Atrocious to Smear a Private Citizen

iVillage Member
Registered: 08-29-2008
Atrocious to Smear a Private Citizen
369
Thu, 10-16-2008 - 4:22pm
I think it is atrocious for the press to try to smear a private citizen who merely used his first amendment rights to question a candidate! He didn't ask for all this attention, and he has not stated who he will be voting for, but since John McCain received some points in the debate last night about an exchange "Joe the Plumber" had with Barack Obama the press is out to destroy this man. Good Grief! The man is a plumber! An average citizen. Now the left wing is trying to vilify him like he's George Bush! How HORRIBLE! And the extremists on the left seem to be following in lock step. No compassion for an ordinary man UNLESS he shares their socialist viewpoint. This is about as dirty as it gets!

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iVillage Member
Registered: 10-14-2008
Fri, 10-17-2008 - 10:10am

How hard did you have to twist what anyone here has said to come to that conclusion?

Since I've been reading everyone's comments....I'm going to guess "pretty darn hard." The problem with your argument of the big, bad, evil, "In-The-Tank-For-Obama" media having "destroyed" this man is that he keeps giving interview after interview. You name me the last time that one person whose name or story was used by a Presidential candidate got THIS many follow-up chances to speak his mind directly to the national audience. The man's been on TV nearly as much in the last forty-eight hours as either McCain OR Obama. That's a powerful lot of airtime, and influence, for a guy who spends most of his days under sinks, three weeks out from election day. He wouldn't continue to be the story he is if he had told the reporters - politely but firmly - "no comment," when he first started receiving requests for interviews.

iVillage Member
Registered: 08-29-2008
Fri, 10-17-2008 - 10:13am

As you may have determined by my previous statements I don't watch O'Reilly. When this story was in the news I was dealing with my mom's illness. Because the illness was so traumatic for me, I could not even watch the news for about the last year or so because I couldn't bear any more emotional turmoil than I was already dealing with. So I was unaware of this story all together. I went online and researched it, and watched the comments of O'Reilly on youtube - (the actual comments - not the left wing ads that were telling me what to think about it). And I have to agree that he was his usual idiotic self. I think the comments were disgusting and completely out of line.

But these examples you give are not newscasters. They are pundits. There are no news stories that paint a nasty picture of either of these examples. These people are paid to give their opinion. I have no idea why O'Reilly is successful. While Ann Coulter gets out of line sometimes, which I think she did here, at least she is intelligent and funny (usually), so I see why she is successful. Still she isn't a newscaster.

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-31-2008
Fri, 10-17-2008 - 10:15am

ROFL!!!!

iVillage Member
Registered: 09-26-2008
Fri, 10-17-2008 - 10:21am
Bush is a socialist also, this bailout reeks of Socialism - so what's the big deal?
iVillage Member
Registered: 04-04-2003
Fri, 10-17-2008 - 10:23am

It's highly likely that I didn't see all that everyone is alluding to in the press....Particularly if as you say, Joe himself was under scrutiny before the debate. I DO remember a lot of attention made to part of OBAMA'S response to him (the "spread the wealth around" comment) but about Joe himself, there was nothing (that I saw at least) pointing to the fact that he was facing unfair and unprecedented attention from the media.

iVillage Member
Registered: 04-04-2003
Fri, 10-17-2008 - 10:26am

I still don't believe that this is a free speech issue as you are making it out to be.

iVillage Member
Registered: 10-08-2008
Fri, 10-17-2008 - 10:28am

"View" his opinion?

iVillage Member
Registered: 10-12-2008
Fri, 10-17-2008 - 10:29am
It's not an 'excuse' I was merely pointing out the error of your logic in trying to blame Obama when it was actually McCain you should be blaming. I agree it is a regrettable turn of affairs for Joe, but when laying blame you should lay it where it belongs, not compound the wrongs by making someone else the guilty party - that just compounds the wrong. It is regrettable that your candidate is the one at fault - but that's just the way the cookie crumbles.
iVillage Member
Registered: 04-29-2003
Fri, 10-17-2008 - 10:33am
Legally John McCain should have asked to use his name before bringing him up in a national debate OVER and OVER and even at the Roast last night he keeps bringing him up.
Avatar Image"The Small Peanu
iVillage Member
Registered: 10-12-2008
Fri, 10-17-2008 - 10:33am
In the mind of John McCain the end justifies the means even if it means destroying Joe the plumber to get what he wants.

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