Mitt Romney Quits Presidential Race

It’s official, Mitt Romney has finally realized the American people DO NOT want a President who is a member of a religious cult. Romney, a member of the LDS (Mormon) cult has today decided to quit the Presidential race after losing again and again in most all states that have voted so far in the Presidential primary.

WASHINGTON — John McCain effectively sealed the Republican presidential nomination on Thursday as chief rival Mitt Romney suspended his faltering presidential campaign. “I must now stand aside, for our party and our country,” Romney told conservatives.

“If I fight on in my campaign, all the way to the convention, I would forestall the launch of a national campaign and make it more likely that Senator Clinton or Obama would win. And in this time of war, I simply cannot let my campaign, be a part of aiding a surrender to terror,” Romney told the Conservative Political Action Conference in Washington.

Romney’s decision leaves McCain as the top man standing in the GOP race, with Mike Huckabee and Ron Paul far behind in the delegate hunt. It was a remarkable turnaround for McCain, who some seven months ago was barely viable, out of cash and losing staff. The four-term Arizona senator, denied his party’s nomination in 2000, was poised to succeed George W. Bush as the GOP standard-bearer.

Romney launched his campaign almost a year ago in his native Michigan. The former Massachusetts governor and venture capitalist invested more than $40 million of his own money into the race, counted on early wins in Iowa and New Hampshire that never materialized and won just seven states on Super Tuesday, mostly small caucus states.

McCain took the big prizes of New York and California.

“This is not an easy decision for me. I hate to lose. My family, my friends and our supporters … many of you right here in this room … have given a great deal to get me where I have a shot at becoming president. If this were only about me, I would go on. But I entered this race because I love America,” Romney said.

There were shouts of astonishment, with some moans and others yelling, “No, No.”

Romney responded, “You guys are great.”

McCain prevailed in most of the Super Tuesday states, moving closer to the numbers needed to officially win the nomination. Overall, McCain led with 707 delegates, to 294 for Romney and 195 for Huckabee. It takes 1,191 to win the nomination at this summer’s convention in St. Paul, Minn.

“I disagree with Senator McCain on a number of issues, as you know. But I agree with him on doing whatever it takes to be successful in Iraq, on finding and executing Osama bin Laden, and on eliminating al-Qaida and terror,” Romney said.

Romney acknowledged the obstacles to beating McCain.

“As of today, more than 4 million people have given me their vote for president, that’s of course, less than Senator McCain’s 4.7 million, but quite a statement nonetheless. Eleven states have given me their nod, compared to his 13. Of course, because size does matter, he’s doing quite a bit better with the number of delegates he’s got,” Romney said.

The Huckabee campaign said the former Arkansas governor would push on.

“We’re still in the race and we’re still competing for delegates, and today demonstrates how long and windy to the White House this is,” said Chip Saltsman, Huckabee’s campaign manager.

Romney’s departure from the race came almost a year after his formal entrance, when the Michigan native declared his candidacy on Feb. 12, 2007, at the Henry Ford Museum of Innovation in Dearborn, Mich.

Over the ensuing 12 months, Romney sought the support of conservatives with a family values campaign, emphasizing his opposition to abortion and gay marriage, as well as his support for tax cuts and health insurance that would benefit middle-class families.

“We need to teach our children that before they have babies, they get married,” he told voters at his campaign events.

But he was dogged by charges of flip-flopping, a criticism that undermined the candidacy of another Massachusetts hopeful _ John Kerry in 2004. In seeking to unseat Sen. Edward M. Kennedy in 1994, Romney said he would be a better advocate for gay rights than his rival and he favored abortion rights.

Throughout his campaign, Romney was questioned by voters and the media about his Mormon faith. Hoping assuage voters skeptical of electing a Mormon president, Romney gave speech on Dec. 6 in College Station, Texas, that explicitly recalled remarks John F. Kennedy made in 1960 in an effort to quell anti-Catholic bias. He vowed to serve the interests of the nation, not the church, if elected president.

