Rush Was Punked: “Obama Thesis” Hoax

[Tab]

Source: Yahoo

It must have seemed so perfect. An obscure blogger unearths some pages of President Obama's college thesis. The report supposedly comes from big-time journalist Joe Klein of Time magazine. And the thesis has some real gems: like Obama's disdain for the Constitution.

The whole thing was nothing more than a satirical post on a humor blog. But Rush Limbaugh, who quoted from the supposed thesis on his radio show, sure wasn't laughing. Here's how it went down.

An unknown blogger picked up on a made-up post meant as a joke, which claimed that Joe Klein had gotten his hands on 10 pages of student Obama's college thesis. Rush Limbaugh jumped on it, which immediately sparked Web searches on "obama thesis."

Supposedly titled "Aristocracy Revisited," the excerpt revealed the president had "doubts" about the "so-called founders." Juicy. Except not true. Limbaugh discovered halfway through his show that he'd been had, but defended himself by saying basically the thesis felt true. Listen in to Rush's mea sorta culpa.

Joe Klein finally jumped in, and called the report "nonsense" on his Swampland blog, and the blogger who thought the hoax was real also apologized.

Let's hope someone kept their sense of humor in all this. Still, for a humble post to go from humor blog to major media outlet sure seems impressive. Someone ought to write their thesis on it. For real.

Read more: http://buzz.yahoo.com/buzzlog/93122?fp=1

[MISSDem]

1. some of them are sheep-faced over at

Lucianne.com. And others defensive. When I asked "no comments" cause no one had responded when someone posted the article, I got the response of "how about up yours".

[chisymbolrho]

7. Agreed

Lucianne sucks, and that response doesn't surprise me in the least!

[Name removed]

47. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[jasi2006]

72. Good thing the hoax was found out BEFORE FOX "News" got it.

It would have been all over the morning FOX shows. Rush deserves the negative press on this. Wonder what the RW will put out there trying to trap the opposition?

[Dogmudgeon]

2. "Little Green Footballs" was even pissed -- at Rush

http://littlegreenfootballs.com/article/34990_Obama_Thesis_-_a_Hoax">Get your LGF fix right here.

"Little Green Goofballs" no more, mayhap.

The http://littlegreenfootballs.com/article/34990_Obama_Thesis_-_a_Hoax/comments/#ctop">Comments are even better, showing a movement in full fracture.

And we best take heed: Some of those conservatives actually have brains. They are not in the majority by any stretch of the imagination, but they are the ones we will have to deal with long after Rush goes to that Great Whorehouse In The Sky.

--d!

[Regret My New Name]

13. I thought little green footballs was a conservative site in line with freerepublic...

I was expecting the comments to be defending Rush, but I was amazed to see that wasn't the case. I also noticed a couple articles that were not discussing Fox News in a positive light.

[Posteritatis]

19. LGF's seen as an apostate by the wackier parts of the right lately

They've done the "we're in the right wing, but come on, what you just said is verifiably bullshit even if it feels nice to say" a couple times too many. I think the owner got freaked out at how ridiculous the far right's getting; I don't know whether he's starting to inch to the centre or if he's staying in place while everyone else is getting more radicalized. (Possibly both.)

[dorkulon]

69. LGF has changed considerably over the past year or so.

I'm not sure what happened over there, but they are seriously embarrassed by their own party these days. They've embraced science regarding global warming and evolution etc., and rejected racism, and I say it's only a matter of time that they follow those logical points into liberalism.

[Braulio]

40. Is it Conservative or Republican?

Did you notice how the name Republican is out of fashion? Will it change its name to the Conservative Party in the future?

[dogfacedboy]

81. No, they will be two separate parties. n/t

[TomCADem]

3. Truthiness Makes A Comeback! Truthiness II

Steve Colbert should have a field day with this.

[ginnyinWI]

4. more proof that he is no journalist.

His material must only fit the ideology--whether true or not is irrelevant. That's why he's an entertainer, not a pundit, and not a journalist. Listening to him is like listening to a crazy person and being drawn into their "world" for a while. Then you come out of it and think, wow.

I happened to have Rush on while this was going on. (was working and bored with the usual channels) And he did entertain; I laughed right out loud at his antics. He is more absurd than I've ever heard him to be.

[TheCoxwain]

45. Now .. you are making a strawman argument ...

who thinks that he is a journalist in the first place? .. I bet no one does.

[jasi2006]

46. More proof that Rush and his co-harts at FOX will not fact check

before pouncing on Obama.

[Amonester]

61. It's because they hate 'murka.

They are unpatriotic because they only want to attack the President in a time of war.

