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The Kantor "White N----s" Audio -- Amplified, Noise Reduced and DEBUNKED. Listen and comment please.
I spent a little time this afternoon capturing the audio source from the War Room from the longer clip available on YouTube, the clip that Politico linked to this morning. I captured the audio in digital audio editing software, amplified it, then ran noise reduction to lower the background hiss. That's all I did. No adding or enhancing sounds, just working to make the existing sound louder and clearer.
I made a quick video with a couple if text-only slides to present what I believe was said in that scene. I did not use the original video, just the amplified and cleaned audio. You can check it out for yourself on Youtube.
Have a listen and tell me if I'm closer to what was really said than what has been reported. I'll discuss what I think about the varying versions in the comments.
Comments (19)
I would post this on DKos, but I only created an account there this week, so I don't have perms to post anything yet. If someone wants to blog about this elsewhere, feel free.
May 2, 2008 5:11 PM | Reply | Permalink
I don't see how saying that people in Indiana "don't know shit" isn't offensive, and yet everyone is obsessed with his whispered inaudible comments?
May 2, 2008 5:18 PM | Reply | Permalink
I believe he is speaking about the pollsters, to be honest. They are not discussing the voters at all. They are discussing the polls. And I believe he is referring to the poll results for Indiana.
May 2, 2008 5:23 PM | Reply | Permalink
They are reviewing the general election results as they were coming in. Kantor says it doesn't matter if the Clinton campaign wins Indiana, "those people don't know shit."
It seems quite clear to me, though there is no evidence that Kantor made the comment which was earlier attribute to him.
Ben Smith posted "More on that video" which also contains an audio clip that was "extracted and enhanced" by a reader.
http://www.politico.com/blogs/bensmith/0508/More_on_that_video.html
May 2, 2008 5:34 PM | Reply | Permalink
Ahh, thanks for that clarification. I haven't see the movie and thought they were discussing projections. So, the "those people" comment could refer to anyone who had told the campaign Indiana mattered?
May 2, 2008 5:47 PM | Reply | Permalink
I don't think you should've put the transcript on the screen. That's what the initial poster did on Youtube and helped create the groundswell that Kantor said the 'N' word. Listening to your version, it does sound like he says "... how would you like to be doing this well in Texas?"
But when I watch the original, sans subtitles, it sounds like he said "...how would you like to be a worthless white n....r?"
May 2, 2008 5:24 PM | Reply | Permalink
You got punked.
May 2, 2008 5:30 PM | Reply | Permalink
GoooooooBama! We don't need any additional dirt on HRC to get the nomination, thanks. ;-)
May 2, 2008 5:32 PM | Reply | Permalink
Blah, blah, blah...
The good people of Indiana were pissed when the film first came out about Kantor's insult, and this is just a great reminder. You can spin all you want here, you have more and more of the internet, including Daily Kos to try to fool.
http://wonkette.com/386605/mickey-kantor-says-he-didnt-use-n+word
May 2, 2008 5:33 PM | Reply | Permalink
Thanks. Pollsters maybe, IN voters maybe also. The only reference to pollsters is in the IN polling?
It would be offensive to say IN voters are stupid. You're stupid, now can I have your vote? (Illustration only). 16 years ago, but still relevant since is Bill a part of her 2 for 1 argument.
May 2, 2008 5:34 PM | Reply | Permalink
Watch the longer clip and see what they're discussing. It's polling numbers and they hit on Indiana, discuss it for a minute, then move on to Texas. I'm not saying I have THE words they said, but that's what I heard. And now way I heard what's been reported.
I think I'll also analyze the wave form between the two audio sources so I can actually see that the bogus one has been changed.
Frankly, I'm really tired of all these smear efforts. That this one is a hoax is just reprehensible.
May 2, 2008 5:43 PM | Reply | Permalink
Chris Brown has clarified the context upthread. It seems they are not talking about polls.
May 2, 2008 5:47 PM | Reply | Permalink
Thanks. Im just defending the topical nature of what they did say. Looks bad, but it wont get enough play in IN to make a difference. The MSM has buried much clearer anti-HRC stories.
May 3, 2008 2:01 PM | Reply | Permalink
Well this is a bit of a manufactured controversy. Even if he did say that it doesn't even prove anything, as Bubba campaigned as a "good ol' boah" white trash "black candidate" from Arkinsaww, so it was likely even an in-joke in the campaign.
May 2, 2008 5:34 PM | Reply | Permalink
I heard earlier that Kantor came out and apologized. So if it's not true, why did he apologize. Can anyone confirm this as a fact as that it what I heard.
May 2, 2008 5:54 PM | Reply | Permalink
Ok....I swore to my self I would not comment on this again, but will one last time. He said, look at Indiana. 42-40....! (period) I think the next comment was directed at those people in the whitehouse, because I think he was saying "those people are shitten" meaning the incumbents! They are afraid and it doesnt matter if we win or not it's 42-40....!
Pure conjecture on my part...But still dont think any of this is clear! Yes I think the Clinton campaign is somewhat behind it, however I think they did it because the poll about Indian voters being upset from the movie in 92'is true!
The Clinton's campaign are spinning or trying to spin something negative into something more like a wash or confusion! Therefore, I say again, with or without this, Obama is winning. The Supers have no real reason to snatch this from if they want to win in the General! Im happy to let the voting begin on Tuesday, Let the Supers decide the fate of the party, and analyze from there!
May 2, 2008 6:11 PM | Reply | Permalink
Yep, totally agreed. The distribution of something that is a false smear just boils my blood, no matter which candidate is the target. Even the fact-based but tangential mud (and guilt-by-association garbage) shouldn't be our focus. So, I'd be happy to see the stupid "white N's" theory dropped.
May 2, 2008 6:38 PM | Reply | Permalink
I think this white n****r shit is hilarious.
It's really a funny phrase for them to have picked, in light of all the racist crap from Hillary.
Seriously, "white n****r"! WTF?! LOL. I appreciate the irony here.
May 2, 2008 6:54 PM | Reply | Permalink
Yeah right, how about reporting what's really out there....In The Washington Post's review of the film in 1993, critic Desson Howe referred to "a Mickey Kantor comment about the people of Indiana (when it looks as though Clinton's ahead in Dan Quayle's state)."
And a 1995 story in the Sydney Morning Herald said that "As for the good folk of Indiana, they are still recovering from the 1993 documentary War Room, which revealed the grim truth behind the Clinton election campaign. It showed Mr Kantor bursting in on election night to tell other campaign staffers that incredibly, Mr Clinton was doing well even in Republican Indiana. 'And those people are s---!' he declared breathlessly."
May 2, 2008 7:16 PM | Reply | Permalink
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