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Why Do Politicians Do This?
In the age of the Internet, why do politicians continue to tell stories that can be easily checked and proven to be false, or that cast more than a little doubt as to the validity of the story? Hillary did it with her "sniper" story and now Obama is talking about how his uncle liberated Auschwitz...but Auschwitz was actually liberated by the Russians.
Well, e-GAD! Why do politicians feel the need to pump up their resumes by telling blatantly false or factually dubious stories? This is just so intellectually lazy. Fiction can be fun but I prefer the truth, thank you very much.
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Comments (13)
I wish you would attach links to what you're talking about. Otherwise I can check out anything you're asserting.
May 27, 2008 2:42 PM | Reply | Permalink
http://www.cbsnews.com/blogs/2008/05/26/politics/fromtheroad/entry4127479.shtml
May 27, 2008 3:07 PM | Reply | Permalink
The link says: "Obama also spoke about his uncle, who was part of the American brigade that helped to liberate Auschwitz."
Those aren't Obama's words but the reporter's, is there another quote from him. Thanks.
May 27, 2008 5:12 PM | Reply | Permalink
Okay...found it.
Here's Obama's statement:
"The Obama campaign later claimed that the Illinois senator was referring to his great uncle, and that he had in fact confused Auschwitz with the Ohrdruf Concentration Camp. According to the campaign, his great uncle served in the 89th Infantry Division, and the unit was among those to liberate Ohrdruf on April 4, 1945."
May 27, 2008 5:19 PM | Reply | Permalink
I think the simple answer is that this story (like a couple other childhood stories of his and Hillary's) were family stories that got told and retold. Each time it got retold, a little bit of accuracy was lost. It probably never occurred to Obama that this story wasn't true.
That's why both campaigns should have had someone whose full-time job is to look for holes in such stories before they become widely disseminated.
May 27, 2008 4:04 PM | Reply | Permalink
OR it could be that Obama's uncle liberated Buchenwald, Mauthausen, the mini-camp Ordruf...
Point being, it's not like he's fabricating that his uncle liberated a concentration camp, he just had no idea which one it was, and Auschwitz is by far the most famous of the group, so as the story was told he thought it was Auschwitz. Makes his people dumb for not fact-checking his story, but the message remains.
May 27, 2008 4:07 PM | Reply | Permalink
& from what I understand he (the Uncle) is still alive.
Uh-Oh... So it really was just a minor slip of which camp...
May 27, 2008 6:57 PM | Reply | Permalink
At least this post wasn't about Barack's 57 States misstatement. The sports radio station in Boston (WEEI) was ripping on him all morning about it. What a load. Talk about fake scandals.
May 27, 2008 4:38 PM | Reply | Permalink
I presume he's referring to Buchenwald, which was liberated by Patton's 3rd army (although it's worth noting that Buchenwald wasn't liberated by the entire 3rd army so the jury's still out on that).
And I suspect he was referring to his maternal grandfather, not his uncle; otherwise, the family legend must also include the existence of the uncle himself since his mother was an only child.
That being said, he shouldn't be using family legend as grounds for his policy positions. Either his grandfather did spend six months in the attic, or he did not. Maybe Obama could give his grandmother a call.
May 27, 2008 4:40 PM | Reply | Permalink
He was probably refering to a great uncle. I called Uncle Bill my uncle even though he was actualy my grandfather's sister's husband and not from my fathers generation.
May 27, 2008 5:12 PM | Reply | Permalink
If bloggers can fact check in about 15 seconds, why can't Obama's staff?
Using family legends or anecdotes to solidify some type of policy position never, ever works. Remember Gore and the "Union Label" song his Mom supposedly sang to him? What a debacle that was.
This is just pure, pandering idiotic politics. STOP it already!
May 27, 2008 4:45 PM | Reply | Permalink
Not only does this anecdote illustrate the importance of mental health care for returning veterans, which was the point he was making, it also reinforces the fact that his family roots are deeply American. The story could have easily been told to him with the camp's name as Auschwitz since it's the most familiar name of all the camps and I'm sure has been mistakenly used to refer to other camps by many.
But just as the Wright episode taught many that Obama really is a Christian, this little flap could help drive home the idea that Obama is really an American with a proud, patriotic heritage. It's as if the best way to get a message out through the MSM is to hide it in some petty, insignificant slip that can be manufactured into a major controversy.
I wonder if Obama's folks are that clever.
May 27, 2008 9:11 PM | Reply | Permalink
I agree. I also think after just recently talking with the Jewish community in Florida the Auschwitz camp was discussed in several conversations. We've all done it--meaning one thing and saying another. It's an honest misspeak.
May 28, 2008 9:15 AM | Reply | Permalink
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