Obama bribed Reverend Wright to shut up

WildCat said:
Nope. Scheiner says he was interviewed by Klein. He just says that part was lifted from another interview.
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This is just sad, WildCat.

Scheiner took umbrage with other aspects of his portrayal in Klein's book, saying that he was never overtly critical about the president on a personal level and that he only took issue with his policies. (At one point, he is quoted as calling Obama "a great speaker and a lousy communicator," and Klein writes that Scheiner expressed "hurt" that he wasn't invited to Obama's inauguration.)

"I didn't say anything about competence or about character," said Scheiner. "In fact, I repeated how much I admired him personally. I said my whole disagreement is with how he handled the Affordable Care Act."
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Let's even look at that again, with boldface, in case you feel like denying reality some more.

Scheiner took umbrage with other aspects of his portrayal in Klein's book, saying that he was never overtly critical about the president on a personal level and that he only took issue with his policies. (At one point, he is quoted as calling Obama "a great speaker and a lousy communicator," and Klein writes that Scheiner expressed "hurt" that he wasn't invited to Obama's inauguration.)

"I didn't say anything about competence or about character," said Scheiner. "In fact, I repeated how much I admired him personally. I said my whole disagreement is with how he handled the Affordable Care Act."
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Want to see it in yellow highlights, WildCat?
 
WildCat said:
So has Wright denied saying it to Klein, as Scheiner did?
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Has it been 48 hours yet?

I've been waiting to see if any statement would be forthcoming from Wright, but since it hasn't I'm going to concede that Wright probably did say these things. If others want to keep arguing the point, that's up to them.

So, I'm ready to move on to the next question: Does it matter?

I don't think it does. It's not illegal (it doesn't meet the legal definition of bribery). It's kind of like when Ambercrombie & Fitch offered "The Situation" from Jersey Shore money to not wear their clothes.
 
Puppycow said:
Has it been 48 hours yet?

I've been waiting to see if any statement would be forthcoming from Wright, but since it hasn't I'm going to concede that Wright probably did say these things. If others want to keep arguing the point, that's up to them.

So, I'm ready to move on to the next question: Does it matter?

I don't think it does. It's not illegal (it doesn't meet the legal definition of bribery). It's kind of like when Ambercrombie & Fitch offered "The Situation" from Jersey Shore money to not wear their clothes.
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Unless the bribe could be traced back to the President's staff, no, I don't think it matters. And I don't think that's at all likely.

Even if everyone named is describing what happened accurately, unless the e-mail has been verified as coming from the unnamed "friend" of Obama it's completely meaningless. The thing wasn't even sent directly to Wright!

As for the question of legality, I think that would matter less than the ethical lapse if it could be established that Obama was involved.
 
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Babbylonian said:
Even if everyone named is describing what happened accurately, unless the e-mail has been verified as coming from the unnamed "friend" of Obama it's completely meaningless. The thing wasn't even sent directly to Wright!
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That's a good point. I hadn't thought of that, but re-reading it:

“Who sent the e-mail?” I asked Wright.
“It was from one of Barack’s closest friends.”
“He offered you money?”
“Not directly,” Wright said. “He sent the offer to one of the members of the church, who sent it to me.”
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The author of the mysterious e-mail might not be who he claimed to be?

Neither is it known whether the "friend" was acting on his own or at the behest of Obama or his campaign.
 
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Neally said:
I said A man is known by the company he keeps. BO was a member of Wright's church for 20+ years before the political controversy. You tell me, did Wright suddenly take a radical bent which drove BO out, or did BO have no problem with Wright's radical rantings but only left when political expediency demanded it?
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The latter, and it wouldn't have been unreasonable for voters to keep an eye peeled on Obama for radical tendencies, based on this association.

Except now we have 3.5 years of Obama governing as a centrist (many would say right-leaning centrist), making Wright entirely irrelevant in 2012.
 
varwoche said:
Except now we have 3.5 years of Obama governing as a centrist (many would say right-leaning centrist), making Wright entirely irrelevant in 2012.
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Is this a fallacy by assertion just like the Tea Parties asserting that he is a socialist, or do have some sort of evidence, as we had in judging his voting record?
 
varwoche said:
The latter, and it wouldn't have been unreasonable for voters to keep an eye peeled on Obama for radical tendencies, based on this association.

