The Obama administration has gone into full reelection mode with the launch of a new website, attackwatch.com. The website’s stated purpose is to “Get the facts. Fight the smears.” It lists recent charges leveled against Obama or his administration and attempts to counter these charges by linking to outside websites or statements by the president/administration officials. It encourages visitors to sign up for email distributions, follow the site on Twitter, and to report new “attacks.” It also asks visitors to donate to “support the truth”—aka the president’s reelection campaign.
Moving beyond the terrifying implication that Obama is “the truth” (I thought he was just “the one”?), we’ve seen the Obama campaign do this before with a very similar website during the 2008 election called fightthesmears.com. The site is still around, though it hasn’t been updated since the election. Although the two websites are fundamentally the same, there are some interesting differences.
The first has more to do with style than substance. Unlike FightTheSmears, which was clean-cut and contained mostly whites and blues, AttackWatch is cluttered and presented in stark red and black colors. It contains creepy black-and-white photographs of the president’s “attackers” (read: political opponents) alongside such lines as “Rick Perry’s Massive Jobs Lie.” Weirdly, it includes close-up photographs of these “attackers’” lips. The overall effect is to make the new site look like some sort of conspiracy website.
Another major difference, less immediately noticeable, is the absence of a quote by Obama that featured prominently on FightTheSmears:
“What you won’t hear from this campaign or this party is the kind of politics that uses religion as a wedge, and patriotism as a bludgeon—that sees our opponents not as competitors to challenge, but enemies to demonize.” – Barack Obama, June 3, 2008
The fact that this quote, or something similar, is lacking from AttackWatch reveals that Obama has officially abandoned the politics of hope and has embraced the politics of… well, just politics.
print this page
I relish, lead to I discovered exactly what I was taking a look for. You have ended my 4 day long hunt! God Bless you man. Have a nice day. Bye
Thanks for the news Henrik. Attackwatch is a disturbing development but one that is not wholly unexpected from this president who has gone back on his word countless times before. Here’s hoping the new year will bring us a new president as well.
Jason
Hi, i feel that i noticed you visited my website so i came to return the prefer?.I am attempting to in finding issues to enhance my site!I suppose its adequate to use some of your concepts!!
Nice article Henrik. I especially liked the last sentence, because it truly captures the essence of politics today. Looking forward to keeping up on your posts.
1771
Nice job Henrik.
“I have already intimated to you the danger of parties in the State, with particular reference to the founding of them on geographical discriminations. Let me now take a more comprehensive view, and warn you in the most solemn manner against the baneful effects of the spirit of party generally.”-George Washington’s Farewell Address of 1796
-BMD-1805
-1796
Well written article Henrik. Keep up the good work.
I am getting a head start. I am reporting myself…I am AGAINST Obama…completely. I will be waiting submissively when the goons come knocking at my door…but this used to be America!!!
We can all be Stasi.
I denounce myself!
Update: report just in: Obama was so elevated by Matthews comments that he has invited him to an exclusive blackshirt and tie soiree in his bunker…
New Obama Campaign Theme Song
Breaking: Rumors of a new 2012 Obama campaign theme song. It’s a mashup of two oldies but goldies. It goes like this:
Paranoia strikes deep
Into you heart it will creep
Step out of line, the man come and take you away
…
They’re coming to take me away, ha-haaa!!
They’re coming to take me away, ho-ho, hee-hee, ha-haaa
To the funny farm. Where life is beautiful all the time and I’ll be
happy to see those nice young men in their clean white coats and they’re
coming to take me away, ha-haaa!!!!
Any Christian cannot see the implication of Obama as truth and still vote for the man without giving up something dear.
Dear Attack Watch,
My friends say President Obama is so clueless that he doesn’t even understand the problems confronting the nation…forget about him possessing any skill set that would allow him to formulate solutions. Please help me combat this vicious smear. It would help immensely if you could convince the President to say something that makes sense.
Your humble drone,
Otis
Breaking: MSNBC exclusive
Chris Matthews is rumored to have reiterated sometime late last that not only does Obama still create a thrill up and down his leg but he also is of the opinion that Obama could dance the pants off Churchill. (This from a man for whom Churchill is the gold standard.) We promise to bring more updates as things develop, back to you…
Say, wasn’t red and black a favorite Goebbels color scheme? No, really. Just asking, please don’t report me. Please! Bwahahahahaha…
Stasi anyone?
The phone tree might go like this:
Press 1 to report counter-revolutionary sentiments.
Press 2 to report insufficient enthusiasm for the collective.
Press 3 to report hoarding.
As weird as it seems, this seems like a good idea and I’ll bet many other pols are doing it. Of course, they have the sense to couch it as “Feedback: tell us what you’re thinking” or something similar.
Ah, but you miss the true Moebius-like, paradoxical beauty of that quote (a quality which permeates almost every speech Obama has ever made).
The very speech act– the very sentence– which self-reflexively claims that it is *not* doing something (i.e. voicing “the kind of politics” that “sees our opponents as […] enemies to demonize”) is in fact doing *just* that, at that very moment, in that very speech act: the sentence in effect demonizes “our opponents” as the kind of people– enemies– who “use religion as a wedge, and patriotism as a bludgeon.”
Obama does this *all the time*. It’s like a rhetorical magic trick he pulls off again & again–astonishing. And no one in the MSM ever calls him on it.
I’m reporting you immediately.
I looked at the attackwatch.com web site out of curiosity. GIGO applies. Most interesting was the submission rules: http://www.barackobama.com/submission-terms. They really don’t trust anyone.
Yeah, yea. So, it’s “Temp”, not “Tremp”….. (All those years in school and I can’t type a guy’s name correctly.)
But I’m sure I spelled it correctly on AttackWatch.com…. Twice.
Have a One Truth day Mr. Temp..
“Moving beyond the terrifying implication that Obama is “the truth” (I thought he was just “the one”?)…”
All righty then. That does it for you, Mr. Henrik Tremp.
Just how many times do you have to be told that Obama is the One (wait for it…) Truth?…
For your blasphemy, your pennance is to recite 1000 Hail Barack’s and bow toward Biden whilst reciting them. (And yes, it *is* a big F’n deal that you bow toward Biden!)
Oh, and I reported you to AttackWatch dot com….
Twice.. Maybe more if you don’t straighten up.
The only thing missing is Emmanuel Goldstein.
+1, TC@LP