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Let’s Help Barack Fight the “Smears”

By Larry Johnson on June 12, 2008 at 8:27 AM in Barack Obama, Louis Farrakhan, Michelle Obama, Nation of Islam, Rashid Khalidi, Weather Underground, William Ayers

This is precious. Barack is in a snit over so-called smears. (Deb, thanks for the tip.) Karen Tumulty writes in Time Magazine:

According to campaign officials, what finally launched Obama into a full rumor counteroffensive was a story that apparently first made a big splash on the Internet in late May in a post by pro-Hillary Clinton blogger Larry Johnson. Quoting “someone in touch with a senior Republican,” Johnson claimed that there was a video of Michelle Obama “blasting ‘whitey’ during a rant at Jeremiah Wright’s church.” (Later versions of the rumor had Michelle’s “rant” happening at a Rainbow/push Coalition conference.) No such videotape has surfaced.

Now, are you ready for the shocker? Look at the next paragraph of Karen’s piece:

When the Obama campaign got wind of the rumor in April, Michelle’s close friend and adviser Valerie Jarrett asked Michelle if there could be anything to it; the candidate’s wife dismissed it out of hand.

I did not hear about the tape until MAY. REPEAT. I DID NOT HEAR ABOUT THE TAPE UNTIL MAY. Yet, the Obama campaign knew about the tape in April. Got it? And I am the one responsible for the so called rumor?

Au contraire. What is really fascinating is that the Obama campaign continues to issue a non-denial denial. They are fighting so-called smears, but not challenging the very facts that underlie the charges.

There is a recording of Michelle Obama using a racial slur about white people. I have not seen the tape but I am certain that the people who have told my sources they have seen such a tape are telling the truth. What is really interesting is that the Obama folks knew about this long before I did.

And you know what else? One of my sources told me last week that the Obama camp knew about the tape. So the Obamas have confirmed what one of my sources about the existence of the tape has told me.

I am happy to take credit for being the one who has put the Obama campaign on edge. But it looks like they themselves knew there was a problem.