Except now we have 3.5 years of Obama governing as a centrist (many would say right-leaning centrist), making Wright entirely irrelevant in 2012.
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Thing is that these guys all think it is a grand conspiracy - Obama acts centrist NOW, but as soon as there is a Democratic majority in both houses, they expect Obama to unmask as an Islamo-Fascist-Commie-Socialist-Gay-Freedom-Hater, and then they all get sent to re-education camps.
 
BenBurch said:
Thing is that these guys all think it is a grand conspiracy - Obama acts centrist NOW, but as soon as there is a Democratic majority in both houses, they expect Obama to unmask as an Islamo-Fascist-Commie-Socialist-Gay-Freedom-Hater, and then they all get sent to re-education camps.
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After he takes away everyone's guns.
 
applecorped said:
They should have made that offer to Obama.
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Actually, Obama generally wears HartMarx suits.

Look up the history of that company some time.

I exist only because of it; Mr. Shaffner rescued my maternal grandmother from post WW-1 Germany by offering her a job and sending her the money to come to America. He was the first to recognize the garment worker's union, and was an exemplary employer by all accounts.
 
Neally said:
Is this a fallacy by assertion just like the Tea Parties asserting that he is a socialist, or do have some sort of evidence, as we had in judging his voting record?
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It's a long list.

  • Didn't get rid of faith based initiatives.
  • Didn't get rid of the Patriot act.
  • Took 3 years to end the Iraq war.
  • Kills innocent civilians with drones.
  • Didn't end the Afghanistan war.
  • Adopted many republican policies including his health care program Cap and Trade, etc..
  • Kept or appointed Wall Street and/or Banking insiders to key positions.
  • Has done nothing on gun control.
That's not the work of a liberal. Not even close. There is little argument that the guy is at most a moderate democrat. Ezra Klein argues that Obama is a 1990s Republican but I tend to think he's more a moderate Democrat. Obama's scoring by DW-Nominate puts Obama at -0.399 which is pretty average. Hardly a left leaning ideologue.
 
Neally said:
A single example proves nothing. On the other hand multiple examples that show a pattern is not a fallacy. Known socialists have endorsed and been attracted to BO and his politics. I've cited numerous examples in another thread. Likewise BO has been attracted to them and their politics. Clearly there is an affinity and mutual attraction. The fact that BO ranked #1 as most liberal senator in 2007 confirms this.
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Neally said:
Is this a fallacy by assertion just like the Tea Parties asserting that he is a socialist, or do have some sort of evidence, as we had in judging his voting record?
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Sigh, you asked for it. I went to a Hippy college Neally so I know what kind of positions someone on the actual far left takes. Here let me break it down for you.

What Obama did | What someone on the far left would have done
Did not end the Patriot Act|Totally would have pushed for its repeal
Kept to the Bush negotiated timeline for Iraq withdrawal|The troops come home immediately where they are laid off because...
Took the war to Al Qaeda with a vengeance|...pacifism conquers all so the military would have been essentially disbanded
Ordered a Seal strike on Osama in Pakistan|Thinks Osama is likely just misunderstood and can be reasoned with over coffee
Pushed for cap & trade|would have made carbon polluting industries illegal entirely
Bailed out the major banks to prevent a financial apocalypse|Banks would be a thing of the past
Pushed for individual mandate health insurance|total universal healthcare with no private equivalent
Has not pushed for an expansion of gun control|Would have tried very hard to make all guns illegal
Seems to be a devoted Christian|Believes crystals can heal your chi
 
ANTPogo said:
This is just sad, WildCat.



Let's even look at that again, with boldface, in case you feel like denying reality some more.



Want to see it in yellow highlights, WildCat?
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Did you forget to include Klein's made-up quotes about character? :confused:
 
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