News Orgs Already Getting It Wrong On Obama's Iraq Remarks
That was quick. Today on the trail Obama suggested that he would "continue to refine" his Iraq plans in consultation with commanders on the ground, and the big news orgs are already getting this wrong.
Here's the Associated Press headline and lede:
Obama opens door to altering his Iraq policyDemocrat Barack Obama opened the door Thursday to altering his plan to bring U.S. troops home from Iraq in 16 months based on what he hears from military commanders during his upcoming trip there.
That's a reckless distortion. "Alter" is a far stronger word than "refine" is. And worse, when you take the stronger word "alter" and put it next to "plan to bring U.S. troops home from Iraq in 16 months," it makes a far, far stronger suggestion than Obama did. Obama merely said he would "continue to refine his policies." The tone of this lede makes it sound like Obama is preparing a wholesale junking of his withdrawal plan.
Here's The Washington Post's headline:
Obama Softens on Iraq Withdrawal Timeline
This is way overstated. It states as outright fact that Obama signaled that he'd backtrack on the time-line. But that didn't happen at all. The Los Angeles Times used this formulation, too, but it at least had the decency to pose it as a question, and not state this as established fact.
All Obama is doing here is defusing the GOP argument that he'd withdraw recklessly and preserving flexibility for himself as commander in chief. These journalistic errors are matters of nuance. But nuance is hugely important here.
Will Obama in fact change his withdrawal policy at any point? I have no idea. Anything is possible. But he certainly didn't say anything today that's even remotely as suggestive or ominous as this reporting makes it seem.

Politico has the most misleading headline of all: Obama rewrites Iraq plan
July 3, 2008 4:49 PM | Reply | Permalink
That's why he held another press conference, so he could say this in clear terms:
Will anyone update their articles?
July 3, 2008 5:18 PM | Reply | Permalink
Alas, the updates aren't what garner headlines.
July 3, 2008 5:47 PM | Reply | Permalink
No one could have anticipated that the Washington Post and Associated Press might completely over-read and misinterpret something that a Democratic candidate said. No one.
I guess the best thing for Obama right now is that there's no recording of him saying the equivalent of "I was for it before I was against it".
July 3, 2008 4:49 PM | Reply | Permalink
Clearly, Obama and his campaign should just say nothing between now and November, given the media can -- and has, and will -- distort anything.
July 3, 2008 6:29 PM | Reply | Permalink
Thank you, thank you, thank you, Greg.
This is and always has been where you are at your strongest. Taking what someone said, from the Horse's Mouth (tm) so to speak, and comparing it to what the newspapers reported/distorted.
Unless you are willing to get down in the deep weeds with Elizabeth2 and I, you should not post so much on other meaningless topics.
http://tpmcafe.talkingpointsmemo.com/talk/2008/07/serious-question-really-why-is.php
July 3, 2008 4:53 PM | Reply | Permalink
thx man. this is going to be a bad one.
July 3, 2008 4:56 PM | Reply | Permalink
The Corporate-pig media wants a close race.
They see the apoplectic reaction from the left toward Obama on FISA, so they creat a "new controversy" in hopes of whipping up more discontent toward Obama from his base, while at the same time, trying to paint Obama as a "flip-flopper" to undermine his core message of change.
fortunately, it's the 4th of July weekend already, and most people are paying scant attention.
July 3, 2008 4:55 PM | Reply | Permalink
Right now, Obama's having a second press avail according to Mark Halperin at The Page to correct this misreporting.
July 3, 2008 4:56 PM | Reply | Permalink
Fucking stupid reporters.
July 3, 2008 4:57 PM | Reply | Permalink
Seriously, do they do any actual reporting?
July 3, 2008 4:58 PM | Reply | Permalink
Now, come on. To echo the point of CT Voter, this reaction/misinterpretation was completely predictible.
Yes, the MSM can be lazy and/or stupid -- especially "B" team reporters and editors, who are surely working today while the "A" team is already on the way to the beach. (Obama team, why oh why did you say anything remotely new on a holiday?)
But we knew this already, didn't we? The real fault lies with the Obama campaign, in thinking that his stated willingness to "refine" his plan would be interpreted as anything OTHER than a flip-flop.
