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Glenn Beck Distorted Barack Obama's Views On The U.S. Constitution In Video

pbrauer

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In September 2001 Illinois State Senator Barack Obama was interviewed on WBEZ radio (Chicago); he spoke about the U.S. Constitution. On Sept 17, 2009 (Constitution Day) Glenn Beck showed a video on his Fox cable show that used highly edited words from the original WBEZ interview. The word in bold were snipped out of the audio.
HOST: Barack Obama, what are your thoughts on the Declaration and Constitution?

OBAMA: Well, you know, I think it's a remarkable document. I think --

HOST: Which one?

OBAMA: The original Constitution, as well as -- as well as the Civil War amendments, but I think it is an imperfect document, and I think it is a document that reflects some deep flaws in American culture -- the colonial culture nascent at that time.

African-Americans were not -- first of all, they weren't African-Americans. The Africans at the time were not considered as part of the polity that was of concern to the framers. I think that, as [program co-panelist] Richard [John] said, it was a nagging problem in the same way that, these days, we might think of environmental issues or some other problem that, where you have to balance, you know, cost-benefits, as opposed to seeing it as a moral problem involving persons of moral worth.

And, in that sense, I think we can say that the Constitution reflected a enormous blind spot in this culture that carries on until this day, and that the framers had that same blind spot. I don't think the two views are contradictory to say that it was a remarkable political document that paved the way for where we are now, and to say that it also reflected the fundamental flaw of this country that continues to this day.
Here is the original audio from the WBEZ broadcast:




Here is the result after Beck’s edits:
OBAMA: The original Constitution [snip] I think it is an imperfect document, and I think it is a document that reflects some deep flaws in American culture -- the colonial culture nascent at that time. [snip] I think we can say that the Constitution reflected a enormous blind spot in this culture [snip] and that the framers had that same blind spot. [snip] It also reflected the fundamental flaw of this country that continues to this day.
Here is Beck's despicable video:

 
Beck used to have very little credibility.

Now, he has none at all.

Still, this edited version of the president's words will be repeated ad nauseum, you can count on it.
 
I can almost hear the "oohhhhs" and "ahhhhhs" coming from the brainwashed.
 
That is some damn fine snipping that Beck does. It flows really well up until the ending where you can sort of tell what the President is saying doesn't exactly fit well.
 
I agree that is damn fine video editing.
 
goebbels is smiling


and yes, like the a'jad misinterpretation against the zionist regime, mistaken to instead express a threat against the israeli nation, this misrepresentation can be expected to be steadily replayed as factual
 
The editing of the context is not the best part. The best part is the use of the music and other sound effects to lift one's spirit and then make it sad only moments later.
 
The editing of the context is not the best part. The best part is the use of the music and other sound effects to lift one's spirit and then make it sad only moments later.

Oh I agree. In terms of Beck using this to try and paint the President in a certain light I am disappointed. However in terms of him and his staff making a video to look fairly convincing I applaud him.
 
Extremely bad form on Beck. This kind of thing is ridiculous and obvious misrepresentation. When you must edit, distort, or repackage a comment to make it seem worse then it wasn't that bad to begin with. Beck of all people should not be doing this as he should know full well and good what this kind of tactic is like, as media matters does similar types of distortion to him and other commentators
 
Extremely bad form on Beck. This kind of thing is ridiculous and obvious misrepresentation. When you must edit, distort, or repackage a comment to make it seem worse then it wasn't that bad to begin with. Beck of all people should not be doing this as he should know full well and good what this kind of tactic is like, as media matters does similar types of distortion to him and other commentators

It's unfortunate these kind of tactics are still in play. There are plenty of legitimate reasons to criticize Obama without misrepresenting information in general. People buy it though, and ratings are through the roof!
 
Extremely bad form on Beck. This kind of thing is ridiculous and obvious misrepresentation. When you must edit, distort, or repackage a comment to make it seem worse then it wasn't that bad to begin with. Beck of all people should not be doing this as he should know full well and good what this kind of tactic is like, as media matters does similar types of distortion to him and other commentators

This is why Zyphlin is one of the hard conservatives to argue against. He is just too damn reasonable and actually makes conservatives look good. DAMN YOU for being sensible...and having good taste in entertainment.
 
This is why Zyphlin is one of the hard conservatives to argue against. He is just too damn reasonable and actually makes conservatives look good. DAMN YOU for being sensible...and having good taste in entertainment.

You can watch Beck for entertainment. As long as you don't take him seriously. :)
I get a good laugh out of him now and then.
 
