Who Leaked The Comment?

by: Chris Bowers

Wed Jul 30, 2008 at 12:56

• It is not just that the story is wrong.
  
• It is not just that Weismann has a history of these attacks.
  
• It is not just that the RNC used a related story from the Washington Post, in its entirety without any edits, as a press release.
  
• It isn't just part of the larger narrative that Obama should learn his place, or something.

On top of all this, what really bothers me about the story is that Obama's quote was intentionally leaked, out of context, to a hostile reporter with the intention of damaging Obama. And it must have been done by a Democratic House staff member, since the meeting was closed door, there was no media, and no video of the event exists.

Anonymous Democratic staffers on Capitol Hill have long been used by the media to attack liberals and progressives in the caucus and the party infrastructure. In this case, one was used to attack the Democratic presidential nominee according to the exact "arrogant" narrative that the McCain campaign and the Republican Noise Machine are trying to use. As such, it is probably the most vicious use of the anonymous Hill staff leak imaginable.

Someone needs to pay for this one. I would recommend leaking a series of faulty tips to a wide range of staff members, making sure that each false leak is different. When one appears in the media, make sure that person is fired. In fact, it might be a good idea to do this sort of thing all the time. To close on an ironic note, last year I heard from a Hill staffer that Rep. Obey did this to Rahm Emanuel during the Iraq supplemental fight. When the faulty news leaked to Rahm appeared in print, Rahm was then kept out of future strategy sessions on the subject (at least at the time).