While the previous post points out how friendly to business Barack Obama has been, the right wing has concentrated on portraying a centrist such as Obama as a socialist. Of course that was primarily a matter of strategy, as the extremists dominating the Republican Party saw a better chance for success by trying to convince voters that it was actually Obama who was the extremist, regardless of how ridiculous that argument is. Many making that argument realized it was absurd. Bill Sammon, who led the way for the Republican’s media outlet (Fox) to make this claim, has even admitted that it was untrue. Howard Kurtz wrote:
In the final stretch of the 2008 campaign, a Fox News executive repeatedly questioned on the air whether Barack Obama believed in socialism.
Now it turns out he didn’t really believe what he was saying.
Bill Sammon, now the network’s vice president and Washington managing editor, acknowledged the following year that he was just engaging in “mischievous speculation” in raising the charge. In fact, Sammon said he “privately” believed that the socialism allegation was “rather far-fetched.”
These remarks, unearthed by the liberal advocacy group Media Matters, raise the question of whether Sammon, who oversees Washington news coverage for Fox News, was deliberately trying to sabotage the Democratic presidential candidate. He has come under fire before for memos he sent to the network’s staff that have seemed less than fair and balanced.
Sammon’s admission came on a 2009 Mediterranean cruise—cabin rates ranged as high as $37,600 per couple—sponsored by conservative Hillsdale College.
Kurtz went on to discuss how Sammon had Fox distort the news in covering the health care reform debate along with distorting Obama’s economic views.
RT @RonChusid: Fox Exec Admits They Made Up All That Stuff About Obama And Health Care Reform #p2 #p21 #topprog http://bit.ly/i7gji3
RT @RonChusid: Fox Exec Admits They Made Up All That Stuff About Obama And Health Care Reform #p2 #p21 #topprog http://bit.ly/i7gji3
RT @RonChusid: Fox Exec Admits They Made Up All That Stuff About Obama And Health Care Reform #p2 #p21 #topprog http://bit.ly/i7gji3
RT @RonChusid: Fox Exec Admits They Made Up All That Stuff About Obama And Health Care Reform #p2 #p21 #topprog http://bit.ly/i7gji3
RT @RonChusid: Fox Exec Admits They Made Up All That Stuff About Obama And Health Care Reform #p2 #p21 #topprog http://bit.ly/i7gji3
Fox Exec Admits They Made Up All That Stuff About Obama And Health Care Reform #p2 #p21 #topprog http://bit.ly/i7gji3 #tcot #gop #redeye
RT @RonChusid: Fox Exec Admits They Made Up All That Stuff About Obama And Health Care Reform #p2 #p21 #topprog http://bit.ly/i7gji3
RT @BardOfEarth: Fox Exec Admits They Made Up All That Stuff About Obama And Health Care Reform #p2 #p21 #topprog http://bit.ly/i7gji3 # …
RT @RonChusid: Fox Exec Admits They Made Up All That Stuff About Obama And Health Care Reform #p2 #p21 #topprog http://bit.ly/i7gji3
RT @RonChusid: Fox Exec Admits They Made Up All That Stuff About Obama And Health Care Reform #p2 #p21 #topprog http://bit.ly/i7gji3
RT @BardOfEarth: Fox Exec Admits They Made Up All That Stuff About Obama And Health Care Reform #p2 #p21 #topprog http://bit.ly/i7gji3 # …
RT @RonChusid: Fox Exec Admits They Made Up All That Stuff About Obama And Health Care Reform #p2 #p21 #topprog http://bit.ly/i7gji3
RT @RonChusid: Fox Exec Admits They Made Up All That Stuff About Obama And Health Care Reform #p2 #p21 #topprog http://bit.ly/i7gji3
Fox Exec Admits They Made Up All That – Liberal Values: These remarks, unearthed by the liberal advocacy group M… http://bit.ly/hFvMY2
RT @BardOfEarth: Fox Exec Admits They Made Up All That Stuff About Obama And Health Care Reform #p2 #p21 #topprog http://bit.ly/i7gji3 # …
RT @BardOfEarth: Fox Exec Admits They Made Up All That Stuff About Obama And Health Care Reform #p2 #p21 #topprog http://bit.ly/i7gji3 # …
RT @BardOfEarth: Fox Exec Admits They Made Up All That Stuff About Obama And Health Care Reform #p2 #p21 #topprog http://bit.ly/i7gji3 # …
RT @BardOfEarth: Fox Exec Admits They Made Up All That Stuff About Obama And Health Care Reform #p2 #p21 #topprog http://bit.ly/i7gji3 # …
Fox Exec Admits They Made Up All That Stuff About Obama And Health Care Reform – http://liberalvaluesblog.com/2011/03/29/15656/ @WeGotED
Non-surprise of the year: conservatives simply make things up about Obama http://liberalvaluesblog.com/2011/03/29/15656/
Fox?? NO!!! Fox Exec Admits They Made Up All That Stuff About Obama And Health Care Reform http://t.co/oVRX94o
RT @norskedoc: Fox?? NO!!! Fox Exec Admits They Made Up All That Stuff About Obama And Health Care Reform http://t.co/oVRX94o
RT @norskedoc: Fox?? NO!!! Fox Exec Admits They Made Up All That Stuff About Obama And Health Care Reform http://t.co/oVRX94o
RT @norskedoc: Fox?? NO!!! Fox Exec Admits They Made Up All That Stuff About Obama And Health Care Reform http://t.co/oVRX94o
RT @norskedoc: Fox?? NO!!! Fox Exec Admits They Made Up All That Stuff About Obama And Health Care Reform http://t.co/oVRX94o