Farrakhan Rears His Ugly Head . . . [UPDATED]

. . . in Barack and Michelle Obama's political and personal history.  In brief, there's a Farrakhan-Rezko connection, and it has to do with the bare-knuckle Chicago-politics defeat of Alice Palmer.

Among other things, rumors are flying about a tape of Michelle and Louie (like Louis Prima and Keely Smith?) doing a "hate whitey" duet. 
















No one over there on the right has seen it yet, but everybody knows someone who knows someone who's seen it.  Writes Larry Johnson at No Quarter (above link), "If Republican poohbahs have their way the tape will remain on ice until October."  Right -- leak word of it now, let the rumor do its corrosive work until October, then there's somehow no tape, but the damage is done.  That would be a far viler strategy than just good old oppo research digging that actually comes up with something.  If the tape exists, and comes out, Obama may be mortally wounded by it and Clinton may be the nominee.  If it doesn't exist, or if the Republican operatives alleged to have it continue to play coy about it -- because they now worry that Clinton could beat McCain?? -- the rumor alone will wound Obama. 

You think they play bare-knuckle politics in Chicago??

Commenter Johnathon Marks (8:42), who knows Johnson personally, thinks this is exactly what's going on:

My old friend, Larry Johnson, knows about manipulating elections from his training with the Central Intelligence Agency. He doesn’t want Obama to win the nomination for whatever reason, and he’s in full propaganda mode to do everything he can to frighten the superdelegates. He claims to have a shocking tape of Michelle Obama ranting in some anti-white diatribe. He promises to produce this tape tomorrow at 9am.

From what I understand, it is a tape of Michelle Obama criticizing the Bush administration. [...]

Why’d [Bush] cut folks off medicaid?
Why’d he let New Orleans drown?
Why’d he do nothing about Jena?
Why’d he put us in Iraq for no reason?

How Larry Johnson wants you to hear it:

Whitie cut folks off medicaid?
Whitie let New Orleans drown?
Whitie do nothing about Jena?
Whitie put us in Iraq for no reason?

(H/T:  The Glittering Eye.)

UPDATE:  This is really interesting:  Ragged Thots says that "candidate's wife committing unpatriotic act" (e.g. Kitty Dukakis burning an American flag, if you can get your brain around that) is a "really weird conservative urban legend that pops up every four years."  Conclusion:  "I'll believe it when I see it. Actually, given how things can be photo-shopped and video altered, I may not even believe it then."

Ragged also points out that "Larry Johnson is a lefty blogger partial to Hillary, so he's caught up in the feverish wish that this might be true. Sorry, Larry, don't hold your breath."

Comments

[Outis]

If there hadn't already been the Jeremiah Wright stuff, and the Pfelger stuff, and the Rezko stuff noone would believe there's any chance of this tape existing. As it is I STILL don't believe it's real, as certainly the Clinton campaign would have dug it up and released it by now. The real damage on this front has already been done to Obama, simply because the rumor no longer sounds completely beyond reason.

[Melinda]

Every presidential election year, part of me says, "Oh God, how does somebody manipulate people like that?"

And the other part says, "Oh wow! How can I manipulate somebody like that?"

[Donna B.]

Where there's smoke, there's fire. Or a smoke bomb.

The smoke bomb is more likely to be taken seriously if there's been a little flame there before.

[PatHMV]

One thing, though. I read Johnson's latest piece today, and he doesn't say that HE has the video, or that he has seen the video, or even that he has talked to people who have seen the people. No, he states that his sources are people who have themselves directly talked to people who have seen the video.

The real bad guys with this rumor are the people who report the "rumor" under the guise that "hey, people are talking about it." The rumor-mongers couldn't succeed without willing patsys to just blithely pass it all along.

[amba]

It's what they now delicately call "low-info voters" who are going to swallow this.

[karen]

Hey,a mba. I know some of those folks- they are out there!

Out of curiousity... would MObama say "Why'd"? Would she more likely say... "Why did he"...? If it were me, i'd say, "Why would he"?

Anyway-- i doubt she'd use Whitey; it's kinda common, isn't it?

[Khaki Elephant]

Those "low-info-voters" are the majority. Wow, is this going to get ugly.

[amba]

Going to get ugly?

But you're right -- it's going to get even uglier.

[karen]

Off Powerline:

"I wrote here about Barack Obama's appearance at a "livestock arena" in my home town of Watertown--a big city by South Dakota standards, where it is hardly necessary to speak in a livestock arena, and where no politician had ever done so prior to Obama."

So, he won't meet w/any General of a war, in which he votes on measures for, etc-- but, is the 1st ever to campaign @a Livestock arena in SD?

What a bunch of Bull (:0)).

[Danny]

But Kitty Dukakis did drink rubbing alcohol and nail polish remover, right? A point I bring up not to make fun of the poor woman's past problems with alchoholism but only to reiterate that if ANY incendiary information or evidence exists about any candidate's wife, it WILL get out there for the world to see and not be hidden away, waiting for the best moment. I am sure that if any tape existed of Michelle Obama and Farrakhan, we'd be seeing it on a constant loop on Fox News and elsewhere.

On the other hand, what if she did share a stage with him at some event in the past—so what? Unless she was standing next to him, Keely Smith style, crooning "You're right, Louis, the wicked Jews ARE promoting homosexuality and DID manipulate the war in Iraq!" I would reserve judgment. I am sick to death of Michelle's critical statements of Bush and our government being misinterpreted as "anti-American." What next—asking the spouses of presidential candidates to sign loyalty oaths?

[Elyas]

I saw this coming a few weeks ago. Attacking a Democratic candidate's wife is a standard part of the (outdated) right-wing playbook.

[Rick Robotham]

"It's that old Black Magic............"

[amba]

Ha ha!

[Charlie (Colorado)]

Larry Johnson's "CIA training" was as an analyst; he was there for a couple of years and has been playing James Bond on the nets ever since.

In other words, his "CIA training" was in writing term papers.

[Ally]

I agree with PatHMV that the blogosphere does significant damage by fanning these flames. It's easy to rationalize talking about it, and of course it is everyone's right to do so. But passing on an absurd rumor, even to discredit it, keeps it alive. There's enough substantive stuff to discuss, and upon which to base your decision, to keep everyone happily occupied. Recycling this scurrilous crap is destructive.

[amba]

Shall I delete this post, then?

[PatHMV]

With this particular issue, the damage has long since been done, so there's no point in erasing anything. Just thoughts for the future. I saw several comments in the relevant thread at PoliGazette where the commenters clearly assumed as true that there was a tape out there, and were arguing over what the tape "really" said, when it hasn't been actually proven that there really is a tape even.

[amba]

The Emperor's New Tape . . . some people so badly want there to be one.

Depressing.