebuck20)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2010, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-looks-worse-breitbart-or-obama-wh/547448/215 "2010-07-23T13:53:05Z")
> [@Merijeek](#): > > Bunch of white people and brown people living on the same street! Terrifying, it is! It’s all to pave the way for the one-world-government. The one where whites are a minority! > > -Joe Not to mention green people and blue people. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2010, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-looks-worse-breitbart-or-obama-wh/547448/216 "2010-07-23T14:06:30Z")
> [@joebuck20](#): > > Not to mention green people and blue people. And giant, obese yellow feathered people! ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2010, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-looks-worse-breitbart-or-obama-wh/547448/217 "2010-07-23T14:23:26Z")
> [@jayjay](#): > > And giant, obese yellow feathered people! Coming to this country, laying their anchor eggs… ---
**Author:** ![magellan01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@magellan01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/magellan01)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2010, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-looks-worse-breitbart-or-obama-wh/547448/218 "2010-07-23T15:07:29Z")
> [@cosmosdan](#): > > No he didn’t just screw up. He intentionally distorted the truth to hurt Obama through hurting that innocent woman and fanning racial fears. Do you have any proof of this? Any proof that he had, or had seen the longer video. He says he did not. ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2010, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-looks-worse-breitbart-or-obama-wh/547448/219 "2010-07-23T15:18:13Z")
> [@magellan01](#): > > Do you have any proof of this? Any proof that he had, or had seen the longer video. He says he did not. Well then it must be so. I guess he did not see the whole videos on ACORN either. Poor guy is really getting abused ,isn’t he? Brietbart is scum and he is getting what he deserves, at last. He does not have enough class to apologize ,while every body else involved actually feels badly for the damage they caused to Sharrod. He blames the lefties for causing all the problems. He is so misunderstood. ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2010, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-looks-worse-breitbart-or-obama-wh/547448/220 "2010-07-23T15:18:25Z")
> [@magellan01](#): > > Do you have any proof of this? Any proof that he had, or had seen the longer video. He says he did not. I suppose if Breitbart walked into your house soaking wet and told you it was raining, you’d believe him? I sure wouldn’t. The guy lies as naturally as he breathes. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-looks-worse-breitbart-or-obama-wh/547448.md?page=10) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-looks-worse-breitbart-or-obama-wh/547448.md?page=12)