Ex-Newsweek Editor Howard Fineman Counsels Obama on How to Spin Shooting for Political Gain
Within hours of the mass shooting in Arizona, former Newsweek editor Howard Fineman on Saturday was offering Barack Obama tips on how to manipulate the outburst of violence for his political advantage.
Making comparisons to Bill Clinton's response to the Oklahoma City bombing, he lobbied, "...Obama may be able to remind voters of what they like best about him: his sensible demeanor. Amid the din and ferocity of our political culture, he respectfully keeps his voice down, his emotions in check and his mind open."
The piece, which appeared on the left-wing Huffington Post, featured this coldly calculating follow-up: "That is the pitch, at least. The trick is to make it without seeming to be trying to make it. He will, after all, be speaking at a funeral."
Fineman urged Obama to portray himself and the wounded Representative Gabrielle Giffords, who has a lifetime American Conservative Union score of 14 , as thoughtful centrists. He wrote, "He and Giffords think of themselves as fellow travelers on a middle path of civility and compromise in a dangerous world. The president will likely argue that, implicitly if not explicitly."
Fineman wasn't the only one who began measuring this tragedy for politicl gain. The Wall Street Journal's John Fund wrote:
Politico.com quoted one veteran Democratic operative saying that the Obama White House should use the tragedy to score political points. "They need to deftly pin this on the tea partiers," he said. "Just like the Clinton White House deftly pinned the Oklahoma City bombing on the militia and anti-government people." Indeed, at the time of the bombing in 1995, then-Clinton strategist Dick Morris had penned a memo on how the tragedy could lead to a "permanent possible gain" because it "sets up Extremist issue vs. Republicans."
— Scott Whitlock is a news analyst for the Media Research Center. Click here to follow him on Twitter.
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Comments
Sensible Demeanor??????
Submitted by BBallleaper on Mon, 01/10/2011 - 4:54pm.
THEY BRING A KNIFE,...WE'LL BRING A GUN! Yeah, that's sensible!
Exactly!
Submitted by Teri10 on Mon, 01/10/2011 - 9:34pm.
President Obama referred to Republicans in Congress as "hostage takers" and to John Boehner as a "bomb thrower". But that's just fine, apparently, since he's a liberal and they are, of course, above reproach.
His Master's Voice
Submitted by Galvanic on Mon, 01/10/2011 - 4:57pm.
Fineman doesn't realize that the American people are no longer infatuated with the empty rhetoric of Obama, like the MSM is. If Obama does what Fineman suggests, he won't win anyone over.
Left's Attempt to Capitalize on Gifford Assassination Attempt
Submitted by MLGoodell on Mon, 01/10/2011 - 5:04pm.
Saturday, after getting word on my phone, I turned on Fox News to see what was happening. The Fox reporters kept stressing, "It is too early to speculate who did this and why." Too responsible, I thought, so I switched to MSNBC. Sure enough the commentators referred to the earlier "atttack" on Giffords' office because of her health care vote, and speculating whether this was the same person. At MSNBC it was a done deal already. It was a Tea Party member, or a person under the influence of the Tea Party. It was good news for the Dems, let's not let the nuisance of facts get in the way of a good story.
You should read "The Audacity of the Hopelessly Partisan" at http://www.mlgoodell.webs.com
The only way this will be
Submitted by rwesley2.0 on Mon, 01/10/2011 - 5:11pm.
The only way this will be successful is if the WH gags the media. Once this loon opens his trap and begins to explain why he did this, it will contradict what President Obama puts out for his spin on this story.
On second thought, please proceed Mr. President. I can't wait to see you guys at Pennsylvania Ave. proven wrong yet again.
Luckily, Dick Morris is on our side now
Submitted by SickofLibs on Mon, 01/10/2011 - 5:18pm.
/s
Completely shameless and soulless.
Submitted by Phryj1 on Mon, 01/10/2011 - 5:50pm.
Lefties love to brag about how compassionate and empathetic they are, but when you look through the cracks, you find out what they're really all about.
This is unbelieveable! Trying to take political advantage of a shooting THAT KILLED A 9 YEAR OLD GIRL?!? WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH THESE PEOPLE?!? A bunch of innocent people are wounded or dead, AND THE ONLY THING THE LIBERALS ARE THINKING IS "Oh boy! We can use this to tear down the Tea Party and make Obama and the Dems look good!" Disgusting! This is utterly reprehensible, and any Democrat who doesn't condemn the very idea of trying to extract political gain from the shooting should be censured or impeached! And liberal newspeople who have played along with this sick, heartless game should be FIRED!
Progressives seem to be completely averse to facts and logic. Apparently, reality has a conservative bias.
This is about as low as it
Submitted by Soldat44 on Mon, 01/10/2011 - 5:59pm.
This is about as low as it gets...
Never let a tragedy go to waste?
Submitted by Newsbubba on Mon, 01/10/2011 - 6:04pm.
"The pitch." "The trick." "He will, after all, be speaking at a funeral." "Use the tragedy to score political points." "Deftly pin this on the tea partiers." ?????
Do these people ever listen to themselves? How could anyone with a sincere bone in their body, publicly state their most totally insincere battle plan to appear sincere and to maximize the political potential of a multiple shooting?
People are dead, including the nine year old daughter of some poor family, a congresswoman is lying in the hospital after taking a bullet in the head, and these jackasses are devising plans to make the most political hay out of the tragedy, and give the president a plan to appear sincere.
If Barack Hussein Obama is such a genuine, sincere, caring person why do they have to devise these schemes to make him appear so?
They're really beginning to piss me off.
"His sensible
Submitted by Edhenry on Mon, 01/10/2011 - 6:16pm.
"His sensible demeanor"
Like the measured, non prejudicial comments ("stupidly", I recall) regarding Cambridge police as he reminded the world he did not know all the facts.
Have they no shame
Submitted by hkopcf on Tue, 01/11/2011 - 5:58am.
While my wife and I were shedding tears looking at pictures of the 9 yr old girl killed in Az Howard Fineman and the whores of the media were figuring how the Dems could capitalize on the shooting.