In early voting Iowa, Romney sought votes by casting himself as the guardian of the Reagan-era conservative triad _ a three-legged stool, as the candidate put it _ of a strong national defense, strong economy and strong families.

Fueled by what would grow to more than $35 million of personal donations, his campaign hired top-notch staff in the early voting states, and Romney scored an early win when his organization topped the field at the Iowa Straw Poll in August.

By that time, the national front-runners, McCain and former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, had virtually ceded the lead-voting state to Romney.

Instead, McCain focused on New Hampshire, second on the calendar, while Giuliani employed an untested strategy of waiting out the early primary contests and instead staking his candidacy on a strong showing in the Jan. 29 Florida primary.

Romney’s goal was to score back-to-back wins in Iowa and New Hampshire, clearing the field and creating momentum to roll through Florida _ where he enjoyed the support of top aides to former Gov. Jeb Bush _ and seal the nomination in the Super Tuesday contests.

Instead, Romney was beaten Jan. 3 in Iowa by former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, a former Southern Baptist minister who received an unexpected outpouring of support in the caucuses from voters identifying themselves as evangelicals.

Five days later, Romney suffered a second consecutive defeat in New Hampshire, when McCain won the primary in part with the support of independents attracted to his self-styled maverick campaign.

Romney, who headed the 2002 Winter Olympic Games in Salt Lake City, tried to cast each defeat in competitive terms, saying his second-place finishes amount to “silver medals.” He also highlighted the “gold” he won in between and in the little-watched Wyoming caucuses.

Nonetheless, Romney took a cue from Huckabee’s win, as well as Democrat Barack Obama’s Iowa upset of rival Hillary Rodham Clinton, as a sign voters wanted change in Washington.

On the stump, he retooled his speech to harken back to the theme he broached in Dearborn, that America’s future, and that of its government, were dependent on innovation. His campaign also hung new banners reading, “Washington is Broken,” as well as a to-do list Romney would complete as president.

Romney and McCain went head-to-head in the Jan. 13 Michigan primary, and Romney won, in part by highlighting his background as a business consultant and venture capitalist. When McCain acknowledged what seemed to be obvious, that not all of Detroit’s lost auto industry jobs would be recovered, Romney pounced.

He accused the senator of pessimism, outlining a $20 billion industry recovery package and telling audiences in economically ailing Michigan, “I will fight for every single job.”

Romney also tweaked his stump speech to criticize McCain for stating that he was more familiar with foreign affairs and military matters than economic issues.

Highlighting his 25-year business career, he told audiences, “Senator McCain says the economy is not his strong suit; well, it is my strong suit.”

As the calendar progressed, however, McCain picked up a big-ticket win in the Jan. 19 South Carolina primary. Romney instead focused on his victory in the Nevada caucuses the same day.

Ten days later, the two squared off again in the Florida primary, where McCain scored a major upset after winning endorsements from the state’s two top elected Republicans _ Gov. Charlie Crist, a popular figure who had previously said he planned to remain neutral in the race, and Sen. Mel Martinez.

The following day, Giuliani dropped out of the race and endorsed McCain. A day later, popular California Gov. Arnold Schwarzeneger announced his endorsement of McCain, reflecting a coalescing of Republican support behind the senator as he approached a Super Tuesday showdown with Romney.

Romney’s final pitch was to label McCain a liberal like Clinton and Obama, a charge tantamount to heresy in the GOP. He was backed by conservative media voices like Rush Limbaugh and Ann Coulter.

Thousands, including Mitt Romney, attend Mormon cult leader Hinckley’s funeral

SALT LAKE CITY – Twenty one thousand Thursday and an estimated forty thousand Friday – that’s how many people have attended the public viewing of LDS cult leader President Gordon B. Hinckley.

Friday, the long lines began forming in the morning and by early evening were encircling the LDS Conference Center.

