Friday night, Congressman Jack Kingston appeared on HBO's Real Time with Bill Maher. In the course of his appearance, he made a series of false statements about Obama. Bill Maher and the guests on the show did little to counter Kingston's claims, which was disappointing, particularly since they are easily debunkable, as the videos below demonstrate.
Kingston Myth: Michelle Obama hasn't explained what she meant by her 'proud of America' statement
"Here’s a woman who is Harvard educated, Yale – married to a U.S. Senator; she’s done real well. And now she’s proud of her country? She’s proud of it because they’re voting for him? That’s just, I think, a careless statement to say. But, you know, she could have jumped up and said, 'You know what? That’s not what I meant to say, and I’m sorry people are twisting it, and this is politics.' But she hasn’t said anything . . . the thing that she did not do, and still has not done now for three days, is to explain what she meant. And it would have been that simple, just to say, 'You know what? This is a great country, and I’m just proud that people really are getting involved in this election.' That would have been the end of it." -Jack Kingston
In fact, she has done just that. Here's a video of Michelle Obama (from February 20th) explaining the statement:
(Oh, and incidentally, she went to Princeton, not Yale.)
Kingston Myth: Obama won't say the Pledge of Allegiance
"When you combine that with the fact that the guy [Obama] would not say the Pledge of Allegiance . . . the famous picture of him standing while Bill Richardson and Hillary Clinton have their hand over their heart, saluting the flag during the Pledge, and Obama has his hands deliberately down, that is disturbing to Americans." -Jack Kingston
Here's the real story: As it turns out, they weren't saying the Pledge of Allegiance at the time, they were listening to (an awful rendition) of the Star Spangled Banner. Here's the video (note, Obama even sings along!):
According to the director of communications for the Maryland Historical Society, modern custom does not require a hand over the heart when listening to the Star-Spangled Banner (as compared to the Pledge of Allegiance). And yes, Senator Obama says the pledge of allegiance. He even voted to require the pledge to be recited in schools. Anyway, here's a clip of him reciting the Pledge:
Kingston Myth: "[Senator Obama] apparently still wants to bomb Pakistan, which makes no sense at all."
This claim (repeated by McCain) has been debunked by a variety of mainstream media sources. (The Huffington Post has a nice summary of sources.) Long story short, Obama never said anything about "bombing" Pakistan, or anything close to it. Here's a video of his position on Pakistan:
Kingston Myth: Obama lacks bipartisan credentials
"But, what I’m saying, you have a guy [McCaine] who has honest-to-goodness, bipartisan credentials. There are absolutely none from Hillary or Obama, none whatsoever. . . And I’ve served with both of them. I can tell you, I’ve never seen them reach over across the aisle to do something. But, there are many Democrats and many Republicans who routinely do things together." -Jack Kingston
I hate to use the Clinton expression "Karl Rove playbook," but this myth really did seem to originate from an editorial by Karl Rove in which he argues that "Mr. Obama hasn't worked across party lines since coming to town." In fact, Obama has worked closely with Republican Senators Bond, Coburn, Hagel, Lugar, and others. My Direct Democracy has a nice summary of bipartison legislation he's worked on, like the Lugar-Obama Bill (dealing with WMDs) and the Coburn-Obama Bill (improved tracking of federal spending).
Kingston Myth: Obama didn't take a position on the Defense Appropriation Bill
"I’m going to say, the only senator two years ago to hold up the Defense Appropriation Bill, was John McCain, and it was on the treatment of prisoners. And Hillary Clinton and Obama were nowhere to be seen on that." -Jack Kingston
By now of course you know the pattern. Obama not only voted against it, he spoke against it on the senate floor (full transcript). Here's the video (and thanks for the find, Sam!):
Kingston Myth: Obama's name sounds funny
[sarcastically] "Obama is going to go around meeting everybody. And so the world will be a better place. 'Hi, I’m Barack Hussein Obama.'" -Jack Kingston
Okay, "myth" is the wrong word. Frankly, I like it when critics take the "he has a funny name" attack (like Dick Morris), a fallback position after criticizing Obama's patriotism. What was that famous quote from Samuel Johnson on patriotism? The last refuge of scoundrels? Congressman Kingston teaches us it's only the second-to-last.
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