Picking up my Columbus Dispatch from the driveway this morning, I noticed something was different. Tucked inside the fold was a DVD entitled "Hype: The Obama Effect." Yup, the smear merchants are back. A month or so ago, it was the anti-Islamic "Obsession" DVD that came with my Sunday paper. Today, it's an anti-Obama hit piece courtesy of "professional Clinton-era agitator and renowned Republican dirty trickster" David Bossie (see Salon for a profile of him) and Citizens United, the group that brought us the infamous Willie Horton ads against Dukakis in 1988
The Huffington Post fact-checked the movie when it first came out and called it "a mockery of intelligent political debate and intellectual honesty."
More disturbing is the fact that nowhere in the Dispatch was there anything to indicate that the DVD was a paid advertisement. My letter to the Dispatch editor is below the fold.
To the Editor:
One week to go until the election and the mud is flying. But this time it's coming via a DVD included with my daily paper. And the Dispatch has gotten itself caught in the crossfire.
"Hype: The Obama Effect" should have come with a published disclaimer or fact-check from the Dispatch, especially since the paper endorsed Sen. Obama's opponent. Failing to do so makes it look like you're condoning the movie's attack.
Frankly, you don't want to associate with this "documentary" and the folks behind it. After watching it and doing a little research, I can tell you it's nothing but a hatchet job.
The producers, Citizens United, have a long history of smears, going back to the infamous "Willie Horton" ads against Dukakis in 1988. The director, David Bossie, has been described as a "partisan hack," a "professional Clinton-era agitator," and "renowned Republican dirty trickster." (See Eric Boehlert's profile "You can't teach an old attack dog new tricks" at Salon.com.)
The movie itself has been thoroughly debunked months ago. The Huffington Post noted it “is full of basic factual errors, idiotic lies, and baseless smears.”
We Dispatch readers deserve better.
Sincerely,
JB Lawton III
Write your own letter to the Dispatch: letters@dispatch.com
Here are some letter-writing tips I put together four years ago. They still apply.