Thanks for saying this... It has been on my mind since that night, and my own feeling has been overwhelmingly confirmed by the media's coverage since... it's all about Joe Wilson.

Not: "Are for or against Obama's proposals for health care reform?"

Instead: Are you for or against Joe Wilson? Is he a hero or a goat?Did he apologize convincingly ? Did somebody put him up to it? Will he be punished? Yakity yak.

There, now I've added to the distraction. Sigh...

It's been nagging at me, too. There were definitely two shouts - Pelosi and Biden were looking over there already because Pelosi heard the first one. (And, if you want to buy this theory, the first one also had the advantageous effect of making sure any camera in the area would point to the right place.)

Does one really make a spontaneous, impulsive utterance twice?? Doesn't the inappropriateness of your action hit you right away? A dog that bites twice in a row -- even if there are only nanseconds between the first and second bite -- is considered much more dangerous that one that bites, immediately realizes it's done something verboten, and then backs off.

And I disagree -- I think this should get attention. 1) It may give some good faith people who take things at face value reason to look a bit harder at this and other "spontaneous, impulsive" actions that just happen to cause a diversion at an important time, and 2)if there is anything to it, the Rightists (I won't condemn the whole GOP) are put on notice that their days of being able to do this convincingly have ended. They either have to come up with a new diversionary tactic or -- hey, here's a thought! -- engage in sensible discussion of the issues.

Judging from the serious hit on Wilson's poll numbers and from the boost to his Democratic opponent's fundraising, this stunt earns its rightful place in the annals of Jackass.

Speaker Nancy Pelosi has agreed the House should vote next week on scolding Rep. Joe Wilson (R-S.C.) for his outburst during President Barack Obama's speech unless he apologies on the floor of the House.

"There was a violation of the rules of the House," said Pelosi spokesman Brendan Daly. "It needs to be resolved by an apology or a resolution."

A Democrat, likely House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.), will introduce a "resolution of disapproval" Monday or Tuesday unless Wilson formally apologizes on the House floor. The House returns Monday.

Wilson shouted "You lie!" Wednesday night during Obama's speech to a joint
session of Congress, after Obama said his health care plan would not cover
illegal immigrants.

http://thehill.com/homenews/house/58331-dems-lay-plans-to-scold-wilson

OK.

Moving on.

I agree and I think that 'everything' that the many republicans did that night in bad form was intentional. All of it from the blackberry, to walking out, to holding whatever up in the air...

all with the exception of Senator Lindsey Graham's clap-fake out... for which he made amends by complaining publicly the next day about the tone the president used in giving his speech.

They have a plan and are very organized in their idiotic behavior.

Of course it was a stunt. These thugs are experts at this kind of stuff and as far as expecting the media "to finally realize how their inability to escape manipulation is hurting our country. "

It ain't gonna happen. The media business, is all about business and ratings and unfortunately the print media is no better, given the state of newspapers.

Walter Cronkite said it best. It is up to the media to tell us what we need to know - not what they want us to know.!!!!!! That's how it used to be when news was separate and not for profit.

Well, there are stunts and there are stunts. The speech was pretty and progressive. So pretty that the "progressives" in Congress apparently figure that nothing progressive needs to be in the bill. So if you give a progressive speech and deliver a conservative bill, what do we call that?

I didn't think it was spontaneous. But instead of asking Obama if he accepted the phony apology, the media should have asked Wilson if he'd talked to anyone about shouting an invective.

Was it just coincidence that the outburst came from a GOP member where there would be little to no price to pay, for ending a tradition of a few hundred years?

Whether Wilson's outburst was planned or not, what clearly had been planned is a GOP strategy to de-legitimize Obama as the right tried to do with Clinton. The tactic they used on Clinton was to continually attack his character. Slick Willy, White-Water, Vince Foster, Travel-gate, Haircut-gate, etc, Until Clinton finally himself handed the right what the had been searching for.

With Obama, the tactic is to attack his "Americaness". He's a Kenyan, a Muslim, a Marxist, a Terrorist, - he's black! The tactics are different from what they tried on Clinton, but the strategy is the same.

Wilson calling Obama a liar in front of Congress and the nation may signal a shift in GOP tactics with Obama. The, "he-isn't-one-of-us" attacks haven't really worked, they were a failure for the McCain/Palin campaign, and have mostly served to further isolate the GOP by radicalizing their base. Watch to see if character attacks, such as publicly yelling liar to Obama, become an increasingly used tactic. It too will fail as the GOP immolates itself to ashes.

He's a complete snake no question.

He apologizes for being forced to say he's sorry but he's still going to fight for South Carolinians not be be muzzled like that and by the way how come Obama's not apologizing and where is that colored boy's birth certificate?

That's what we've got here. Censure.

But the media aren't charge with presenting facts -- they're charged with pushing Rupert Murdoch's agenda (or GE's, etc.)