Fox News’ Post-Racial Train Wreck

By Patricia Wilson-Smith

I have a stunning confession to make.

Prior to my activities as an Obama supporter and volunteer, I was a closet Fox News fan.

My affinity for Fox News began a few years back, when CNN was still a doddery, boring news channel, struggling to stem the tide of defections to the then new and exciting Fox News Network. I thought I was ‘different’, and ‘hip’ for watching the new upstart, and let’s face it, Fox News did usher in the age of cool graphics, cutting edge shows, and opinion-based journalism that now reigns supreme even at CNN with the likes of Lou Dobbs (cringe) and Anderson Cooper (yummy).

Please don’t get me twisted – I understood even then that their reporting was totally right-leaning, and often chuckled to myself at the notion that they were ‘fair and balanced’ even as I laughed at their on-air antics, but what can I say? I just really liked the on-air personalities and the fancy graphics. Pretty colors.

Also, because Sean Hannity had been a radio personality here in Atlanta, I’d followed his career all the way to Fox News. The show he did here was of course most definitely right-winged, but he at least seemed level-headed in his discussion of the issues of the day, and I saw nothing in him that seemed unfairly biased at all. And so, when he eventually made his way to Fox News, and well, blew up, I understood and even appreciated his success.

It all of course started to change when Fox News’ coverage of Election ‘08 kicked in. I was amused by Hannity’s “Stop Hillary Express”, because it was proof positive that like the Clintons, the boys at Fox never saw Barack Obama coming. And so I was of course not surprised when as it became apparent that Barack Obama would be the Democratic nominee, Fox and Sean Hannity decided to turn both barrels on him. It was then that I began to drift over to MSNBC and CNN to check out what was happening on the political reporting front, and it became patently clear that Fox was, let’s just say, a bit biased in it’s reporting. I went cold turkey on them then, because I wanted to hear only the positive news about my candidate for one, and also because I realized just how far the other cable news networks had come in retooling their shows, their on-air personalities, etc., to become more entertaining and informative while I had been languishing at Fox News.

What I did NOT see coming was how crazed the folks at Fox would soon become over the prospect of an Obama presidency, and the desperate, almost manic zeal with which they would soon begin attacking Senator Obama and all things African-American in order to sway the American people to their way of thinking. It would almost be funny if it weren’t so….unfunny.

For me, it all boils down to Fox News holding Senator Obama to a higher, more ridiculous standard than they ever would any white candidate. From their railing on about the absence of a lapel pin of the American flag on his suit jacket (when there is scant little evidence that ANY of the other candidates ever wore one) to their insistence on repeatedly running photos of him wearing Kenyan garb and using it to question his allegiance to radical Muslims – Fox has clearly and unfairly tried to strike fear in the hearts of the American people with this kind of rhetoric. But that’s only the beginning. The kind people of Fox News, and the myriad of pundits with which they associate have proven over the course of the last several months to be not only inconsistent standard bearers, but borderline racists, who are either actually panicked over the prospect of a black man becoming President, or doing a damned good job of making us all think they are.

Case in point – what the hell is a ‘terrorist fist jab’? When I learned that blonde bomb shell and Fox News host E. D. Hill had uttered these ridiculous words to describe the fist pound (as the mainstream media has NOW come to call it) that Michelle and Barack gave one another on the night that he clinched the nomination, I was mortified. I think it would have been perfectly appropriate to tease the Senator and his wife about what some might view as an unconventional salutation, but to characterize it as a ‘terrorist fist jab’ was just – dumb and racist. Period. And I guess I really didn’t want to believe that the guys and dolls at Fox were stupid racists – I wanted to believe that they just had strongly held views about their politics. Silly me.

Then of course, we have the ‘Fox & Friends’ crew, lamenting for a full TWO HOURS over Barack’s assertion that his grandmother was a ‘typical white person’ when he described how she might see people on the street that she might fear; this as news reports were breaking regarding the breach of the candidates’ passport files by Justice Department employees, and right after Senator Obama’s historic speech on race. It was like they hadn’t heard a single word of the speech, or chose to ignore its relevance. Either way, so blatant was their coverage that day that even Chris Wallace – himself a conservative Fox News personality – had to break in on air and ask them to make it stop, in what I consider to be one of the rare displays of balance I’ve seen on Fox since the election began.

And it goes on an on. Fox News dived all over a story from Insight, the online internet publication owned by the Washington Post, that reported that Senator Obama had attended a madrassah in Indonesia as a child, a type of school where young muslim extremists are educated. They later had to broadcast ‘clarifications’ regarding the story, which was of course false, but have yet to do a complete 180 on the essence of the story’s message.

