My First Encounter with Smear Emails

I typically don't have much interaction with intolerant and/or hardcore Republicans, but today, I was exposed.

My boss is a Democrat who voted for Hillary but has no problem voting for Obama in the fall.  She mentioned to me that her father and people in her family are Republicans and forward negative emails about Obama.

This morning, she forwarded one to me and asked me for a response she can send back to them.

This is the email I received:

----- Original Message -----
From: xxOriginal Forwarderxx
To: Undisclosed-Recipient:;
Sent: Monday, June 09, 2008 2:12 PM
Subject: Fw: FW: FW: (no subject)

I, for one am also speechless - xxOriginal Forwarderxx

> Subject: I'm Speechless
>
>
> Obama Explains National Anthem Stance
> Is this guy crazy or what!
>
>
> On Sat, 22 Mar 2008 18:48:04 -0400, 'LT. Bill
> Ginn' USAF ret forwarded:
>
> Hot on the heels of his explanation for why he rarely
> wears a flag pin, presidential candidate Senator Barack
> Obama was forced to explain why he doesn't follow
> protocol when the National Anthem is played.
>
> [According to the United States Code, Title 36, Chapter 10,
> Sec. 171...... During rendition of the national anthem when
> the flag is displayed, all present except those in uniform
> are expected to stand at attention facing the flag with
> the right hand over the heart.]
>
> 'As I've said about the flag pin, I don't want
> to be perceived as taking sides,' Obama said.
> 'There are a lot of people in the world to whom the American
> flag is a symbol of oppression. And the anthem itself conveys
> a war like message. You know, the bombs bursting in air and all.
> It should be swapped for something less parochial and less
> bellicose. I like the song 'I'd Like to Teach the
> World to Sing.'  If that were our anthem, then I might salute it.'
>

This was the comment that my boss' father wrote on HIS forward of this email to his friends and family:

Lets all hope and work to keep this idiot from becoming the next Pres of the US.

So my boss sayz to me:

Hey Ambboogie,
Below is the kind of propaganda BS that my Dad and his ignorant republican cronies are sending around.  Would you like to pen the educated and accurate response to this one and I'll send it back?
No pressure, just thought you might want a crack at it!
Let me know!
Thanks,
Ambboogie's Boss

So my immediate reaction was to go to Snopes... and then I remembered that the Obama Campaign has penned responses to this kind of thing... so here's what I responded with:

Dear Ambboogie's Boss –

This is a blatantly false rumor that can easily be disproven by going to SNOPES: http://www.snopes.com/...

That exact email was taken from a satirical site that made it up in the name of comedy, but is being forwarded around as if it was the real deal, as Obama never said that.

Here’s the original satire article: http://azconservative.org/... .

Please keep the emails coming, I’d love to continue to disprove incorrect smears. 

Below is the defense that Barack Obama has on his website that you may wish to forward with the information above as well:

Hey,

As the general election process heats up, we're seeing a lot of politics-as-usual campaign tactics in the media and online.

Barack Obama stands for a new kind of politics -- without partisan bickering and smear tactics.

Take a minute to read a little bit about Barack and learn why he is the only candidate who represents change we can believe in:

http://my.barackobama.com/...

Barack was born in Hawaii on August 4th, 1961.  His father, Barack Obama Sr., was born and raised in a small village in Kenya.  His mother, Ann Dunham, grew up in small-town Kansas. Her father worked on oilrigs during the Depression, and then signed up for World War II after Pearl Harbor, where he marched across Europe in Patton's army.

Barack's grandfather taught him to say the Pledge of Allegiance and love his country.

After graduating from high school in Honolulu and attending Columbia University in New York, Barack became a community organizer working with churches on the South Side of Chicago.  He then attended Harvard Law School, where he was the first African American president of the Harvard Law Review.

