Stuck here in the middle of the silly season for news, it's not alarming to find morning headlines that are shocking. Granted there are the various developing stories that tell of tragedy, poor weather or drama. After all, this is summertime and folks are in vacation mode.
News of the presidential election has even taken a break after a weekend full of barbs and lashes. Things are likely to heat up again when, on Thursday, presumptive Democratic candidate Barak Obama will address Germans in Berlin.
Here comes the mud-slinging.
The folks at GOP.com, a product of the RNC Research Department and paid for by the Republican National Committee, released on Wednesday a statement about a statement. That is, they quoted from an article in Politico, that kinda says Obama is "Designed By a Committee of Europeans."
Really?
There are several things that matter here, but we only need to focus on one main point. And what matters has nothing to do with any European lobby supported by the DNC to get Obama elected.
Here's the quote from GOP.com, under the headline "They Said It!: U.S. Editor Of The Daily Telegraph [UK] On Obama" :
"Toby Harnden, U.S. editor of the Daily Telegraph, told Politico that it's almost as if the overwhelmingly popular Obama had been 'designed by a committee of Europeans' with the goal of creating their ideal American presidential candidate."There is nothing wrong with this quote, which actually is featured in an article by Politico writer Michael Calderone from July 22.
In "All Obama, All the Time," Calderone spins a comparison/contrast that is framed by a largely held belief across several European cities: the presumptive Democratic candidate equals the next president of the U.S. But, where context misses its mark comes from the next paragraph:
"As a result of the electorate’s disapproval of Bush, Europeans largely view Obama as a shoo-in. Wishful thinking has become conventional wisdom."OK, OK, so even Flingjore has now fallen into the trap and gone and read something that is mere propaganda. Although this may be a verity, the trouble with the presentation still exists.
The message, if taken as a whole, misses the point. From this seat, what GOP.com is alluding to: while the Obama camp is setting the table for a speech in Berlin as epic as those by former presidents Reagan and John F. Kennedy, Europeans as a whole may not like what they hear on Thursday. It seems raising this point actually helps the RNC's cause and remains something that the GOP propagandists could really make work in their favor. But, why use a misleading headline drawn from a quote that doesn't say this?
Now, in the design of pulling quotes to help represent a position, one usually pulls the most relevant material. This can be done with a certain value of shock as well. The third paragraph of the Politico article makes the point very clear:
"[That said,] Obama’s policy positions actually put him to the right of mainstream opinion in the European capitals of Berlin, Paris and London. Indeed, Obama’s positions on hot-button issues like gun ownership, the death penalty and increased troops in Afghanistan could slightly tarnish the nearly perfect media persona."Remind me again where the editor of the Daily Telegraph (the U.S. edition) falls into this story? It has to be the value, and the sexiness, of such a quote to pull and play so big.
Enough mud-slinging from this corner for now. It's just really hard to imagine how a great perspective by Michael Calderone, drawn from a nice scene-setter piece in Politico, could be ruined instead of being used more effectively. Why not just send out a press release that says "read today's Politico story" to find out more about our position on Obama's trip through Europe?
Keep in mind that quoted material must to be set up and then put into context. Otherwise, the intended message could have unintended consequences, thereby leading to speculation, like various news outlets, who might potentially put out an inaccurate message. Sphere: Related Content
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