I'm measuring my words carefully. Harry Smith has raised the possibility that Barack Obama's life could be in danger.
The Early Show anchor interviewed Ted Kennedy this morning in the wake of his endorsement of Obama yesterday. Smith's initial broaching of the subject of danger to Obama was very cryptic:
HARRY SMITH: When you see that enthusiasm [for Obama] though, and when you see the generational change that seems to be taking place before our eyes, does it make you at all fearful?
Kennedy understandably had no idea what Smith was driving at, and gave an innocuous answer about people's desire for "a new day and a new generation." But Smith's follow-up left no real doubt as to what he had in mind.
SMITH: I just, I think what I was trying to say is, sometimes agents of change end up being targets, as you well know, and that was why I was asking if you were at all fearful of that.
When you tell a man with Ted Kennedy's family history that "you well know" about politicians becoming "targets," the implication is unmistakable.
This time, Kennedy [to his credit I would say] chose to ignore Smith's suggestion, giving another bland answer about Obama being a candidate for change.
What could possibly have possessed Smith to raise this specter?
—Mark Finkelstein is a NewsBusters contributing editor and host of Right Angle. Contact him at mark@gunhill.net.





















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Gee, Harry, don't you worry
Tue, 01/29/2008 - 08:33 ET by motherbeltGee, Harry, don't you worry that you might be putting thoughts into some wacko's head?
You know, like talk radio was blamed for giving Timothy McVeigh the idea that he should do something drastic?
And let's take a guess at who would be blamed, if, God forbid, something were to happen to Obama?
Right wing, republican,
Tue, 01/29/2008 - 08:36 ET by taterRight wing, republican, racist, white male, conservative nutjob President Bush lovers.
...that's just an educated guess.
Do you realize how much it costs to run for office? More than any honest man could afford. -Montgomery Burns
Rush
Tue, 01/29/2008 - 10:27 ET by ThisnThatAfter Rush comments on Harry's remarks, Rush will be blamed, of course. That's correct -- Right wing, rabid conservative talk radio. And Harry will then call for the Fairness Doctrine.
Tell me that's not his plan.
___________________________________
If you can read this, thank a teacher. If it is in English, thank a Soldier. - My barber
Liberals definitely have a
Tue, 01/29/2008 - 10:44 ET by kgLiberals definitely have a strange and different thought process.
agent of regime change
Tue, 01/29/2008 - 10:53 ET by TruthMongerlibs don't want to go here - the assassination talk of late has been from the left about Bush - not from the right regarding Obama:)...
Agent of change? Target of
Tue, 01/29/2008 - 11:52 ET by CoolShadesAgent of change? Target of assassination? Where is Ross Perot when you need
him......
Perot: Now Harry, what kind of a lame-a&# question is that? Did you think
of this question yourself, or did some secret CBS agent crawl up your pant leg
this morning?
What indeed
Tue, 01/29/2008 - 08:35 ET by kbworkmanWhat could possibly have possessed Smith to raise this spectre?
How bout ratings, or the fact that he can do so with no reprocussions?
Or he might just be a jerk (keeping it clean).
You have to wonder if every
Tue, 01/29/2008 - 08:39 ET by motherbeltYou have to wonder if every item about Obama, every interview, is going to begin with this line of thought....
A--hole.
Tue, 01/29/2008 - 08:39 ET by CrashHarry, our records show that you are past due in returning The Catcher in the Rye.
Harry Smith is the worst
Tue, 01/29/2008 - 08:41 ET by DaBirdHarry Smith is the worst type of media talking head. It is ALL emotion based with him. No common sense or facts. It's all in "how does this make me feel?" He and NBC's Ann Curry are in a league of their own when it comes to "emotion based reporting".
Smooth move Harry
Tue, 01/29/2008 - 08:45 ET by Cool ArrowA consummate Liberal takes up a position in a 5th floor window of the Texas School book depository. Harry, are you threatening Teddy?
Another Hate America First (was he an illegal immigrant?) Sirhan Sirhan cuts down Robert Kennedy and Harry is trying to be some ominous oracle.
Yeah, I'd say Harry is giving Teddy a threat rather than a warning.
♣ a seal
Smith's only saying
Tue, 01/29/2008 - 08:54 ET by FAR52what we all have thought as Obama rises to national prominence. Now, I agree, it's probably not the best topic to be discussed on national television.