LDS Church cult officials vowed to keep the doors open late to accommodate all the people.
Now, many of those at the viewing are children.

Several parents we talked to said it was important to bring their kids because President Hinckley is the only Prophet the children have known. It’s interesting and downright sick that people believe Hinckley is a prophet considering he was selected by men of the church. How can mortal men determine who is a “prophet” and who isn’t? The answer is simple, because Hinckley was no prophet and the LDS/Mormon “religion” is not a religion at all. Its a cult.

But the viewing experience also taught the children lessons about life and death and faith.

Friday was the last day to see President Hinckley lying in repose at the conference center in the Hall of the Prophets.

Saturday, a private viewing has been scheduled for the Hinckley family.

Then, at 11:00 am, a funeral service will be held, also at the conference center.

Many dignitaries are expected to attend, including Health Secretary Michael O. Leavitt and presidential candidate Mitt Romney. It is surprising that Romney, a believer and follower of the cult, would rather attend the funeral of the cult leader than campaign in the critical weekend before Super Tuesday.

How sad, very, very sad.

Independent Democracy reaches 20,000 hit milestone

Breaking News:

Independent Democracy reached the 20,000 hit mark this morning.

Thanks to all for your support.

What will you do with your tax rebate check?

By June, approximately 117 million people will get $600, $1,200 (+ $300 per child) rebate checks in an effort to “jump start” the economy. It’s all really a joke in my opinion. All it does is increase the national debt even more and if the “jump start” theory works, it will line the pockets of the businesses who most people will eventually spent the money with.

The plan is a national embarrassment. In addition to the $100 billion cost to simply give away money to millions of people, it also provides $50 billion in tax breaks for businesses. Are you kidding me? Unless a business is going under, why must we give a tax break to a company that’s already profitable? In addition to the profit the businesses will see as people spent their rebate check with them, we’re going to increase their profits even more with tax breaks. All this does is line the pockets of shareholders. We’re actually giving tax breaks to companies even though they already pay millions of dollars in salary to their CEO’s. We’re giving tax breaks to companies who fire Presidents and CEOs while they give them millions of dollars in severance pay as they walk out the door. Sorry, no CEO is worth $50 million a year in salary.

Where do people think this money is coming from? Do we have money tress growing on the grounds of the Treasury I don’t know about? One of the problems with our economy is the growing foreign debt and our government policy of spending money we don’t have in tax revenue. When individuals do this long enough, they eventually declare bankruptcy and destroy their credit. When the U.S.A. does it, we sink deeper in debt with an IOU to our children.

Imagine what our country COULD do with $150 billion. We could spend it on renewable energy initiatives and give away the electricity generated for free. We could use it to shore up the Social Security coffers. We could start offering free health care to children. We could repair the 500+ bridges in the country that are considered “structurally deficient”. We could upgrade our schools, pay teachers more, increase pay for our military personnel, improve mass transit in our smog filled cities, etc., etc., etc.

Now I know the $150 billion wouldn’t pay for all of any project I just listed. But aren’t those a more pressing “need” than free money to 117 million people and tax breaks for profitable companies?

I will take the $$ and throw it all in my IRA. I know that’s not what big government wants me to do with it, but that’s too bad. I’ll need this “loan” later when taxes eventually go up to “pay back” this Christmas in June check or when Social Security goes bye bye due to the money well running dry.

What will you do with your Christmas in June bonus check?

Zacarias Moussaoui tipster gets $5 million reward

By MATTHEW LEE and LARA JAKES JORDAN, Associated Press Writers

The Bush administration paid a $5 million reward to a former Minnesota flight instructor who provided authorities with information that led to the arrest and conviction of 9/11 conspirator Zacarias Moussaoui. Two colleagues questioned why he got the money.

The recipient, Clarence Prevost, was honored Thursday at a closed-door ceremony at the State Department, although the payout was secretly authorized last fall by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and the Justice Department, U.S. officials told The Associated Press.