We’ve had Liz Trotter, another Fox news reporter, crack a joke about assasinating Obama, graphics displayed during news stories referring to Michelle Obama as Barack’s ‘baby mama’, and a host of other reporting that has begun to make Fox News look like they’ve lost their collective minds. But nothing, and I mean NOTHING tops Sean Hannity’s lunatic ramblings night after night, after miserable night, over what he sees as Senator Obama’s radicalism, evidenced of course by his association to the Reverend Jeremiah Wright.

Hannity’s blatant attempts at keeping the Trinity United Church of Christ and a handful of comments made by its former pastor over the span of 30 years alive and well in the minds of Americans is also racist, pure and simple. Racism after all, has been defined as an intolerance of another race or other races, and what Sean Hannity has displayed in his constant, never-ending reporting about Senator Obama, Reverend Wright, Michelle Obama (and her lack of pride in her country), etc., etc. is precisely that – intolerance. Intolerance of the black experience, intolerance of a man’s right to choose how and where he worships, intolerance of ideas different than his own – intolerance.

The idea that in a 2008 America, there are still people who don’t understand that many in the black community are still vocal about the ravages of economic and social inequality that have weighed our collective progress down since slavery is amazing to me. And that a man as intelligent, as thought-provoking and learned as I thought Sean Hannity was can’t seem to get past his flag-waving, love-me-or-leave-me American ideas long enough to acknowledge same is, well, disheartening.

And this, I think has been the most disappointing aspect of Fox News’ post-racial melt down, because as I said before, I never thought of Sean Hannity as a racist before – just a staunchly conservative, opinionated personality.

Only those who refuse to acknowledge the differences in who we are as black people, and what our experiences in this country have been would listen to his rantings and hear anything other than crap. And yet, with the launching of his ‘Stop Radical Obama Express’, he’s turned up the dial on the fear-mongering, race-baiting, and plain old lies all in order to quell the tide of support for a man who has never displayed even an ounce of intolerance for those different than himself in the twenty-plus years he has been a public servant. Mr. Hannity questions the judgement of Senator Obama over his association with Rev. Wright, but not John McCain’s over his involvement in the Keating 5 scandals of the late-eighties. He harangs Michelle Obama over the idea that this campaign has made her proud of her country for the first time in her life, but gives Cindy McCain a total pass on her past drug addiction and theft, and she and her father’s role in the same Keating scandals. And most disturbingly, he continues to drive home the idea that Senator Barack Obama is too ‘radical’ to be President, citing his ties to this controversial figure or that one, never bothering to expend a moment of airtime exporing the violent flip-flopping and pandering that John McCain has had to do in order to get and stay in the good graces of the Republican conservative wing.

But I guess he wouldn’t, would he? Because then he WOULD be fair and balanced. I don’t think that any of us that have set our sights on the transgressions of the Fox News Network want special treatment for Senator Obama or anyone else. I think we’d like for them to a) really try and be more responsible in their reporting, and b) take a deep and somber look at the level of bias they’ve introduced into this election cycle and put the brakes on it. It does nothing but harm the process, and I believe that most honest, good-hearted Americans are not buying it anyway.

If that weren’t true, Senator Obama would not be smoking John McCain in the polls in so many important swing states, as he is as of this writing. Sean, you are a brilliant guy – can’t you and your buddies at the network find a way to fight this battle based on the issues and not the fears of the American people? I hope you can, because BWFO is watching you, dude, all of you, and we’re going to shoot the tires off of the “Stop Radical Obama Express”. Believe that.

Been There, Done That

By Patricia Wilson-Smith 

Never truer words have been spoken. And yet, they were uttered tonight by one Ann Coulter, right-winged author, conservative talk show maven, spewer of untruths, and hater of the progressive movement and everything that Democrats stand for. She used the phrase “been there, done that” to describe how we Democrats are beginning to feel about another Clinton Presidency.

Amazingly, while filling in for Bill O’Reilly on tonight’s “Factor” on Fox News Channel, Ann Coulter used that phrase while asking a question that so completely encompassed my feelings about Senator Obama’s appeal, and Hillary Clinton’s lack of appeal, that it what as if she’d been reading my blog. Hmmm…..

Ms. Coulter and many others in America are reeling over the news that Senator Obama has pulled ahead of Hillary Clinton in Iowa in what is a sure sign of gained ground on the part of the Obama candidacy, even though the poll numbers point to a statistical dead heat. The November 14 – 18 poll of likely Democratic voters in Iowa showed that 30% now support Senator Obama,  while 26% support Clinton. John Edwards pulls up the three-man race rear with 22%.