Barack's patriotism and profound belief in the underlying principles of this country led him to teach Constitutional Law at the University of Chicago.  He also worked as a Civil Rights attorney in Chicago, protecting the voting rights of minority communities.  Eventually, his commitment to the people in his community led him to run for office as an Illinois State Senator where he served for 8 years representing the 13th district.

In the U.S. Senate, as a member of the Veterans' Affairs Committee, Senator Obama has fought to help Illinois veterans get the disability pay they were promised, while working to prepare the VA for the return of the thousands of veterans who will need care after Iraq and Afghanistan.

Barack believes that you show your patriotism by how you treat your fellow Americans and veterans.

In November of 2007, General Tony McPeak, Major General J. Scott Gration, and Secretary of the Navy Richard Danzig wrote an open letter praising Barack's commitment to our troops and to US veterans.  Here's an excerpt:

     "We also admire his strong support for our troops and veterans. As a member of the Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, he has fought to improve care for wounded troops, slash red tape, and reform the disability review process. He also passed legislation to combat homelessness among veterans. As President, he will expand housing vouchers, and launch a new supportive services housing program for at-risk veterans and their families. In addition, he will improve mental health screening and treatment at all levels: from enlistment, to deployment, to reentry into civilian life."

I know there's been a lot of Washington smears going around, so I just wanted to send this message and share an honest portrait of Barack Obama.

Below is some more information about Barack's patriotism.  You can get the facts about Barack and his background by visiting the Obama for America website:

http://my.barackobama.com/...

---

Here's what others have had to say:

ASSOCIATED PRESS: "Obama said, 'My grandfather taught me how to say the Pledge of Allegiance when I was 2...During the Pledge of Allegiance you put your hand over your heart. During the national anthem you sing.'

WASHINGTON POST: "Anonymous attacks by e-mail are, or at least should be, un-American. This particular one was also wrong on the facts: the ceremony in question had nothing to do with the pledge of the allegiance."

ST PETERSBURG TIMES:  "Danzig, McPeak, Gration: 'Barack Obama Is A Patriot.'  'Senator Obama's attackers are peddling lies and smears because they disagree with his strong opposition to the war in Iraq and the rush to war in Iran,' wrote Richard Danzig, secretary of the Navy under President Bill Clinton, and retired Gens. Merrill "Tony" McPeak and J. Scott Gration. 'We have served this nation for decades, and we know a true patriot when we see one. Barack Obama is a patriot.'"

DES MOINES REGISTER: "Still, when a reporter in Iowa asked presidential candidate Barack Obama why he wasn't wearing a pin, it turned into a national news story. The pin, Obama said, 'became a substitute for I think true patriotism, which is speaking out on issues that are of importance to our national security. I decided I won't wear that pin on my chest.' He rightly noted that some people wearing lapel pins don't act very patriotic. Staff from other campaigns criticized him. One political analyst said the absence of the pin might hurt him politically. Reporters started asking other candidates about the whereabouts of their pins. Perhaps in an image-fixated world, a flag secured to one's lapel speaks louder than words or actions. But Obama is right. It shouldn't."

Better yet, I sent this email to the originator of the forward privately:

Greetings,

I received a forward that seems to originate with you regarding Senator Obama's National Anthem Stance.  

I wanted to let you know that you are forwarding an incorrect email smear about Senator Obama, in case you weren't aware.

If you don't believe me, feel free to check out Snopes - http://www.snopes.com/... where it clearly states that that passage was lifted from a satirical political site that completely made up those words.

If you are truly concerned about Senator Obama's patriotism, I recommend you check out this information:
http://my.barackobama.com/... as it may address any concerns you may have.

In this upcoming General Election it's important for all of us to have the facts about the candidates, rather than false rhetoric that may inflame unnecessarily.

Oh yeah, and I forwarded the email to the Barack Obama website.  I don't think that the originator of the email is going to email me back, as I'm more inclined to believe he's purposely sending around false emails for Obama and doesn't really care if he's right or wrong.

If I get any responses, I'll post.