Correcting the record on Obama
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Ron Charest
Published: July 5, 2008
On June 15, this newspaper published a letter by O.P. Ditch titled “Who gets money from Exxon/Mobil?” The writer republished information from the non-governmental, non-partisan Web site
OpenSecrets.org, which seemingly showed that Senator Obama had received $32,550 dollars in campaign funds from Exxon/Mobile. This amount was correctly listed as the second highest of any
Senator (the writer neglected to mention the number one recipient of “Exxon/Mobile contributions” is Republican Senator John Coryn). The writer then used this information to cast doubt on Senator
Obama’s stated policy of not accepting donations from lobbyists and PACs that do business with the federal government.
I decided to fact-check this by asking Senator Obama’s campaign staff for clarification. I contacted them on June 17 and received a response the very next day. Their response:
“Dear Ron,
Thank you for contacting us with questions about donations to Senator Obama’s campaign.
Senator Obama does not accept contributions from federal lobbyists, corporations or PACs. All donors are required to list their employer and occupation, and that data is made public under federal law.
Some private organizations use this data to track the contributions of people employed in an industry (or a profession or corporation), and then say that the “industry” has contributed. In fact, individuals
employed in that particular industry have donated.
Also note that people can donate in their own name only and may only use personal funds. It is against federal law for a company to give money to its employees in order for it to be donated to a federal
campaign.
Thank you again for contacting us.
Sincerely,
Obama for America”
I can only wonder why writer O.P Ditch did not perform this simple fact-check.
RON CHAREST
Dale City
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Reader Reactions
Posted by ( RonCharest ) on July 07, 2008 at 12:17 pm
MikeG,
Once again, you bias is showing through. I suspect if you asked the McCain campaign whether or not they were accepting contributions from federal lobbyists, corporations or PACs, they would be loud and proud about saying “YES.”
There is nothing illegal about accepting that type contributions. The Obama campaign has voluntarily made a pledge not to; and now enforced it on the DNC as well.
As to your statement:
“defense attorney saying he fact-checked his client’s alibi by asking his client if he was telling him the truth!”
It’s not the job of a defense attorney to prove his client’s innocence. It’s the defense attorny’s job to defend against the prosecutor attempting to prove his client guilty. It’s part of that “Innocent until proven guilty” concept embedded in the thing called a “Constitution,” with an attachement called “The Bill of Rights.”
If you think Obama is lying about where his money is coming from, prove it. But spare us “proof” by asking the McCain campaign for comment. After all, that would be like asking a prosecuting attorney if he thought the accused was guilty.
These on-line debates would be a whole lot less fun for me if Conservatives actually applied facts as the basis for their arguments.
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Posted by ( MikeG ) on July 07, 2008 at 9:59 am
Isn’t it great when two ultra-liberals like you and Williams get together for a little mutual stroking? You two make me nauseus.
Charest, I’ve given you credit for some valid points over the weeks we’ve been debating on this forum, but this time your smug certitude, because you think you scored a point, is just laughable. You saying you’ve “fact-checked” your comments by going to the Obama campaign office is like a defense attorney saying he fact-checked his client’s alibi by asking his client if he was telling him the truth!
What would you EXPECT the Obama camp to say? Of COURSE everything was on the up and up! Do you honestly believe they’d say anything to the contrary? They told you what you wanted to hear, and you bought it.
You’ve proven nothing, Ron, other than the holes in your methodology. I admit I sometimes say things for dramatic effect, but possibly spinning a timeline a bit is nothing compared to ignoring the obvious.
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Posted by ( raywilliams ) on July 06, 2008 at 1:56 pm
Oh Ron, I don’t know that Bush ran a campaign of personal destruction against John McCain. It was just that the Bush & Company questioned whether John McCain had the mental stability to serve as president. A fair question I believe, not slander, given McCain’s advanced age and health conditions.
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Posted by ( RonCharest ) on July 06, 2008 at 9:07 am
Yes,
They are truly running for Bush’s third term. Bush’s entire 2000 and 2004 campaigns were all about mocking and insulting his Democratic opponents, offering absolutely no viable ideas for his platform or how he would govern. In the process the Republicans destroyed the credibility of two honorable and intelligent individuals.
Come to think of it, Bush also ran a campaign of personal destruction against - John McCain in the 2000 primaries. Now, they’re best of friends.
Kinda makes me wonder about that “Straight-talking Express.”
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Posted by ( raywilliams ) on July 05, 2008 at 9:00 am
Ron, I’m sure O.P. understands you get the best smear job if you leave out most of the truth. Funny how everyone in the McSame camp stumping for a third term for President Bush like to attack Obama but have little to say about the positives of their own candidate. Maybe even they are not comfortable staying in Iraq for 100 more years as McCain suggests his policy will be.
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