Connecting the dots...

Something that I have not yet seen brought to light. Perhaps it is just too obvious, but here goes:

This entire Obama Wright flap provides tremendous insight into the method by which politicians, primarily Republicans, seed and spread misleading memes and how they gain traction with the public and the media. First, the issue of Obama ‘s middle name is brought up, using the fringe right to generate some noise. This is really the only place that something like this can gain traction of course because it is completely irrational, but nonetheless the story line is not out there. Next, the issue of not wearing an American flag lapel pin is raised. It gets a little more notice, but not much. Really just more red meat for the right wing echo chamber. Next comes the picture of the trip to Africa where Obama is in Somali dress. Then comes Jack Kingston on the Bill Maher show with the pledge of allegiance claim. Now we have a story that has legs and has multiple “proof” points to it. The mainstream media now looks at this and says, “Hey maybe there is a story here” and a few of them cover it. Even if they merely cover it as a political story highlighting the campaign tactics, it begins to find its way into the general population. Now comes Jeremiah Wright and “God Damn America!” This is a story that by itself probably would generate little coverage. It would simply be seen for what it is – a political hit job. However, if there is a long trail of “evidence” than the major media outlets say to themselves, “By golly this is a real story here and we had better cover it and cover it big.”


Think back, and connect the dots. These seemingly random events were painstakingly plotted. The timing and order of these “revelations” was intentional and premeditated. The purveyors of this story had the Wright video in hand on day one. The final design was not apparent at the outset – hell we still may not have seen the entire composition - but each piece was intricately laid like a mosaic. It is a lesson in how these things take root, a playbook for how to play the media and a case study in what is wrong with our system.