The reward from the State Department’s “Rewards for Justice” program is the first and only one to date to a U.S. citizen related to the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, the officials said.

It is also unusual because Moussaoui, who was imprisoned at the time of the attacks, was never named as a wanted suspect by the program. The program mainly seeks information about perpetrators or planners of terrorist acts against U.S. interests and citizens abroad.

The State Department would not identify the recipient, citing privacy and security concerns.

Two administration officials, however, said the reward went to Prevost, a key witness at Moussaoui’s trial who has previously spoken out about his involvement in the case. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly about the matter.

Prevost, 69, is a former Navy pilot who later flew for Northwest Airlines and goes by his nickname “Clancy.” He was Moussaoui’s flight instructor at the Pan Am International Flight Academy outside Minneapolis.

No one answered at an apartment listed for Clarence Prevost in a residential hotel in Coral Gables, Fla., an upscale Miami suburb. Calls to a number listed to Prevost were not answered.

None of the immediate neighbors who were home Thursday evening recognized his name, but a hotel concierge who declined to give his name said he sometimes chatted with the Minnesota flight instructor. The concierge described him as tall, thin, and unassuming and said he never had mentioned any involvement with the Moussaoui case.

He was one of several people who worked at the flight school that Moussaoui attended in August 2001 and who alerted the FBI to his suspicious desire to pilot jumbo jets.

News of the reward came as a surprise to two other Pan Am flight instructors, Tim Nelson and Hugh Sims, who also have been credited with tipping the FBI to Moussaoui and were honored by the Senate in 2005 with a resolution that commended their “bravery” and “heroism.”

Sims, in a phone interview from Fort Myers, Fla., said he didn’t want to comment “till we get a few things straightened out.”

“He was certainly there but he didn’t call the FBI. I have no idea why he received the reward,” Sims said.

Prevost said during the trial that he urged flight school officials to call the FBI and one day an agent showed up to ask him questions about Moussaoui.

Sims recounted meeting Moussaoui at Pan Am on a Monday, and said that two days later he and Nelson each called the FBI separately.

“Clancy had a part of it. Whether he continued to expand on his portion of this, that’s fine,” Sims said. “Today has been a very large surprise for me.”

Nelson was talking with family members Thursday evening and was not immediately available, his wife, Jodie Quinn-Nelson said. She said the reward “was given out to the wrong person” and said her husband was upset.

“We’re just kind of dumbfounded with what happened here,” she said.

Prevost and the others said they thought it was strange Moussaoui wanted to learn to fly a Boeing 747 despite the fact that he had little flying background.

After his arrest, Moussaoui sat in jail for 3 1/2 weeks on an immigration violation, saying little to investigators before hijacked planes slammed into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon or crashed in a Pennsylvania field on Sept. 11.

The Minneapolis FBI agents who responded to the tips were unable to persuade their superiors in Washington to seek a national security warrant to search Moussaoui’s belongings and laptop computer.

Moussaoui later confessed to being the “20th hijacker” and was sentenced to life in prison without parole in 2006 after a trial marked by numerous outbursts, conflicts with his lawyers and questions about his status, if any, within Osama bin Laden’s al-Qaida network.

He told jurors he was to have piloted a fifth plane on Sept. 11 and fly it into the White House.

But after the jury decided against sentencing him to death, Moussaoui recanted his testimony and denied any role in 9/11, saying he lied on the stand because he assumed he had no chance of getting a fair trial.

Rewards for Justice, which was created in 1984, has paid about $77 million in rewards to more than 50 people.

___

Associated Press writers Doug Glass in Minneapolis, Minn., and Laura Wides-Munoz in Coral Gables, Fla., contributed to this report.

___

On the Net:

Rewards for Justice: http://www.rewardsforjustice.net

What companies do you boycott and why?

Here’s an interesting question:

Do you boycott companies that don’t line up with your values or have wronged you in some way?