None of us at BWFO are surprised of course – there are people like us all over this nation, of all races, ages and socio-economic backgrounds spreading the word about the man who will be our next president, tirelessly canvassing, meeting in homes, and openly discussing why we need Senator Obama to get the fresh start that this nation is so in need of. No we’re not surprised, but it was a hoot hearing Ann Coulter rant about it.

So what did Ms. Coulter say, you ask? Well, in seeking to understand the turn in poll numbers in favor of our favorite Senator, she asked one of her panelists (Lanny Davis, a Hillary supporter) whether or not Democrats:

• Feel like they’ve “been there, done that” with the Clintons
• Want nothing more to do with the scandals and back-biting of the past that we’ve experienced during the Clinton Administration
• Are done with not only the Clintons, but also the Bushes and want a fresh face
• Just plain trust Senator Obama more (which polls all over the nation seem to indicate)

…and so on, and so on, to which I of course blurted out a resounding “YES!” at my television (clear throat).

I think that my perspective is less than unique; I truly believe that Hillary Clinton could be a decent President, if it weren’t for all the political baggage she would bring to office. Amazingly, she and the Clinton-machine have been able to spin all of she and Bill’s political baggage into perceived “experience” and “effectiveness” in her role as First Lady, and that’s all hunky-dory, but for me – it is about so much more than just, does she know how to lead. It’s about would she make the best leader.

And of course, I feel the answer to that question is no. Actually, HELL to-the no.  I was of this opinion even before I witnessed several of her debate performances, but now – I’m even more sure of it. Her super-rehearsed, sometimes snide, sometimes vague responses to debate questions make her look calculating and sneaky, and that my friends, is what the American people are beginning to see. Through debate performance after debate performance, she has become more and more cynical, preachy, and arrogant, and all that equals mis-trust to people like me, and the rest of America’s voters.

The people who support Senator Obama on the other hand, I like to believe, have taken the time to get to know the man, and believe in his vision. I know I did and do, which is why I’ve become so deeply involved in his campaign. I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt once I got to know the man behind the candidacy, that he was exactly what America needs.

Feel me – Bill Clinton was what we needed in 1992. Barack Obama is what we need in 2008.

Some among Senator Obama’s supporters say that they’d like to see a Obama-Hillary ticket. They believe that Hillary Clinton has earned the right to be a Vice President at least, and that if she can prove herself as a resourceful leader, capable of taking direction from a man of vision, and able to put behind her the scandals and mis-steps of the past, that she probably even deserves a crack at the Presidency one day.  My stance on this is well documented, but what I will say is that no matter what she might deserve some day, this is not that day! Right now, the country needs a new leader who can bring a fresh perspective to the issues that are plaguing us, and who will be respected and admired as he works to repair our reputation around the world.

So yes, Ms. Coulter, for once you got it right. Been there, done that, gave away the t-shirt on the Clintons. And yes, this is a pivotal day for Obama supporters, a day worthy of celebration, but also a day during which we should remind ourselves that poll numbers mean nothing when we’re down in the race, and they mean about the same when we’re up. There is much more work to do, and six weeks left during which fortunes could change if we let our collective guard down, and so rather than see today’s events as a sign that we can slow our political roll, we must keep working to build on the momentum and keep doing the work that got Senator Obama where he is today in this election.

For Black Women for Obama, that means a special focus over the next several weeks on South Carolina. As Tori Scarborough, the South Carolina coordinator for “Women for Obama” shared with me just this week – we must do well in the early states, of which (of course) South Carolina is one. Our fight in Georgia is coming, but right now we’re needed in the S.C., so if you are interested in how you can lend a hand and become part of history, please contact Black Women for Obama at 678-768-8527, or by email at volunteer@blackwomenforobama.org for more information.

So cool to be part of a winning team – join us, won’t you?

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In Defense of Bill O’Reilly

By Patricia Wilson-Smith

It’s hard being a seeker of truth. Sometimes, when you go looking for it, you’re not comfortable with what you find.

It was an email that I received from a colleague that alerted me to the latest Bill O’Reilly flap. When I read its contents, I was of course incensed. It was Friday, and I was preparing for a trip to South Carolina to canvass for the Obama Campaign.On early Saturday morning, me and two of the members of the Georgia chapter of BWFO here in Georgia boarded a van headed for Columbia, South Carolina.