Because Obama has made "change" the major theme of his campaign, he needs to avoid doing things that allow the theme to be turned against him. As in: "Obama is for change. If you don't like his policies, just wait a week, and he'll change them."
July 3, 2008 5:20 PM | Reply | Permalink
Follow the story fully. Obama called a press conference to discuss jobless rates released that day. The press asked a question about Iraq.Obama used sensible, mild language: "more information;
continue to refine." Then the press distorted and went batshit. Explain what Obama did wrong please?
Should he:
A: Not call press conferences and thus be slammed for lack of availability.
B: Tell the reporter asking the Iraq question that the reporter is "off thread," and have the press write that he refuses to take questions about Iraq.
C: Be a straight talker like McCain and simply deny he ever said anything and hope the media will ignore it because he was a hero once for
getting shot down and captured.
I am amazed at how many people want to blame Obama for something that is a fundamental flaw in our press corps.
July 4, 2008 12:19 PM | Reply | Permalink
Reporters, as a lot, are typically lazy.
The Reaganites first recognized this long ago.
Meeting a deadline is easy when a story is written and handed to you, it gives the "investigative" reporter more time to tip a few at the local watering-hole.
July 3, 2008 5:23 PM | Reply | Permalink
Any time you have to hold a second press conference to clarify what you said at your first press conference, you screwed up.
July 3, 2008 5:23 PM | Reply | Permalink
Sure. Having the second news conference is a good idea, though, because reporters will, if they're not total losers, have to mention what the outcome of the second one was.
I'm just glad that this is happening on July 3, rather than, e.g., July 7.
July 3, 2008 5:28 PM | Reply | Permalink
Good point. It's possible that the campaign felt it absolutely had to "refine" Obama's withdrawal policy, and knowing it would cause fits in the media, planned it for when it would make the least impact.
That still leaves the question of whether the "refinement" was smart to begin with.
July 3, 2008 5:32 PM | Reply | Permalink
Sure, blame Obama for the mainstream media's incompetence.
July 3, 2008 5:35 PM | Reply | Permalink
Thank you.
There is no way that Obama can saying anything without it being open to clumsy or intentional distortion. Obviously, some ways of saying things are easier to distort than others, but I don't think this one was.
I mean, of course Obama will continue to refine his plan. He should. There's a word for people -- like many of those in the current administration -- who continue to follow the original plan, come hell or high water. That word is "failure".
July 3, 2008 6:38 PM | Reply | Permalink
"some ways of saying things are easier to distort than others, but I don't think this one was."
That last part has been disproven by events, hasn't it? Obama's statement WAS easy to distort -- because most of the major news orgs DID distort it. And they did so quickly: the words were hardly out of Obama's mouth before the misleading headlines went up.
You're right about the first part: some things are easier to distort than others. And what Obama orignally said was clumsy and easy to distort. This is what he said:
"And when I go to Iraq and have a chance to talk to some of the commanders on the ground, I'm sure I'll have more information and will continue to refine my policies."
He should have said "refine the details," or "I'm sure my trip will shed more light on the situation," or something else. Not refine -- i.e., change -- his policies.
July 3, 2008 7:37 PM | Reply | Permalink
Absolutely, CN! I think he was putting out feelers to see whether he would get the same kind of outraged response his FISA failure brought him. All this has made me feel very queasy about this guy. I have gone from, "He's terrific!" to "Is this the best we can do?"
July 3, 2008 7:01 PM | Reply | Permalink
No.
July 3, 2008 7:50 PM | Reply | Permalink
The media wants Obama to be a flip flopper, and will lie and distort anything to make it fit into that meme.
July 3, 2008 5:00 PM | Reply | Permalink
Particularly since McCain is a flip-flopper.
July 3, 2008 6:39 PM | Reply | Permalink
Well, well, more distortions and making-shit-up from the MSM. Good thing we have TPM & Election Central to debunk the bullcrap.
Meanwhile, if anyone wondered what Barack is really planning on doing on the day of the big Senate vote on FISA, here is his schedule for next Tuesday evening, July 8:
July 3, 2008 5:03 PM | Reply | Permalink
That NYT article (and their editorial today) reminds of the commentary by Andy Borowitz.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/andy-borowitz/liberal-bloggers-accuse-o_b_110371.html
July 4, 2008 3:20 PM | Reply | Permalink
Let's see if I can fix that blockquote command:
Link is still the same:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/03/us/politics/03donate.html?pagewanted=print
July 3, 2008 5:05 PM | Reply | Permalink
A little bit of John Solomon will forever linger at both institutions.