A few examples of this I can think of:

• A person who believes in protecting the environment refuses to shop at a retailer known for harmful environmental practices.

• Someone who avoids a company because some of their policies are unfair in that person’s view (for instance, many people think Wal-mart’s policies towards its workers are unfair.)

• A couple who doesn’t buy from a particular manufacturer because that company promotes products that are inconsistent with their religious beliefs.

• People who don’t support certain businesses because of what those businesses don’t do (such as they don’t offer benefits to same-sex partners.)

Are there any companies you refuse to do business with because of their stance/actions? Who are they and why do you boycott them?

I’ll start this off. I currently boycott Wal-mart, Fox News, and Jiffy Lube.

First I’ll start with Wal-mart. I’ve had more than a few unhappy experiences at Wal-mart. In addition to not liking the store for the damage they do to the businesses around them, low wages, lack of health care for all employees, and forbidding of organizing by their employees (unions), I’ve had repeated bad shopping experiences there. Long lines is not a fair trade off for saving 75 cents on a bag of dog food. Can’t they afford to open some more checkout lanes before the line gets 20 customers deep? After all, it’s not like they pay their employees much above minimum wage. (No disrespect to employees of Wal-mart. I have no issues with the people who work there. It’s better to have a minimum wage paying job at Wal-mart than no job at all. My problem is how the company treats it’s employees and the damage it does to a community.).

There was one time about a year ago I shopped there out of convenience and bought a bunch of stuff for my office. A couple of days later I went to another store just for kicks to check out their prices for the exact same items. Out of the 13 items I bought at Wal-mart, 11 items were cheaper at the other store. I was so aggravated, I returned all 13 items and haven’t shopped at Wal-mart since. Low prices my ASS. How does a company who supposedly offers low, low prices still make a gagillian dollars in profit every year? I really dislike Wal-mart.

Next is Fox News. That news network (and I use that term very loosely) is very far right biased. I’ll admit, other networks like CNN and MSNBC are not totally innocent, but neither network is in the league of Fox News. The outright lies and right-wing propaganda that spew out of that news department is pathetic. Just this week, anchor John Gibson joked at the death of Heath Ledger because he played a gay guy in the film Brokeback Mountain. See my previous post on the subject. How disrespectful is that? I’ve always said that if the acronym CNN wasn’t already used, Fox News could use it and call themselves the Conservative News Network. Then they could change their catch phrase to: Fox News, we lie you decide. Or Fox News, we lie you idiots watch us.

Jiffy Lube, it may be convenient, but I don’t need some jackass trying to sell me (each time I go there) an overpriced set of windshield wipers, a fuel injection thrust cleaning, a radiator reverse flush, an A/C recharge, or a brake fluid stabilizer (or whatever dumb ass phrase they use). There was a time I did go to Jiffy Lube out of convenience. But after repeatedly getting harassed over and over again to purchase one add-on service after another, that wasn’t needed, I just got tired of it. I would say no to one item, they would mention another, and another, and another, and another. They would go down their list of overpriced services and I would have to reply with no, no, no, no, and no. And it would happen each time I went there, guaranteed. It got to a point that I would always answer the right answer after every question.

Mr. Evans, when was the last time you had your fuel injector cleaned? Last month, I don’t need it done again. Next. Mr. Evans, when was the last time you had your cooling system reversed flushed? I did that last week, I don’t need it done again. Next. Mr. Evans, when was the last time you had your dip stick serviced? None of your business. Next. And it would go on and on. It felt like I was being cross examined in a court of law.

I finally just got tired of it and never went back. It’s been more than 4 years now and I’m happy to say my dip stick still sticks and my fuel injectors still spray (man, you have a dirty mind).

Anyway, please leave your reply if you have any companies you avoid. Tell me who they are and why you boycott them.

