As I write this, my first diary, I do so with the normal anxiety associated with sharing personal thoughts in a public setting. Yesterday the 40th anniversary of Dr. King’s "murder" and a news story hit me in a way that forces me to move beyond my personal comfort and post, please be kind.
"A Time To Break Silence"
How my opinion was shaped by a(nother) lie.
As a "good democrat" I have tried to advocate without demonizing, largely remaining silent. I have maintained relative silence because I believe it will take a unified party to achieve the big goals but today it’s time for me to break my silence.
Beyond the fold, how a fish story leads to war.
As residents of Ohio, when my wife and I heard the story outlining the conditons of Trina Bachtel's death it moved us to tears. We both know such tragedies exist but to hear Ms. Bachtel’s story told in Ohio, by Sen. Clinton, so close to home it began to shape my opinion both on the Sen. Clinton and perhaps the need for mandated health care, as she suggest. By telling this tragic story Sen. Clinton had succeeded in beginning the process of shaping my opinion, her healthcare mandate moved up in my priorities and in my evaluation of the candidates.
Sadly, (and possibly expected) as reported yesterday but largely ignored by the MSM, Sen. Clinton’s story was almost a complete fabrication.
Today in the NY Times we get more detail.
http://www.nytimes.com/...
"The woman, Trina Bachtel, did die last August, two weeks after her baby boy was stillborn at O’Bleness Memorial Hospital in Athens, Ohio. But hospital administrators said Friday that Ms. Bachtel was under the care of an obstetrics practice affiliated with the hospital, that she was never refused treatment and that she was, in fact, insured."
The story of the tragic death of Trina Bachtel achieved Sen. Clinton’s goal short term but at a cost, a high cost. The story made me start to think about our leaders and the power they wield to shape public opinion and how they must use that power. The consideration does not bode well for Sen. Clinton.
Shaping public opinion:
Recently while appearing on the Chris Mathews "Hard Ball Tour" Sen. Obama was asked a question regarding this very topic.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/...
"MATTHEWS: That was the warm-up. How do we know that you’re tough enough to take the heat from the right, from the radio address (ph), from the right-wing radio, from the right-wing columnists, if you begin to pull our troops out of Iraq and they start screaming, Who lost Iraq?
How do we know you’re as tough as Dick Cheney to ignore public opinion and do what you believe in? Because he’s certainly tough enough to do it."
While I understood the question, the assumption was flawed. The inference in Chris’s question was the American people would make the wrong or easy choice even if properly informed. This assumption leaves political leaders with only three choices;
- Ignore public opinion
- Follow public opinion
- Change public opinion with something other than the truth.
Luckily, Sen. Obama presented a fourth option, the responsibility of our elected leaders to shape public opinion with the truth.
"OBAMA: Well, first of all, you don’t ignore public opinion. You try to shape public opinion. And you try to shape it with the truth, not with false facts, not by shading intelligence reports."
(Emphasis mine)
Substitute false stories of heroism and tragedy for shading intelligence to appreciate my concerns with Sen. Clinton. Some might fairly consider these incongruent comparisons except I am not comparing scale, instead the methods employed to shape public opinion. In the case of both Tuzla and Trina Bachtel Sen. Clinton made a choice to deceive voters to shape public opinion. (Option 3 on the "Chris" list)
If Sen. Clintons stories of Tuzla and Trina Bachtel was the fuel, Sen. Obama’s response was the ignition source of this diary.
We have seen this before and if we ignore the warning signs we risk the foreseen and avoidable outcome of politics that reward misleading, exaggerated and dishonest rhetoric to shape public opinion.
It started a long time ago..
Modern Day "Reefer Madness"
Here is the ultimate shaping of public opinion effort...
Note not just the original lie but the lie’s to cover the lies in the CBS follow up which is even more telling. Much like our current president.
Compare
In the article below Amy Gershkoff and Shana Kushner (Graduate students at Princton) chronicle the rhetoric and lack of MSM questions that helped lead to war in Iraq.
http://journals.cambridge.org/...
The study above explains why the recent comments of Sen. Clinton cannot be characterized as simple fish stories, misstatements or the effects of fatigue. Frequency and message is not an accident, it’s lever that shapes public opinion.
As I look back to the Iraq war and Clinton’s recent comments I am reminded of two things, first the MSM has abandoned the American public, second our expectations of honesty are far too low. In both cases the MSM knew or should have known mistruths were being propagated to the public, using them (the media) as the vehicle. In both situations while not exactly accomplices they could easily be considered accessories after the fact. The MSM withheld information that would have helped stop the Bush administration and Sen. Clinton from shaping public opinion with untruths. The NY times (and others) knew the administration Iraq war story didn’t contain the full truth, yet said little or nothing. Numerous reporters where with First Lady Clinton in Bosnia, yet never reported the facts until forced (Andrea Mitchell?) Sen. Clinton used Trina Bachtel’s real name in her story. The media had her name, place and time of death, yet said nothing until the hospital in question asked that their good name not be dragged through the mud.
The truth isn’t a nicety, good manners or an indulgence only to be exercised when convenient. The truth is the pillar pounded through the swamp mud that is Washington anchoring us to bedrock below providing the solid foundation of political "informed consent." Without demanding that our leaders speak the truth how can we ever again be the country of "We the People"?
Before I take my leave and while on the the topic of shaping public opinion. Below are two videos that must come out of the shaping public opinion playbook.
Chapter 13: What to do when caught lying, make a joke.
Good student...
Fish stories from the wrong people lead to war.
Update 1: In my original posting I said that Clinton had used the womans name, that is incorrect. The NYT did the research to find the name of the woman in question but fact checking with the "host" who had told Clinton the story, I apologize to the times.