July 3, 2008 5:05 PM | Reply | Permalink
Great. I'm getting e-mails from my Hillary supporting office mates linking to the AP story with the subject line "The more things change, the more..."
arghh. Vodka!
July 3, 2008 5:06 PM | Reply | Permalink
If I may make a suggestion, Greg, how about putting this on the TPM front page?
July 3, 2008 5:07 PM | Reply | Permalink
If Hillary were the nominee and the press did this to her, there would be major shustering.
Ultimately, more harmful than the Republican smear machine is the press corps.
July 3, 2008 5:11 PM | Reply | Permalink
shustering??
July 3, 2008 5:14 PM | Reply | Permalink
shustering - n gerund - the art of making a journalist pay a serious price for making inartful remarks. See David Shuster.
July 3, 2008 5:19 PM | Reply | Permalink
As if by magic, Barack just posted this over on HuffPo about three minutes ago:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/barack-obama/my-position-on-fisa_b_110789.html?view=print
He says, among other things, the following:
July 3, 2008 5:14 PM | Reply | Permalink
Oh great, here's another media hack calling Obama's "refine" comment "ill-advised".
There was nothing wrong with Obama said - it's the idiotic media reaction that's the problem here.
July 3, 2008 5:16 PM | Reply | Permalink
Amen to that. Except for Rachel Maddow, the whole Race to the WH show was just about nothing but the Obama "flip" on Iraq. These so called pundits can't read or understand even the simplest English. Don't they ever listen to what Old Johnny has to say that doesn't make sense or is a total 180 from his previous positions??
July 3, 2008 9:24 PM | Reply | Permalink
The AP constantly gets the facts wrong, particularly where Dem candidates are concerned.
I can't stand Obama, as some of you may know, BUT - he ain't McSame, and I hope to hell he wins. Let's just hope he continues to defuse this kind of crap every time it comes up.
Giving Obama his due, I don't think it's a flip or a flop if he refines his position here. The situation in Iraq won't remain static; it would be silly for Obama's stance to remain so. It sounds like he knows that. Good on him.
And no, thanks. I'm not thirsty. ;)
July 3, 2008 5:21 PM | Reply | Permalink
Who are you, and what have you done with the old EastWest?
July 3, 2008 5:24 PM | Reply | Permalink
Yeah, I know. Maybe it's the long weekend coming up. I'll be back to my old self soon, I promise.
I'm serious on this post, though. We can't let McCain win, and Obama's going to be in the cross-hairs non-stop. I think most of his followers realize that intellectually, but - IMO anyway - I don't think they're "there" emotionally yet.
Kerry and Gore screwed up by not addressing this kind of thing hard, fast, and completely. Each individual innuendo, falsehood and smear, by itself, doesn't mean a thing. The cumulative effect is deadly. It looks like Obama's team knows that. Good. (I still like Clinton better, though ~grin~.)
July 3, 2008 5:46 PM | Reply | Permalink
Well, color me stunned, because I agree with you. The media isn't a benign entity, it's a hulking, lazy, venal institution interested in "gotcha" stories and ratings.
I hope that Obama and his campaign staff feel the same way. I actually think they do, but we'll see.
July 3, 2008 7:06 PM | Reply | Permalink
I agree with your thoughts CT Voter. The problem is Obama is talking to us as infomred intelligent people but the fucking media and the assine so-called journalists roadblock the discussion with their ridiculos commnetary.
July 3, 2008 11:47 PM | Reply | Permalink
Oh, come on! You sure you don't want some of this nice juicy Kool-Aid? It's sugary sweet!
All kidding aside, good thoughts.
July 3, 2008 6:24 PM | Reply | Permalink
Interestingly, Fox News appears to have the most reasonable and accurate headline:
Obama Willing to ‘Refine’ Iraq Withdrawal Plan
www.elections.foxnews.com
I guess even a blind squirrel finds a nut once in a while.
July 3, 2008 5:23 PM | Reply | Permalink
Or a broken watch gives the correct time twice a day.