Fox News Bigot John Gibson Mocks ‘Weirdo’ Heath Ledger’s Death

Listen to the audio at Think Progress

Fox news John Gibson is a religious-right bigot. They need to fire his ass.

Opening his radio show with funeral music yesterday, Fox News host John Gibson callously mocked the death of actor Heath Ledger, calling him a “weirdo” with a “serious drug problem.”

Playing an audio clip of the iconic quote, “I wish I knew how to quit you” from Ledger’s gay romance movie Brokeback Mountain, Gibson disdainfully quipped, “Well, he found out how to quit you.” Laughing, Gibson then played another clip from Brokeback Mountain in which Ledger said, “We’re dead,” followed by his own, mocking “We’re dead” before playing the clip again.

Throughout the course of the show, Gibson continued to bring up Ledger’s death while discussing current events, jokingly claiming that current events may have caused him to commit suicide.

On yesterday’s drop in the stock market:

GIBSON: Maybe he had a serious position in the market.

TOM SULLIVAN: And possibly today, he looked at the window and said…

GIBSON: “Oh my God.”

SULLIVAN: His name’s not Keith Bledger, right?

GIBSON: He was depressed about yesterday’s downturn in the world stock markets.

On the Democratic debate in South Carolina:

GIBSON: Apparently Heath Ledger was suicidal and his friends saw it coming. I think he watched the Clinton-Obama debate last night. I think he was an Edwards guy, cause he saw his Edwards guy was just completely irrelevant.

In reality, New York City Police spokesman Paul J. Browne told the New York Times that there was “no obvious indication of suicide.”

You stay classy, John Gibson.

UPDATE: In 2006, when Brokeback Mountain was released, Gibson repeatedly made fun of the film, calling it “a gay agenda movie.”

Kansas Baptist Church Intends to Picket Heath Ledger’s Funeral Because He Played Gay Character

A radical Baptist church in Kansas known for picketing the funerals of soldiers who perished in Iraq said it intends to protest Heath Ledger’s memorial service with signs claiming the actor died and is in Hell because he played a gay character in “Brokeback Mountain.”

Shirley Phelps-Roper of the Westboro Baptist Church in Topeka said that she and other members will picket Ledger’s United States memorial services, not those held in his native Australia.

“You cannot live in defiance of God,” she said. “He got on that big screen with a big, fat message: God is a liar and it’s OK to be gay.”

A press release circulated by the church references Leviticus 18:22 in the Bible, which states that “thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind: it is abomination.”

“Heath Ledger is now in Hell, and has begun serving his eternal sentence there,” the Westboro Baptist announcement says.

Started 1955, the Topeka, Kan.-based church has conducted over 34,000 peaceful demonstrations opposing the homosexual lifestyle, according to their Web site, GodHatesFags.com.

The organization runs various Web sites, including GodHatesAmerica.com and others that condemn lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people, Muslims, Roman Catholics and Jews as well as certain nationalities, according to Wikipedia.

The Southern Poverty Law Center classifies the church as a hate group and the organization is monitored by the Anti-Defamation League, according to its Wikipedia entry.

Phelps-Roper said the church group will also be picketing the Academy Awards this year.

Both the printed release and Phelps-Roper’s verbal diatribe about Ledger were rife with homophobic slurs. She said that those who call her and other members of Westboro Baptist Church bigots must also think God is a bigot.

“God hates fags,” she said. “The wrath of God has been revealed before the eyes of this nation with the death of Heath Ledger. … This nation worships the dead almost as much as they worship their filthy sex acts. America is doomed.”

Study proves Bush lied to American people before Iraq war

Study: False statements preceded war

By DOUGLASS K. DANIEL
Associated Press Writer

A study by two nonprofit journalism organizations found that President Bush and top administration officials issued hundreds of false statements about the national security threat from Iraq in the two years following the 2001 terrorist attacks.

The study concluded that the statements “were part of an orchestrated campaign that effectively galvanized public opinion and, in the process, led the nation to war under decidedly false pretenses.”