Let's just hope that Obama drew some really good secret service agents.
Cool -- my immediate
Tue, 01/29/2008 - 13:10 ET by lotrCool -- my immediate thoughts on this also. What planet is this guy from?
JFK, God rest his soul, was murdered by a self-proclaimed Marxist with delusions of grandeur. And his motivation wasn't because JFK was "an agent of change," but rather, because he hated America, the world, and, most of all, himself. But the esteemed Historian Oliver Stone says it was the CIA, FBI, LBJ, Earl Warren, the mob, and other right-wing bastards! So there you have it -- the enlightened journalists get their history from Hollywood filmmakers!
Totally unbelievable. Being
Tue, 01/29/2008 - 08:54 ET by Gary P JacksonTotally unbelievable. Being a lib though, it probably didn't even dawn on this SOB that he could possibly upset Kennedy by bring up the images of his two brother's deaths. Good think Ted was already lit!
What the heck was Harry
Tue, 01/29/2008 - 08:55 ET by Hero SquadWhat the heck was Harry expecting Teddy to say?
"Well, yes, my brothers were assassinated because they were agents of change. That's when I learned a valuable lesson... maintain the status quo."
What a dink. (Harry, I mean.) I'm mad that you made me feel momentarily sorry for Ted Kennedy.
*****
"People only insist that a debate stop when they are afraid of what might be learned if it continues." - George Will
Harry, what are you, a
Tue, 01/29/2008 - 08:59 ET by rimskyHarry, what are you, a racist?
Considering the countless
Tue, 01/29/2008 - 08:59 ET by taterConsidering the countless evidence of people messing around with the Clintons mysteriously dying...I would think Obama would be in danger if he wins.
Do you realize how much it costs to run for office? More than any honest man could afford. -Montgomery Burns
WTF Harry?
Tue, 01/29/2008 - 10:39 ET by landsharkYeah Harry, those (Kennedy) agents of change were targets all right - for a communist and an Israel-hating lunatic. Keep an eye on your side of the aisle, buddy.
That aside; does anyone else find it ironic that the "Agent of Change" is being endorsed by someone who's been in the senate for 45 years? If anyone personifies political heredity, the acquisition of power without merit, and status quo politics, it's Teddy-boy.
fearful of that
Tue, 01/29/2008 - 10:42 ET by rcairflyerSmith is aware of the Clinton body count.
Hill better hope and pray
Tue, 01/29/2008 - 11:28 ET by Right2thePointHill better hope and pray nothing happens to him in that manner because it wont be the lone wacko redneck some will be looking for but the Dixie Mafia especially if it were to occur any where like Marcey Park or looked to be ruled as a suicide.
Post State-of-the-Union Interviews
Tue, 01/29/2008 - 10:51 ET by mustangsallyI managed to catch Obama being interviewed post-speech on a few of the networks (pms-nbc, fox, cnn) and I was shocked at how unprepared these folks were to ask questions of any consequence. Matthews tried to squeeze in a question to Obama about Hillary and the Kennedy endorsement which was easily brushed aside.
Ober-wo-man asked a truly embarrasing question of Obama like: "how does it feel to be the next John Kennedy?". Obama graciously rejected the comparison.
But really, they all seemed to miss a huge moment with Obama to revel in the drama of the Hillary Smackdown ...
At least dirty-Harry got to have his little Kennedy-worship moment ..
These guys remind me of the Chris Farley/Paul McCartney interview, "Remember that time you .... " "That was so cool ...."
Agents of Change
Tue, 01/29/2008 - 10:51 ET by mattmThis is just more Liberal tripe. The only change Obama brings is skin color...he's not leading a movement, like MLK did, or ushering in a new generation of Americanism, like JFK did, or Revitalizing a flailing nation, like Reagan did, or taking on terrorism for the first time like "W" did... These people were real agents of change...
B. Hussein Obama could become one...but he isn't one now, he's just being hyped by a Democrat MSM.
→ Excellent Mark
Tue, 01/29/2008 - 12:38 ET by Cool ArrowYou get your story on Drudge and the server bogs down.