When we arrived, we met other Obama volunteers at the Columbia field office of Obama for America. After a hard day of walking the streets, passing out campaign materials and talking to registered voters, we spent a happy evening having dinner together at the home of the SC State Chapter Director of BWFO, Yvonne Robinson.

At Yvonne’s insistence, I was seated at the head of a beautifully decorated table in her formal dining room with several other Obama supporters, who all just happened to be black. This is note-worthy because there were over 60 people in attendance, and an equal number of blacks and whites, though there were a few Asians and Hispanics there as well. The dinner chat inevitably turned to the remarks Bill O’Reilly had made about Sylvia’s Restaurant in Harlem during a conversation with NPR Senior Correspondent Juan Williams on his nationally syndicated radio show. Of course, being the opinionated chick that I am, I happily joined in the castigation:

“I can’t believe Bill O’Reilly would say such a thing and think he could get away with it”, said one dinner guest.

“What do you expect – we’re talking about Bill O’Reilly here. He put the ‘R’ in racist”, said another.

“Oh, you better believe I’m gonna get him in my next blog article!” I chimed in gleefully.

And so it went for the rest of the evening. Here and there, people remarking on the irresponsible, blatantly racist comments made by a man who under almost any other circumstance, I would have choked on my own vomit rather than defend. Hmmm. Not the best visual. Sorry.

So we arrive back in Atlanta later that evening, and I drag myself home and fall into bed (walking the streets of Columbia had taken a toll on me). It was the next afternoon before I was rested enough to do a little research so that I could write my scathing rebuke of Bill O’Reilly. I was tingly with anticipation – not since I’d skewered Oprah Winfrey regarding her “I just stopped going” remark had I been so excited about writing a piece.

I read what others had to say about the controversy, in particular the Media Research Council, who are none too happy with Mr. Bill. Then, I ventured onto Bill O’Reilly’s website at http://www.billoreilly.com to listen to the re-play of the interview in question in its entirety.  I was sure by listening to the full segment myself, I would be able to uncover even more nuggets of on-air joy to slam Bill with.

What I found instead stopped me dead in my tracks.

The segment opened with Bill doing a diatribe about prejudice in America, one that appeared to have been brought on by the question of whether or not blacks would rebel if OJ Simpson were convicted of the charges stemming from the alleged robbery in Las Vegas. Bill gave what arguably be considered a thought-provoking analysis of why some blacks inevitably defend other blacks, no matter what the evidence or circumstances. The theory he offered was not an inaccurate one – he said basically that blacks in this country have been so discriminated against and so put upon, that now there are two kinds of us – those who have managed somehow to make the conscious decision not to let a history of ongoing wrongs by a racist society cloud our judgment, and those who just can’t seem to help themselves, a sentiment with which I just can’t disagree.

It was near the beginning of this commentary that he mentioned the trip to Sylvia’s and his dinner with Al Sharpton; and yes, he did in fact remark on how surprised he was that the restaurant was like so many others he had visited in New York, but it ended there until a bit later in the show, and that is where those who would hang Bill out to dry have gotten it wrong.

You see, sometime after making that remark, he introduced Juan Williams, and they began a spirited conversation about race relations in America that included a short discussion of the impact of gangster rap on our collective culture. Bill actually defended African Americans, saying that he didn’t believe that most blacks love gangster rap (I for one, do not), and he defended us further by remarking that he believes that most black people, like white people, are middle of the road when it comes to the extremes of racism, and the moral carnage of some rap music, with its sexist, demeaning lyrics and glorification of violence. Again, not far off base.

Then it happened – the moment that I believe started all of this. His voice raised in excitement, and playing off of the verbal jabs coming from Juan Williams, Bill made the following remark:

“That’s right, that’s right – [and] there wasn’t one person in Sylvia’s screaming M-f-fer, I want more ice-tea!”

I was stunned. I realized immediately that not only had Bill O’Reilly not made a racist comment,  but that what he had actually tried to do was use his trip to Sylvia’s to illustrate how the media’s distortion of blacks could influence what some whites might have expected to find in an all black restaurant. There was no denying it – O’Reilly had actually made the remark in response to the assertion that white America’s view of African Americans has essentially been reduced to the predominant images of blacks in the media – rap videos, perp walks, and a ridiculous spate of reality shows on the par of ‘Flavor of Love’ and ‘Hot Ghetto Mess’. To re-state – Bill O’Reilly was essentially saying that much of White America has been conditioned to believe that all black people are like what they see in rap videos and on reality shows. He was trying to say that nothing could be further from the truth, as evidenced by the fact that during his time at Sylvia’s, there wasn’t a single person behaving like what we see so often on TV.

