Althouse: "I love how I’m going to get blamed for a vid clip circulated by the nutroots."

May 2, 2008

"I love how I’m going to get blamed for a vid clip circulated by the nutroots."

Says Michelle Malkin. I wish I'd been on this story earlier, because I've watched the documentary "The War Room" many times. It's a favorite DVD in my family, and we've watched it together and talked about it many times. Ben Smith talked to the director D.A. Pennebaker about what looks like a dirty trick, but then he updates that he "spoke to the editor of the video who said that he enhanced, but didn't alter, the audio in the second portion of the video." So the mystery is alive. But how much do we care what Mickey Kantor muttered 16 years ago?

Whatever you think of all that, you can buy "The War Room" on Amazon for $11. You can make a great triple feature if you add "Primary" (about JFK and Hubert Humphrey fighting it out in Wisconsin in 1960) and "Journeys with George" (Nancy Pelosi's daughter Alexandra films the travails of the journalists who follow the Bush campaign in 2000). But "The War Room" is the best of them all. Or take a different path and make it a cool double feature with "Don't Look Back," Pennebaker's great documentary about Bob Dylan — 1965 Bob Dylan.

20 comments:

George M. Spencer said...: Obama is Nixon spelled backwards.; 5/2/08, 2:40 PM
Anonymous said...: Is there some sense of the word "circulate" in which the nutroots circulated the video but Malkin did not?; 5/2/08, 2:41 PM
Revenant said...: I think what Malkin means is that the Obama crowd was already pushing the video before she picked up on it.

Fortunately, the evidence of fraud came out before the video spread too much.; 5/2/08, 3:11 PM
Fen said...: Fortunately, the evidence of fraud came out before the video spread too much.

There was no fraud, but if the documents are not what we were led to believe, I'd like to break that story.

;); 5/2/08, 3:27 PM
Anonymous said...: This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.; 5/2/08, 6:21 PM
Unknown said...: Well, isn't that special.; 5/2/08, 6:34 PM
somefeller said...: I'd suggest Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars for a nice Pennebaker evening.

And Pat, that comment is something less than charming.; 5/2/08, 6:49 PM
Revenant said...: There was no fraud, but if the documents are not what we were led to believe

I was under the impression that the audio had been messed with.; 5/2/08, 7:03 PM
Simon said...: "But how much do we care what Mickey Kantor muttered 16 years ago?"

That's really the bottom line, isn't it? Is it really of any relevance whatsoever to the Hillary 2008 campaign what someone who once worked for Hillary's husband said in 1992? This really does smell of desperation on Obama's part.; 5/2/08, 8:14 PM
vbspurs said...: Is it me, or was Dubya flirting very visibly with Alexandra Pelosi in "Journeys with George"?

I have watched that a few times on HBO or whatever it was, and each time I am convinced that merry twinkle in his eye is genuine horndoggedness.

Which is rather cool, since I expect that from a Clinton not a Bush.

That I know he would never take it further, makes it better though.

Cheers,
Victoria; 5/2/08, 8:48 PM
Fen said...: Sorry Rev, I was channeling Dan Rather and forgot the sarcasm tags.

"if the documents are not what we were led to believe, I'd like to break that story."; 5/2/08, 9:07 PM
Mortimer Brezny said...: Is it really of any relevance whatsoever to the Hillary 2008 campaign what someone who once worked for Hillary's husband said in 1992?

Kantor advises Hillary now, and as a former trade representative (remember he was the guy who went hardline on Japan at the WTO?), he certainly has been giving her real advice on NAFTA and trade deals. So he's a major Hillary adviser.

Whether he made the second statement or not, he cleary calls the people of Indiana shit. That frankly shocked me. I thought Mickey Kantor was a higher-class guy, and it frankly does make me wonder about Hillary's gas tax pandering. Maybe she does think Indiana residents are morons.; 5/2/08, 9:41 PM
Joe Giles said...: Y'all will have to forgive me if I don't accept 60 Minutes' video editors version of Justice Scalia nor Team Obama's version of a 16 year old Mickey Kantor line.

In watching a longer clip, I wasn't sure what Kantor was referring to (the WH? Perot? Pollsters?), nor was what he said clearly audible to me.