The study was posted Tuesday on the Web site of the Center for Public Integrity, which worked with the Fund for Independence in Journalism.

White House spokesman Scott Stanzel did not comment on the merits of the study Tuesday night but reiterated the administration’s position that the world community viewed Iraq’s leader, Saddam Hussein, as a threat.

“The actions taken in 2003 were based on the collective judgment of intelligence agencies around the world,” Stanzel said.

The study counted 935 false statements in the two-year period. It found that in speeches, briefings, interviews and other venues, Bush and administration officials stated unequivocally on at least 532 occasions that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction or was trying to produce or obtain them or had links to al-Qaida or both.

“It is now beyond dispute that Iraq did not possess any weapons of mass destruction or have meaningful ties to al-Qaida,” according to Charles Lewis and Mark Reading-Smith of the Fund for Independence in Journalism staff members, writing an overview of the study. “In short, the Bush administration led the nation to war on the basis of erroneous information that it methodically propagated and that culminated in military action against Iraq on March 19, 2003.”

Named in the study along with Bush were top officials of the administration during the period studied: Vice President Dick Cheney, national security adviser Condoleezza Rice, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld, Secretary of State Colin Powell, Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz and White House press secretaries Ari Fleischer and Scott McClellan.

Bush led with 259 false statements, 231 about weapons of mass destruction in Iraq and 28 about Iraq’s links to al-Qaida, the study found. That was second only to Powell’s 244 false statements about weapons of mass destruction in Iraq and 10 about Iraq and al-Qaida.

The center said the study was based on a database created with public statements over the two years beginning on Sept. 11, 2001, and information from more than 25 government reports, books, articles, speeches and interviews.

“The cumulative effect of these false statements — amplified by thousands of news stories and broadcasts — was massive, with the media coverage creating an almost impenetrable din for several critical months in the run-up to war,” the study concluded.

“Some journalists — indeed, even some entire news organizations — have since acknowledged that their coverage during those prewar months was far too deferential and uncritical. These mea culpas notwithstanding, much of the wall-to-wall media coverage provided additional, ‘independent’ validation of the Bush administration’s false statements about Iraq,” it said.

On the Net:

Center For Public Integrity: http://www.publicintegrity.org

Fund For Independence in Journalism: http://www.tfij.org

Women Angry Over Oprah-Obama Campaign

Some Say Oprah is a “Traitor” for Endorsing Obama and not Clinton

By EMILY FRIEDMAN

Jan. 22, 2008—

A month after Oprah hit the campaign trail with Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama, the queen of day time talk is facing heat from her largely female fans who have traditionally agreed with just about anything she has done  from the books she reads to the weight loss plans she tries.

But Oprah’s endorsement of Obama is different from the typical seals of approval the host offers on her show, and as early as November 2007 commenters on her site’s message boards began unleashing criticism of her endorsement for the black candidate  Obama  rather than the female one  Hillary Clinton.

“I cannot believe that women all over this country are not up in arms over Oprah’s backing of Obama,” wrote austaz68 on Oprah.com, in a message thread titled “Oprah is a Traitor!!!” “For the first time in history we actually have a host at putting a woman in the white house and Oprah backs the black MAN. She’s choosing her race over her gender  hypocrisy [sic] at it’s finest!! Oprah  you should be ashamed of yourself!!!!!”

And almost two months later, some are still fuming  sparking a heated debate among Oprah’s fiercest critics and now her supporters, anxious to defend the beloved host.

On Jan. 19, wendykwrit posted, “You know, for so long I’ve felt a connection to Oprah and all that she’s done not only for women but the world in general. She was such an idol to me and I truly loved all that she stood for. Since she threw her support behind Barack Obama I felt like she let me down.”

“I feel like I lost a friend who I thought identified with me and now I realize she’s something she’s not,” added the poster. “I refuse to even watch the show anymore.”

