Finally! Larry Rohter Criticizes Obama for "Misleading" Immigration Ad
In Friday's "Ad Campaign" fact check, "Obama Attack McCain in a Bid to Attract Hispanic Voters," reporter Larry Rohter finallyfound something bad about a Barack Obama campaign tactic. (Times Watch has long found Rohter to be extremely eager to criticize McCain and defend Obama.)
Obama is running a bogus ad on Spanish language television falsely linking the pro-amnesty McCain to conservative talk show host and amnesty opponent Rush Limbaugh, and throwing up two quotes from Limbaugh that have been warped beyond recognition:
"...stupid and unskilled Mexicans" - Rush Limbaugh
"You shut your mouth or you get out!" - Rush Limbaugh
ABC reporter Jake Tapper fact-checked the Limbaugh quotes thoroughly, calling the first out-of-context quote of Limbaugh "misleading" and the second one "totally unfair." Limbaugh has an op-ed in Friday's Wall Street Journal in which he says "these sound bites are a deception, and Mr. Obama knows it."
Rohter didn't defend Limbaugh or question the accuracy of the quotes, but he did criticize Obama's ad, though not as strongly as he's attacked some of McCain's advertising.Here's what Rohter said on Obama's immigration ad on Friday:
ACCURACY: This ad is misleading. Mr. McCain's history on the issue of immigration, though complicated, is misrepresented here, as is his relationship with the nativist wing of his party and Mr. Limbaugh....Not one of the anti-Hispanic slights cited in the ad came from Mr. McCain's mouth.
Rohter concluded:
So while Mr. McCain may need to explain why the Republican platform does not reflect his views on immigration, little in his own record justifies this particular attack, which strongly implies that he holds anti-Hispanic views.