Wow. Beck is a real piece of work. He's so in love with the founders, he has to resort to editing truthful statements just to avoid making those founders look bad in any way. And the fact that he uses this kind of tactic to malign one of the very people who had zero rights under the original Constitution is highly, highly ironic. I like the guy, but this... this is really low.
 
Dang! What was he thinking? If this is true (as it seems to be) It's the first time I've see the man being dishonest. Granted, he makes mistakes but dishonesty was not in his character. There has to be some explanation, but the only thing I can think of is Moveon.org infilitrated his loyal staff and released this without his approval..........it could happen.:lol:
 
Extremely bad form on Beck. This kind of thing is ridiculous and obvious misrepresentation. When you must edit, distort, or repackage a comment to make it seem worse then it wasn't that bad to begin with. Beck of all people should not be doing this as he should know full well and good what this kind of tactic is like, as media matters does similar types of distortion to him and other commentators

And this is why I enjoy reading your posts. A sensible and fairly easy conservative to debate with that stays reasonable when discussing a topic.
 
The crazy thing is Pres. Obama's unedited words are correct. As masterful and as significant as both of these documents are to our way of life, neither the Declaration of Independence nor the U.S. Constitution included everyone within its framework.

The Constitution is a somewhat vague and imperfect document - imperfect because it left room for being amended as necessary - but it remains one of the most important documents ever written. It's just too bad that so many of the President's opponents try to twist his words and (in this case) make him appear to be less patriotic. That to me is the truly shameful part. The irony here is those who continue to say that Pres. Obama is trying to subvert the Constitution forget that the man was a Constitutional lawyer. You'd think that gives him alot more clout on the matter than almost anyone else.

BTW, Rush, Hannity and Mark Levin have all used this very same editted radio interview before for the very same reason - to try and make Pres. Obama look unpatriotic. Even this afternoon, Rush used some argument denouncing Muslim influence in innovation and technology and then mixed that in with snippets from Pres. Obama's 4th of July address. These guys will stop at nothing to inflame and insight fear and anger if it meets their objective to denounce this President at every turn no matter how misguided they may be.
 
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The Constitution and Declaration of Independence are perfect documents to only those that will welcome the failures of personal responsibility. There are plenty of countries in the world to choose from and you are free to leave anytime you want.
 
The Constitution and Declaration of Independence are perfect documents to only those that will welcome the failures of personal responsibility. There are plenty of countries in the world to choose from and you are free to leave anytime you want.

Yeah, if only people would realize that nothing ever created by man is perfect. Maybe they wouldn't be so upset when someone dared claim that the constitution or United States might not actually be perfect.
 
Yeah, if only people would realize that nothing ever created by man is perfect. Maybe they wouldn't be so upset when someone dared claim that the constitution or United States might not actually be perfect.

Maybe you should understand The Declaration of Independence and The Constitution before you make a claim to it's imperfections.
For starters, pursuit to happiness is a substitution for property. Why is that? Because the founders knew that if Americans were given the unalienable rights of life, liberty, and property, slavery would have never been abolished. Knowing that, Obama's views on either document is just another opportunity to race pimp his way into buying votes.
 
Dang! What was he thinking? If this is true (as it seems to be) It's the first time I've see the man being dishonest. Granted, he makes mistakes but dishonesty was not in his character. There has to be some explanation, but the only thing I can think of is Moveon.org infilitrated his loyal staff and released this without his approval..........it could happen.:lol:

The devil made him do it.:devil: The man got the devil in him. He is going to go to hell.:shock:
 
Wow. Beck is a real piece of work. He's so in love with the founders, he has to resort to editing truthful statements just to avoid making those founders look bad in any way. And the fact that he uses this kind of tactic to malign one of the very people who had zero rights under the original Constitution is highly, highly ironic. I like the guy, but this... this is really low.

Political movements often use rhetoric that tries to regain something great that was seen as having been lost. Beck and his populist supporters feel like they are trying to redirect the nation towards the nation's past. This requires the balance towards the past discussion of the US Constitution be out of whack a tad. If Beck were to choose between Garrison or Douglass, he would choose Douglass, with a bit of reluctance to discuss current ills within the nation's government.
 
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I wish I could understand why people listen to this guy. I don't get it.
 
Extremely bad form on Beck. This kind of thing is ridiculous and obvious misrepresentation. When you must edit, distort, or repackage a comment to make it seem worse then it wasn't that bad to begin with. Beck of all people should not be doing this as he should know full well and good what this kind of tactic is like, as media matters does similar types of distortion to him and other commentators

I think that's what Fox means by "fair and balanced". By countering BS with more BS, they are keeping a fair balance of BS on the airwaves.
 
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