♣ a seal
I'm Having A Flashback
Tue, 01/29/2008 - 12:54 ET by Pickaxe PeteThis whole election is like a Flashback to the 60s. Young people are getting excited and involved in the process, mostly because of a war (too bad they don't have Draft Cards to burn) Ted Kennedy embracing Obama as he did with the young John Kerry. And now they're comparing Obama to JFK. It all reminds me of 1968 when Bobby Kennedy was running. Only this time Bobby looks more like MLK Jr. And Yes!, these were times when hopes and dreams actually seemed possible to achieve.
But I also can't forget that (back then) things ended very badly. So I can't really blame Harry Smith for broaching the subject to Ted Kennedy. But Teddy and others will dismiss those memories just as they 'forget' that, they too, called for Saddam to be removed. They've gone to great lengths to insure that this war in Iraq has become "another Viet Nam". And they'll do whatever it takes to try and relive those days of 'Camelot'. For better or worse, history does tend to repeat itself.
"I'd rather be hit with Dick Cheney's shot than with Bill Clinton's wad"
Try reading Jack Anderson's old columns on Reagan Assassination
Tue, 01/29/2008 - 13:02 ET by Lame CherryThere are things "reporters" talk about off the record and sometimes spill onto the record........and sometimes reporters who owe their million dollar jobs to the cartel come out in public with a message from their bosses telling them on national television what can happen if a candidate does not submit.
Try researching some old Jack Anderson columns when Hinkley shot Reagan. Anderson did an etire series documenting a deep Iranian connection and Hinkley was their manipulated insane shooter. THAT NEVER MADE THE MSM, but Anderson wrote several exposes on the subject.
That is what I meant by the media always knowing more than they ever will say on the record.........and how Harry Smith this morning was informing Kennedy that he had better inform Obama exactly how this game is being played in not rocking the boat as the Kennedy's have 3 assassinated family members who did not play by the cartel's rules.
It is not so much candidates of change which are the problem, but candidates like George Bush who need a communist tossing a grenade at him that doesn't work just to remind him that Iraq is being screwed up and will stop being screwed up by the globalists when they get the oil back.
Dan Rather was standing on the overpass which Kennedy's limo passed under after his head was splattered, the grassy knoll was to his left not 100 yards........and Dan Rather did not see a thing. He did though get a big CBS job out of hick Texas right afterwards.
See that is what goes on with "reporters". They know things and they know when to jump and say things when they get calls to remind people.
Smith reminding Tedward of what everyone knows was not a threat as there is no need to haul out some KKK guy to Martin Luther King him this time. They have Patrick Fitzgerald with his poison indictments just like they have them on Hillary.
The cartel only whacks Vince Foster types now to send messages as they are more sophisticated in using courts to ruin people who do not play the game and submit.
*HIC IACET ARTORIVS REX QVONDAM REXQVE FVTVRVS
Agent of Change?
Tue, 01/29/2008 - 13:59 ET by greenfairieDoes this mean Mary Jo Koepechne and Martha Moxley were agents of change?
gf... Excellent! Great
Tue, 01/29/2008 - 14:02 ET by bigtimergf...
Excellent!
Great memory with Moxley....
"Change"? They would be
Tue, 01/29/2008 - 14:03 ET by rbosque"Change"?
They would be targets if they plan on changing us to a bunch of socialists through incrementalism and gun confiscation.
Kennedy should have said,
Tue, 01/29/2008 - 14:47 ET by DaMavKennedy should have said, "Don't worry, Osama Barack is no Vince Foster." :-)
Congrats, Mark - NB made Drudge
Tue, 01/29/2008 - 16:07 ET by SouthJersey1953This story is linked on the Drudge Report.
(stand by for troll attack)
It's not Right vs. Left; it is Right vs. Wrong
Harry Smith = Fool
Tue, 01/29/2008 - 18:16 ET by Squonkamatic"What could possibly have possessed Smith to raise this specter?"
Let's see, it could possibly be related to how Mr. Smith is
a) a jerk
b) a fool
c) dim witted
d) really wants it to happen so that he gets to cover the most outrageous story of the century after 9/11, and maybe win some sort of pathetic, meaningless prize
I completely agree with El Rushbo when he intones that the mainstream media report what they wish would happen as news. Harry K. Smith is the most reprehensible of the big 3 network news hosts, an idealogue who does not bother to mask his contempt for other strains of thought beneath a veneer of professionalism. Imagine if Don Imus was the one who asked this question, or Rush or Hannity or anybody who isn't a Liberal working for a major news network -- And where the hell is Al Sharpton's denunciation of this sharp left turn from the path of decency?