July 3, 2008 5:29 PM | Reply | Permalink
Murdoch says he likes Obama. Fox may have a slightly "refined" policy concerning handling him these days...
July 3, 2008 10:29 PM | Reply | Permalink
Is the media really this dumb or is this just one big collective smear job. I know some of them are doing this to smear him. but REALLY? So many of them are being retarded.
July 3, 2008 5:24 PM | Reply | Permalink
Well, the MSM is doing what it does. Obama needs to demonstrate what he and his campaign team is made of. Come out and make your position clear. Where do you stand? What can the electorate expect of you? Is he going to let the spinmeisters define him?
July 3, 2008 5:24 PM | Reply | Permalink
If Obama makes his position clear, and the media chooses not to report it, what can he realistically do?
July 3, 2008 5:29 PM | Reply | Permalink
Agreed. The danger is that the MSM does to Obama what they did to Clinton. Obama has GOT to hit back every time a story of this kind gets out.
And apropos Greg - For God's sake, stop going after him when he posts this sort of thing. You can't win if you ignore what's out there. As I said above, Kerry and Gore tried that. Look how that worked out.
I'm gonna go talk to my shrink now. That's twice I said something positive about Obama.
Happy Independence Day, y'all.
July 3, 2008 5:54 PM | Reply | Permalink
Look, the media has been reporting all week that he's going to cave on Iraq so if anything they were anticipating what somebody's been telling them.
Anyway:
I WANT MY VOTE BACK!!
July 3, 2008 5:26 PM | Reply | Permalink
Obama is showing his inexperience. He's doing nothing except making problems for himself these days.
He might have been the media's darling during the primary, but the Press are out to bring him down now and he needs to learn how to deal with it and that means not speaking unless he absolutely has to.
It's really ridiculous, McCain has outright contradicted himself at least a dozen times and gets a free pass (outside of youtube vids).
July 3, 2008 5:28 PM | Reply | Permalink
With this much garbage being hurled at Obama today, I won't even have to send out my newsletter, Ha Ha Haaaa!
Cheers!
July 3, 2008 5:28 PM | Reply | Permalink
It's July third. Most people will never hear about this. Obama has begun to defuse the Republican talking point that says he wants to withdraw from Iraq irresposibly. I don't see the problem.
July 3, 2008 5:30 PM | Reply | Permalink
I would have appreciated Barack coming out and having a "press availability" about his cave-in on the bullshit FISA "compromise." Instead, he just posted an item at HuffPo; don't even see any evidence he publicized it outside of that site.
BTW, the quotes I snipped out were just his most complimentary grafs. Most of his post was the same old bogus explanation of how the corrupt FISA bill will "improve" things.
His justifications don't hold water. He said:
Then he said:
But Greenwald has debunked exactly those claims. The PAA expired and it's NOT coming back. It expired because Congress was fed up with White House intimidation. Now Barack is saying he wants to preserve some of the things PAA allowed.
Totally talking out of both sides of his mouth.
July 3, 2008 5:32 PM | Reply | Permalink
FUCKING REPORTERS!! LAZY PIECES OF GARBAGE!
July 3, 2008 5:34 PM | Reply | Permalink
Wait a minute. Are you telling me that on a day where a whole lot of people try and leave work in the early afternoon, perhaps turning on the news a bit early, the major story has been all about Iraq (and not Angelina's expectant twins!)?
And wait a minute, isn't a major part of this supposed story is a well televised press conference where Obama says he will definitely withdraw us from Iraq? All this on the day before The 4th of July?
Tomorrow I will come out of my house and sit in a lawn chair next to a neighbor I may or may not know and at one point...talk - maybe about topics in easy relation to our nation's birthday. Maybe, briefly, about Iraq. And whose going to get us out.
The media just got played. Obama kicked ass today.
July 3, 2008 5:35 PM | Reply | Permalink
But Obama doesn't celebrate the 4th of July.
July 3, 2008 5:37 PM | Reply | Permalink
The media has this all wrong. I have listened to every statement Obama has made on Iraq -- not only today, but throughout the campaign.
He has been consistent. His exit strategy has not changed -- it was 1 to 2 brigades a month then, it is 1 to 2 brigades a month now. He said then he would listen to commanders on the ground, he says now he will listen to commanders on the ground.
If you see or hear someo