I just came back from the local supermarket. While waiting in line, a blaring tabloid headline caught my eye...rather it punched me in the eye.
OBAMA SEX SCANDAL EXPLODES! was imposed over a page-high photo of Obama in swim trunks.. smaller subheads and photos show the alleged "gay lover" of Obama..
This smearshit took up 2/3 of the front page of the Globe, a weekly trash tabloid.
Take a look for yourself....Globe Smears Obama as Gay
This is directly in the eyeline of millions of voting Americans who never read political blogs, don't pay all that much attention to the facts in the news and often take what they read in these tabloids a the "real truth" behind the story.
And we all know how gay tolerant a lot of average Americans are... and combined with black skin, welll... you get the point.
My next thought was... Shit, Rupert Murdoch has let his attack dogs loose...
WRONG. As I discovered when I got home and checked out the Globe's ownership
Turns out the Globe is owned by American Media, the same folks who bring us the National Enquirer.
It is NOT owned by Rupert Murdoch. Nope, no way.
The owner is a fellow who worked in the Carter and Clinton Administrations,not to mention the Kerry presidential campaign. and is now a very rich founding partner with a firm called Evercore Partners, a boutique investment bank and private equity investment firm.
This gentleman's name is Roger Altman.
Roger Altman also happens to be a contributor to HRC's presidential campaign. Not to mention that he has been contributing to Jay Rockefeller and Evercore's clients include ATT. Wonder if there's any connection with Rocky's protective tendencies for the telcoms in FISA?
What an insidious and nasty way to wage a political campaign. I am sure Her Royal Clintoness will deny any connection with this below the belt smear on Obama. Of course if the tables were turned and Hillary was being smearedand Altman was Obama's friend, HRC and Co. would be screaming bloody murder.
Until this point, I preferred Obama to HRC, but was ready to work my ass off for her if she got the nomination. Now that she has shown her true colors, with her little innuendoes and half truths and letting her tabloid owning friend do the dirty work, I see she is no better than any Repuglican when it comes to matters of being stand-up and straight character.
I no longer trust her to be the President we need to unite this country and bring back our Constitution and our freedoms. She is too willing to stoop to win.
I will be contributing $50/month to Obama from now on.
UPDATE: For the record... I am NOT saying Hillary did this, knew of it or approved it. It is my deep suspicion, backed by the above connections, that Mr. Altman wanted to help his candidate in the Ohio and Texas primaries.
The timing is too coincidental... and the placement of these magazines in the supermarkets is guaranteed to plant the poison seeds in the minds of millions of voters who are still not quite comfortable with the idea of Obama as President of the USA.
It is a tactic straight out of Rove. No connection to the candidate. Allegations trumpeted on the front page that are cleverly couched on the interior article in such a way that a lawsuit will not prevail. This added to the other parts of the smear/whisper campaign against Obama.
The truly sad, tragic, infuriating thing for me is that this same B.S. will be remembered this fall, when/if Obama is running for the real prize... and the Repugs will be all to happy to feed into it.
Mr. Altman is a long time and serious Dem operator... too bad he feels he must use tactics like this to help Hillary, who is a very smart and capable politician, win at any cost.
UPDATE II: Edwards Enquirer Smear Link
Altman Clinton Advisor
Thanks to two of the commenters on the far end of this diary.