That said, it seems LEAST plausible that he was bashing the people of Indiana. For starters, why would he? The most plausible explanation, as they were reading a very positive list of results, is that they were pleased that it was 42-40 in Indiana, which of course was the home state of the sitting Vice President.

The idea that Kantor was pissed at the state is odd. Considering that Clinton had done so well in a traditionally red state and home of the sitting Veep makes it really unlikely.; 5/2/08, 10:28 PM
Fen said...: Mort: he cleary calls the people of Indiana shit.

No Mort, this is what he said:

"Those people are shit — Oh, excuse me … shitting in the White House [at Perot’s numbers]."

Watch the fuller undoctored clip

"Go to about 4:30 in this YouTube, and see for yourself. The context is clearly the polling results and how bad they looked for the Bush campaign, referencing Texas specifically"

/via Malkin; 5/3/08, 6:31 AM
garage mahal said...: It was worth a try. It's not like the media would report on it if they got caught, or try to find out who the trickster was.; 5/3/08, 8:42 AM
Fen said...: Hey garage, have you chilled out since your earlier post? I know how it gets - a partisan op pulls a dirty trick, and my first reaction is to go looking for scalps.

And isn't it funny how some VRWC types like me are now aligned with Clinton supporters, against Obama? I've even using the former insult "Broomstick One" as a term of endearment. The lady has guts.; 5/3/08, 10:31 AM
Fen said...: transcript, via Poltico:

"THE WAR ROOM" TRANSCRIPT:

GEORGE AND CARVILLE: Indiana, we're ahead.

JACQUELINE: Indiana!

GEORGE: Kentucky.

CARVILLE: Kentucky is five. Michigan is eleven, New York's done.

GEORGE: Holy sh**, we're pulling away in Ohio.

CARVILLE: Oklahoma we're up.

GEORGE: Tied in Texas.

CARVILLE: Tied in Texas. It looks good. Now let's just say that. I like the text here.

GEORGE: Can you beep Wendy please? Looks pretty good. Looks pretty good.

MICKEY: Look at Indiana. Wait, wait. Look at Indiana. Forty-two, forty. It doesn't matter if we win. Those people are shi**ing (oh, excuse me) in the White House. How would you like to be... Look at Texas, go down to Texas.

CARVILLE: Even.

MICKEY: Yeah. Thirty-nine, thirty-nine.

CARVILLE: Perot's kind of holding, isn't he?

GEORGE: He held.

MICKEY: Yeah, he held. His numbers held. I'm sort of surprised, frankly.; 5/3/08, 10:48 AM
Roger J. said...: My suspicion is that team Obama tried two hit pieces, both of which went bad. the "baptist minister" confronting John McCain, and a terribly done remake of a twenty year old clip to make Ms. Clinton look bad. If these idiots can' do dirty tricks well, how are they going to run the white house.
Hang in there, Garage: Ms. Clinton is still in this one.; 5/3/08, 11:11 AM
garage mahal said...: Fen/Roger
Ha, yea I was talking about rhetorical molotovs of course, but I was pretty livid after hearing Ed Schultz flog this breathlessly calling the Clintons racists, accusing Ben Smith of being a Clinton surrogate huckster, yada yada yada. Dishonest hacks, all of 'em. I'm mostly enjoying it though, I got a kick out of Hillary knocking back shots and talking about obliterating Iran while Obama was whining about ABC questions. To me she is a much more compelling figure than WJC, and posseses alot more sensibilities without the narcissism, campaigning relentlessly, looking like shit sometimes and not seeming to really care. Lately Obama looks to me like a person who thinks a ton of bricks is about to fall on top of him.; 5/3/08, 12:12 PM
dick said...: As to Mickey Kantor, love how we are supposed to ignore him now.

Bush is blamed for his ties to Enron. What is not mentioned is that Clinton sent Mickey Kantor around the world with the Enron reps to sell their products while Bush is the one who refused to step in when the Enron accounting errors showed up, yet Bush is the one who is blamed for being close to Enron.

Kinda makes you wonder what else Mickey did for the Clintons in those days, given all the help the Clinton campaign is getting from the Chinese and the other overseas money people. I don't think that whole story has been heard yet and if the Clintons can help it we won't hear it before the campaign is over.; 5/3/08, 3:50 PM