Obama Camp: No Apology for Biden Comments

[Genghis_Sean]

11. Local letter to the editor from my hometown paper...

http://blogs.indystar.com/letters/2012/08/17/media-let-democrats-get-away-with-gaffes/?fb_comment_id=fbc_10151172554526508_26070218_10151173545501508#f260dff5bfab2ec

Media let Democrats get away with gaffes

We saw two examples of media bias this week, both relating to Vice President Joe Biden.

First, if Paul Ryan had made the comment, “They’re going to put y’all back in chains,” the media would be crucifying him with charges of racism.

But when Biden says it? Hardly a peep from the news media, other than to ask Obama spokeswoman Stephanie Cutter about it. She answered that we have no problem with those comments. End of discussion.

Second, if Paul Ryan had been standing in Virginia and said, “With you, we can win North Carolina again and if we do, we win the election, if we win you,” can you imagine the feeding frenzy among the media?

Think Dan Quayle. He had a bulls-eye on him for weeks after not knowing how to spell the plural of potato; Ryan would have been the lead story for making the geographical error that Biden made.

But when Biden makes the error? Barely a word. Are you a Republican who doesn’t know there’s an “e” in potatoes? We’ll blast you for weeks. Are you a Democrat who doesn’t know what state you’re in? Don’t sweat it; we got your back.

Ray Walton
Indianapolis


My reply:

Ah, the art of the false equivalency. I suspect the reason African-Americans weren't overly offended by Biden's latest gaffe is because he's built up some credit with his voting record and actions. When you pursue policies that unduly affect Black and poor communities, and then employ racially charged language, people are going to suspect they're related. Similarly, the left didn't place crosshairs or use violent imagery or charged language to express their disapproval of Chik-fil-A, though they did call them out on their bigotry and hypocrisy. One violent act by a crazy whose actions were immediately roundly denounced does not equal years of the kind of vitriol we see spouted regularly at Tea Party rallies or at Fox and Friends. Finally stop with the liberal bias of the media. When a progressive news organization openly donates a million dollars to help elect Democratic governors, then you can talk. No other major media organization has a reputation for lying, smearing, quoting out of context, and withholding information that disproves their own talking points as Fox News does. The faux outrage and false equivalencies ring very hollow indeed.

~ My reply seems to have ended the discussion except for a few conservatives who are flailing about for a response including one who attempts to pass himself off as an African-American to express umbrage, but he unfortunately referred to himself as "a person of color" so he's not very convincing and sounds suspiciously like a redneck down to the horrific grammar and Fox News talking points.