But for every critic of Oprah there seems to be a supporter. One poster called those angry with Oprah’s endorsement “ignorant.”

“Oprah is a traitor, you say. A traitor to whom?” asked Susanne01 on Jan. 20. “My answer would be a traitor to ignorant women who would blindly vote for Hillary because she is a woman. Grow up and get some education.”

Back in November when the first criticisms arose, Oprah issued a statement herself, defending her decision to endorse a politician for the first time.

“I thought long and hard before stepping up and out into this because it feels like I am stepping out of my pew and I know that no matter what you do, you’re going to be criticized. So, I weighed it. What is the cost for me doing it? Am I going to lose viewers? I made the decision that I have the right to do it as an American citizen and I am doing this because I feel it is the right thing to do at this time,” said Oprah in a statement provided to ABCNEWS.com.

A spokesperson added that the show’s Web site is meant to be an “open forum” for viewers to share their opinions.

“I don’t see any evidence of an Oprah effect,” said Diana Owen, an associate professor of political science and the chair of the American studies department at Georgetown University. “We don’t have any data [to show her endorsement has had an effect on voters]. The race is so up for grabs.”

The first face-off between Obama and Clinton was in Iowa, and while he did succeed with female voters in the Iowa Caucuses  receiving 35 percent to Clinton’s 30 percent  Owens adds there is no way to be sure Oprah’s campaigning could take credit for the win.

Her effect is equally unclear in both New Hampshire where Clinton garnered 46 percent of the female vote to Obama’s 34 and in Nevada where more than 50 percent of the females preferred Clinton, according to ABC News polls and analysis.

And as for Oprah’s numbers in terms of ratings, Owens suspects that not much has changed.

“[Her endorsement] certainly doesn’t seem to have diminished her popularity in terms of the show, it’s still up there in the ratings,” said Owens. “The backlash is probably a small percentage of her fans.”

A call to Oprah’s publicist for ratings information was not immediately returned.

Women’s Org Reminds Voters to Stay on Point

Kim Gandy, president of the National Organization of Women, told ABCNEWS.com that she was familiar with the negative feedback Oprah had received following her endorsement, and isn’t convinced the harsh criticism was merited.

A candidate’s race or gender should not be a factor in an election  the issues they stand for and support should be, said Gandy.

“[The postings] are not a fair characterization of Oprah,” said Gandy. “There are other reasons she chose Obama than his race  we all choose candidates because they embody our hopes for the future.”

NOW has endorsed Clinton for president, but Gandy told ABCNEWS.com that in the past the organization has chosen male candidates over female candidates, resulting in an outcry similar to the one Oprah is facing.

“We got a lot of grief from women saying, ‘How could you did this’ and ‘how could you endorse a man over a woman,'” said Gandy. “But we endorse the candidate that we think will be the strongest for women.”

Had Obama been more outspoken on women’s issues during his time in the Senate, said Gandy, NOW would have had no hesitation in endorsing him over Clinton.

Could Oprah’s Obama Endorsement Backfire?

With Super Tuesday just around the corner, when 22 states hold primaries on Feb. 5, how women will vote will matter to each and every presidential candidate. It’s unlikely, though, that Oprah’s own political agenda will have much effect on the results, said Sid Milkis, a White Burkett Miller professor of politics at the University of Virginia.

“Traditionally celebrities haven’t had that much impact on campaigns,” said Milkis. “Obama doesn’t need help getting large crowds either, he’s a celebrity in his own right and if there’s been any criticism of him it’s been to do with his lack of experience [not his friendship with Oprah].”

In fact, rather than hurt the way females turn out to vote for Obama, Oprah’s political agenda may only hurt her own franchise, says Milkis.

“Anyone who can make a best seller out of Anna Karenina has tremendous appeal,” said Milkis. “This is the first time she’s taken a political position and she needs to explain why she felt compelled.

“Sometimes when you go political like this it goes sour,” added Milkis.

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