Desperately seeking… anything
Now, I didn’t report this ’story’ when it broke because it appeared to be either a) a hoax or b) a silly distraction. But now it’s all over, and the truth of it – on every level – has transpired, I think it’s worth talking about, because it just shows how desperate the McCain campaign has become.
In short: a 20-year-old McCain campaign volunteer in Pennsylvania, Ashley Todd, claimed she was mugged by a “big black man” who saw her McCain/Palin badge, and who, after stealing money from her, scratched a ‘B’ into her face, telling her she was going to vote for Barack Obama.
A photo of the young woman then appeared on news sites (the right-wing Drudge Report first ‘reported’ it) and the whole story caught fire, with Fox News running (and running) with it, and the blogosphere going crazy about it. McCain and Palin both reportedly called Todd and her family; as did Obama’s team.
Just one thing: it all looked decidedly fishy. Mainly because there were no witnesses or evidence; Todd refused any medical attention; and (this is a doozie) the ‘B’ had been scratched very lightly and precisely on her face, and backwards. As if, yes, you were doing it to your own face, looking in a mirror.
And it came out yesterday that Todd’s story was, indeed, untrue. The Pittsburgh police said that they had been suspicious from the start – and have now charged Todd with wasting police time.
So far, so a non-story. A random one-off, a woman with problems seeking attention.
Except that: a) Fox News had run with it (who cares about things like ‘facts’ or ‘evidence’ when you’ve got a rolling news channel to fill?) and b): the McCain campaign team played a part – an integral part – in spreading it.
From TPM:
“John Verrilli, the news director for KDKA in Pittsburgh, told TPM Election Central that McCain’s Pennsylvania campaign communications director gave one of his reporters a detailed version of the attack that included a claim that the alleged attacker said, “You’re with the McCain campaign? I’m going to teach you a lesson.”
Verrilli also told TPM that the McCain spokesperson had claimed that the “B” stood for Barack. According to Verrilli, the spokesperson also told KDKA that Sarah Palin had called the victim of the alleged attack, who has since admitted the story was a hoax.”
Here’s a great segment from CNN explaining more, including why they didn’t run with it:
And here was Countdown covering the story – chiefly the McCain camp’s role in it – last night:
In a way, none of this surprises me. But the fact that the Republicans would push a nasty, fearmongering – oh, and untrue – story like this is surely a sign of just how desperate they’ve become.
Tags: ashley todd, attack, barack obama, cnn, fox news, hoax, John McCain, pittsburgh