The New York Time has a new hit piece out on Obama, questioning his sincerity in making bigger charity donations after 2004.
The article by Leslie Wayne leads with this paragraph:
Senator Barack Obama and his wife, Michelle, sharply increased their charitable donations as Mr. Obama began to run for president and the family’s income increased from book sales, according to tax returns that the couple released on Tuesday.
I find the lead in funny because it contains two possible reasons the Obamas increased their charity giving. He was running for president or he made more money.
Which do you think the NYT's reporter went with?
Well, before we answer that question lets look at what the article says about the increase in the Obama family income.
The bulk of that increased income was from royalties from Mr. Obama’s books, including $1.2 million earned in 2005 from the re-release of "Dreams From My Father" and $551,000 in 2006 from "The Audacity of Hope."
In 2004, before going to the Senate, the Obamas reported $207,647 in taxable income. That compared with an overall taxable income of $1.6 million in 2005 and $983,826 in 2006. As a United States senator, Mr. Obama earned $157,082 in 2006.
WOW, the Obamas made a hell of a lot more money in 2005 and 2006. But instead of praising the Obamas for giving more as their income increased and this being a NYT's article, we'll take that virtue and turn it into a vice. If insincerity can be a vice.
Their charitable giving only went up when it looked like he was campaigning for the presidential office," said Paul L. Caron, a professor at the University of Cincinnati College of Law and editor of the TaxProf Blog, which examines tax questions and has posted the returns.
Presto! Barack Obama is insincere and can't be trusted!
It is equally as plausible that his charitable giving went up BECAUSE HE MADE MORE MONEY!
BTW, lets hit the wife too:
Ms. Obama’s income from the University of Chicago Hospitals, where she was a top administrator until going on leave, more than doubled when Mr. Obama was elected to the Senate in 2004. The couple’s 2004 return showed Mrs. Obama earning $115,889 from the university. Her income rose to $317,000 the next year and was $274,000 in 2006.
Without any context or information as to why Ms. Obama's income went up, the article leaves us with the impression that it only went up because her husband was elected to the Senate. How is that for sexism!
You can email the author here to tell you what you think of her reporting.
Cheers,
Saz.