Consider me the canary in the mineshaft. I am 100% sure I know what the topic of the last minute saturation ads run by Karl Rove in all the swing states will be. I post this diary because those who are forewarned are forearmed. This is as predictable as the nose on your face.
Yesterday, President Obama gave a stirring and brave speech to the UN. In it, he opened and closed with a moving tribute to Chris Stevens, the slain ambassador to Libya. He followed that intro with an incredible defense of the American principle of the freedom of speech and a clearly reasoned argument as to how intolerance is the foe of both liberty and progress.
Here is the text of this amazing, brave, inspirational speech so you may read the entire thing for yourself:
President Obama's remarks to the UN General Assembly Sept. 25. 2012
Once you have read the speech, please follow me below for the reveal of the ads you will be seeing nonstop the week before the election
In that incredible speech, did you find the single sentence that will be pulled out of context and replayed and replayed and replayed and which will be sent to you in endless mass emails by your conservative relatives and the Hannity listening and the Limbaugh listening and the birther and the "He's a secret Muslin" crowd?
I'm sure you did. When I was listening to the speech in real time, I thought - 'Now there's a sentence that should have been left out because it plays directly into the hands of his political enemies'. President Obama is a smart politician and I'm sure he doesn't need me to point out the risk he took by uttering those words. But, when President Obama uttered the words that Rove and Romney and Ryan and Hannity and Coulter and others will attempt to make hay with, it's important to remember that he did not say them as a politician, he said them as a Statesman, someone who, in this volatile and violent and sometimes depressing world, was attempting to show the advantages of tolerance to those who are intolerant.
But enough of this drum roll, here is the sentence which I will present to you in context, because you are going to need to know the context in the coming weeks:
It is time to leave the call of violence and the politics of division behind. On so many issues, we face a choice between the promise of the future, or the prisons of the past. And we cannot afford to get it wrong. We must seize this moment. And America stands ready to work with all who are willing to embrace a better future.
The future must not belong to those who target Coptic Christians in Egypt -- it must be claimed by those in Tahrir Square who chanted, "Muslims, Christians, we are one." The future must not belong to those who bully women -- it must be shaped by girls who go to school, and those who stand for a world where our daughters can live their dreams just like our sons. (Applause.)
The future must not belong to those corrupt few who steal a country’s resources -- it must be won by the students and entrepreneurs, the workers and business owners who seek a broader prosperity for all people. Those are the women and men that America stands with; theirs is the vision we will support.
The future must not belong to those who slander the prophet of Islam. But to be credible, those who condemn that slander must also condemn the hate we see in the images of Jesus Christ that are desecrated, or churches that are destroyed, or the Holocaust that is denied. (Applause.)
Let us condemn incitement against Sufi Muslims and Shiite pilgrims. It’s time to heed the words of Gandhi: "Intolerance is itself a form of violence and an obstacle to the growth of a true democratic spirit." (Applause.) Together, we must work towards a world where we are strengthened by our differences, and not defined by them. That is what America embodies, that’s the vision we will support.
Among Israelis and Palestinians, the future must not belong to those who turn their backs on a prospect of peace. Let us leave behind those who thrive on conflict, those who reject the right of Israel to exist. The road is hard, but the destination is clear -- a secure, Jewish state of Israel and an independent, prosperous Palestine. (Applause.) Understanding that such a peace must come through a just agreement between the parties, America will walk alongside all who are prepared to make that journey.
And there you have it - "The future must not belong to those who slander the prophet of Islam".
The Republicans will not worry about the fact that that category is only one of a long list that the President defined as not being worthy of owning the future. This will be the only group that counts when they release their juggernaut ad buy in the last minutes of the election, too late for Democrats and the President to mount an effective defense.
Now, how sure am I that I am right? 100%. If you will do yourself the favor of Googling 'Obama UN speech the future must not belong' you will see that it is already getting massive play on rightwing sites. This will be an internet meme in very short order. It is getting virtually no play in the MSM who are collectively ignoring it. They are ignoring it because in context, it does not need to be exhumed from the entire speech and discussed ad nauseum.
My next piece of evidence is this little bit of ingenuousness from non other than our own Baghdad Bob, Dan Senor, candidate wrangler currently in charge of Paul Ryan:
Romney Advisor: 'Nothing New' in Obama's UN Speech
Right, nothing to see here, move along according to this political operative extraordinaire. I think they are underplaying this until they pull the card from out of their sleeve at the time they choose to play it.
So what should the Dems do? Start talking NOW about the play this is getting in the rightwing bloggosphere so that it will be an old, already discredited meme when the Republicans try to play it.
Your thoughts?