Beltway Snark

There’s been quite a lot of chatter both in the blogoshpere and the MSM about a tape that’s supposedly shows Michelle Obama referring to white people as “whitey.” The problem is, nobody has actually seen this tape. The only reason this is still a story is that hardline Dems think there’s something to it:

Were you watching at 6:25 when Democratic strategist Bob Beckel dropped a bomb on us? He said he’d heard through his political pipeline that a big shoe was about to drop on the Obama campaign. It has something to do with Michelle Obama. Beckel wouldn’t say anything more other than this explosive story may happen tomorrow.

Liberal bloggers are also getting supposed transcripts from this tape. IMO, this isn’t real until I see the video for myself.

And yes, Clinton is already getting blamed for this.

UPDATE – Great minds think alike.

UPDATE #2 – Gateway Pundit has more supposed info on the supposed tape.

The Michelle Obama Rant Tape was filmed between June 26th – July 1st 2004 in Chicago, IL at the Rainbow/PUSH Coalition Conference at Trinity United Church: specifically the Women’s Event.

Michelle Obama appeared as a panelist alongside Mrs. Khadijah Farrakhan and Mrs. James Meeks.

Bill Clinton spoke during the Conference, as did Bill Cosby and other speakers, but not at the panel Michelle attended.

Michelle Obama spoke at the Women’s Event, but referenced Bill Clinton in her rant — his presence at the conference was the impetus for her raving, it seems.

For about 30 minutes, Michelle Obama launched into a rant about the evils of America, and how America is to blame for the problems of Africa. Michelle personally blamed President Clinton for the deaths of millions of Africans and said America is responsible for the genocide of the Tutsis and other ethnic groups. She then launched into an attack on “whitey”, and talked about solutions to black on black crime in the realm of diverting those actions onto white America.

Still no video though.

HillBuzz does make the point that if this rant did indeed take place at the Rainbow/PUSH Coalition Conference, a large multi-day event, that it shouldn’t be an issue for someone in the Chicago press to get a copy of the speech in question and either confirm or deny that Michelle did indeed say the W word. Wouldn’t hold my breath on that one though.

UPDATE 6/6 – Hey look, someone finally asked Obama about the “Whitey” tape!

Sen. Barack Obama on Thursday batted down rumors circulating on the Internet and mentioned on some cable news shows of the existence of a video of his wife using a derogatory term for white people, and criticized a reporter for asking him about the rumor, which has not a shred of evidence to support it.

“We have seen this before. There is dirt and lies that are circulated in e-mails and they pump them out long enough until finally you, a mainstream reporter, asks me about it,” Obama said to the McClatchy reporter during a press conference aboard his campaign plane. “That gives legs to the story. If somebody has evidence that myself or Michelle or anybody has said something inappropriate, let them do it.”

Asked whether he knew it not to be true, Obama said he had answered the question.

“Frankly, my hope is people don’t play this game,” Obama said. “It is a destructive aspect of our politics. Simply because something appears in an e-mail, that should lend it no more credence than if you heard it on the corner. Presumably the job of the press is to not to go around and spread scurrilous rumors like this until there is actually anything, an iota, of substance or evidence that would substantiate it.”

So was it even acceptable to ask the question?

Before Obama could answer, communications director Robert Gibbs interjected: “You just did.”

“That is my point,” Obama said. “I just think people have to think about it before they ask.”