I believe in my heart that Bill O’Reilly was trying to engage in a responsible discourse about the state of race relations in America by saying what he did, and that those who naturally want to believe differently, pulled out the salacious parts of his dialog, and strung them together and reported on them in a way that would achieve maximum impact. The conversation was an uncomfortable one to listen to to be sure – it’s always difficult when White America insists on telling us why we are the way we are. But I had to admit to myself that heard in the full context of the discussion, there wasn’t a single racist thing about what Bill O’Reilly said, and armed with that knowledge, I had no choice but to defend the man and set the record straight.

So here I am, typing away, feeling robbed, and pondering why this happened, though I think it’s as simple as this – we’re living in the post-Imus era. There are a select number of television and radio personalities out there that have had targets on their backs (some deservedly so) ever since Don Imus proved in his infinite stupidity that justice can in fact be brought to bear on an irresponsible radio talk show host.  And if you’re a black woman, you were forced to endure the discomfort of the whole Imus episode, and no doubt are a bit more sensitive of the remarks that some of these guys make then you might have been before – guys like Shawn Hannity, Neal Boortz, Rush Limbaugh, and yes, Bill O’Reilly. I don’t think any of us could be blamed for a rush to judgment of Mr. O’Reilly without knowing all the facts.

But at least in the case of this latest flap, I’m convinced that lots of people have it wrong, and since I’m convinced of this, it is my duty as a seeker of the truth to stand up and say as much. In a fair and progressive society, it is as important for the socially responsible to stand up and admit when we’re wrong, as it is for us to demand justice when we are right.  And this time, the people who went after Bill O’Reilly were just plain wrong.

I listen to and watch both Bill O’Reilly and Rush Limbaugh whenever I have the opportunity; people often ask me why. The truth of the matter is, I really do seek the truth in all things, not just in what feels comfortable. I personally need to know why there are so many people out there who seem incapable of understanding that this nation has real problems, that there are people who really can’t just ‘help themselves’, and that even with the amazing gains that Blacks in this country have made, there are still those who are caught in a cycle of poverty and hopelessness that can be directly attributed to the lingering affects of slavery. What I’ve discovered in listening to people like O’Reilly and Limbaugh is that their fervent belief in what they espouse is a direct a result of a number of things – 1) their deeply engrained perspectives on the world, 2) their upbringing, combined with their life experiences and yes, 3) their attitudes towards blacks that have in part been shaped by the images that we’ve allowed the media and the entertainment industry to propagate over the years.

We have to bear some of the blame. Since becoming a mother and responsible adult, I cringe at the sight of shows like ‘Flavor of Love’; I flinch when I see a beautiful young black sister, barely dressed, and draped all over a foul-mouthed rapper; and I even seethe a bit at the thought of some black comedians, who at times can’t seem to deliver a single decent joke without using several dozen profane words, only to descend into the same old sexual blathering we’ve heard a million times over. There’s at least one unavoidable truth in what Mr. O’Reilly had to say that day on his radio show, that I fear many black people simply don’t want to hear – that by allowing ourselves to be caricaturized in the media by music videos, reality shows and the like, we’re helping to add to the belief that we’re not much more than what the media insists on portraying us as. This is not to say that the media has not had a heavy hand in crafting our public image; as someone pointed out in response to my recent article on the disappearance of Nailah Franklin, the media wants to sell airtime – that’s it. As long as the media believes that people prefer to see blacks being handcuffed and led out of inner-city drug houses, or cat-fighting each other over a man who is truly the ugliest human being alive, that’s the kind of fare they’ll crank out, and nothing will change. But black people – if they feed it to us, and we consume it, we can’t complain when others consume it as well. Period.

Bill O’Reilly has not won a new fan. I’ve seen too many of his rants and way too many examples of how he’s gotten it so very wrong, the Ludacris debacle being the most glaring example. He doesn’t understand our culture, and he never will. He chooses to jump all over black rappers when there are white actors and rock stars doing drugs, demeaning women, and getting locked up as well. He clearly has it out for the rap industry, and to me that makes him prejudiced. But his tendency towards snap judgments just means we have to be very careful to choose our battles carefully, and fairly. Rail-roading someone into a bogus controversy without knowing and acknowledging all the facts will do nothing to change things, and I fear, could actually make things worse. I hope by standing up and saying that what’s happening right now to Bill O’Reilly is wrong, it will help us cut through the clutter so that we can focus on those times when going after him is the right thing to do.

But I’m sorry. This ain’t it.