Twitterpation at the AP

Who is Douglass K. Daniel of the AP? Evidently not a reporter probably also not a competent news analyst. In an "analysis" titled "Palin's words carry racial tinge" Daniel purports to argue that any criticism of Senator Obama is racially tinged. That charge is completely false. Daniel does not bother to back his claim with any facts, he thinks that the mere assertion of a string of issues is enough.

He quotes Governor Palin who said "Our opponent ... is someone who sees America, it seems, as being so imperfect, imperfect enough, that he's palling around with terrorists who would target their own country," He describes that as " A deliberate attempt to smear Obama."

Palin was trying to make a point that Obama does not believe in the idea of American exceptionalism. She said "This is not a man who sees America like you and I see America. We see America as a force of good in this world. We see an America of exceptionalism." You may disagree with the Governor's conclusion but it is absurd to suggest that the differences in conclusions are in any way racist.

Daniel then moves Palin's comments on the Obama relationship with William Ayers. Palin described (correctly) that Ayers is both an unrepentant terrorist and close to Obama. Daniel makes the absurd claim that the relationship between Ayers as "not close." But that is contradicted by the facts. Early in Obama's political career Ayers and his wife hosted a fund-raiser, does Daniel believe that this kind of sponsorship is a random event? The other issue raised by Daniel's claim is whether active service on a board where Ayers and the Senator served and jointly wrote bylaws constitutes a close relationship. Ayers may or may not be on the inside of Obama's circle of advisers. But the relationship between Obama and Ayers is well established both from the fund raiser and from his work on the Annenberg project.

Daniel gets even more absurd when he claims that Palin's "incendiary" charge draws media and voter attention away from the worsening economy. It also comes after McCain supported a "pork-laden Wall Street bailout plan" in spite of conservative anger and his own misgivings. Oh, by the way Mr. Daniel, Senator Obama also supported the "pork-laden Wall Street bailout." And based on polling the anger about the package was not limited to conservatives.

Finally Daniel raises the specter of Willie Horton. In the 1988 election Al Gore (last time we checked Gore is a democrat) raised the issue of a furlough program that Governor Dukakis had authorized. Horton was furloughed and committed another crime on furlough. The Horton ad was run once, although the GOP raised the issue in a number of forums. Some lefties argue that because Horton was Black the issue was racist. Dukakis' policy was fool-hardy. But Daniel ignores the consequences of the policy and focuses on the race of the perpetrator.

Ultimately, Daniel's "analysis" is an almost textbook example of media bias. A person could disagree with Palin's conclusions. Many do not believe in the idea of American exceptionalism. William Ayers may not be a close adviser to Obama. But to claim that any of this is somehow racist is nonsense. In case one thinks that Daniel is being attacked I have attached the CNN coverage on the Ayers link to Obama.