Why do they hate 'murka?
:evilgrin:

[No Elephants]

89. Who has ever accused Rush of being a journalist? I would not even accuse him of being a

radio "personality," or on air "talent." Even "infamous" is overblown because many have never heard of him.

[madeline_con]

5. So much for "scouring the internet"

:rofl:

[JohnnyLib2]

6. Limbaugh looks like a damn fool -- again.

Let's go for 3 weeks in a row. :applause: :crazy:

[Catshrink]

8. He'll twist it so that he's a victim.

[underpants]

32. He at once plays victim while still declaring himself the conquering hero

that is his schtick and all of talk radio's schtick

[Bjorn Against]

12. Three weeks in a row? He is going for three decades in a row.

[JohnnyLib2]

65. I'm hoping a few dittoheads say, "Ol Rush stepped on his dick this time."

Getting punked and having to back up might open the eyes of a tiny percent.


No high hopes, though.

[TankLV]

50. not "three weeks" - more like TWENTY YEARS...

just sayin...

[Grassy Knoll]

9. LOOK INTO THE LIGHT LUMPYDOUGH ! HA

[Farzan]

10. I love his attempt at mea culpa " I just .....

know that he thinks it!".
What a spoiled hateful brat.

[Grassy Knoll]

14. Its just like his RAM team bid........

If he gets it , his fans will say yeah, but if he looses , and his fans call foul .
either way, he wins. MEA CULPA

[No Elephants]

90. How did you get his high school graduation photo?

[paulsby]

11. shades of rathergate

here's a hint, rush... due diligence.

when a document (or other piece of evidence) is presented that confirms your prejudices, beliefs, or world view, one should, if anything, use extra strict due diligence, because the natural reaction is to accept uncritically evidence that confirms one's own beliefs/prejudices/worldview.

you got punked, y0!

[mw]

28. Nothing like Rather. Rush has no credibility to lose in the first place

Rather is a serious journalist.

[paulsby]

74. and they both got punked

hence, the analogy.

[TankLV]

51. ahh - the bush AWOL documents were REAL - just that they were COPIES...

they were NEVER proven to be anything other than TRUE...

[paulsby]

75. please

spare me. what next, the "fake but accurate" meme?

it JUST SO HAPPENED that a document purportedly made on a typerwriter decades ago happened to match exactly the DEFAULT font settings on microsoft word?

if you believe that, saddam's estate has some WMD's to sell to you

[No Elephants]

91. Accurate information does not become less accurate because it has been typed into Microsoft Word.

If you watched at the time, you saw Rather follow up the Microsoft revelation with interviews and other data that corroborated the data, including an interview with the secretary who had typed the original memo.

And NO ONE ever denied OR disproved the info that Rather reported; they only pointed to the computer connection.

BTW, I don't think justified margins were a default setting in Word at the time of the Rather report; and the justified margins SUPPOSEDLY were what caught the eye of the Republican attorney/blogger is the one who "exposed" the fake FORMAT.

How come the real Bush "military" records were never found?

[Name removed]

15. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Bluenorthwest]

56. That is ludicrous

And a wild unsupported claim. Care to support it, and use actual words that mean things? Butt buddy? What the fuck is that supposed to mean? And how the fuck is a sit com like Designing Women a social awareness show? Enlightening? Jokes about make up and dating, so liberal!
Show some evidence of your accusation, show us where you get your 'information'. Then I will have more to say.

[The abyss]

77. Wow that comment went bye bye.

It did take a while….

This is all about Smoke & Mirrors.

Your choice Red or Blue Pill

[Mnpaul]

16. Not only did they get punked

They got punked by another Republican.

[svpadgham]

17. So....

How long before Oxy-boy and the dip-wads at FOX spin this to President Obama plagiarizing his thesis from this blogger?

[GoCubsGo]

68. Did you read the comments?

There's a bunch of 'em claiming that the Obama administration planted the thesis so Rush, et al. could get a hold of it and make themselves look bad LOL!!! Not a bad idea, actually, considering how hateful AND gullible they are.

[VPStoltz]

18. Strange. Every other bit he's been fed on Obama has been a hoax as well.

Pretty soon, he'll be going on an "apology" tour.
FAT chance.

[peacetalksforall]

20. It's the phenonema of wanting something to be true. And wanting to be first or early.

The real phenonema is that 50 % of the 25-27% of the country who gets every thought from him, will not hear the retraction, therefore we will hear them quote the lies for three years. And the lies will get all mixed up with their piecemeal clouded beliefs and they will pull it out of the little spaces in their head and relate it to every possible scenario imaginable. Mention Supreme Court and they will bring up a part of the hoax and rant the lie.

[katkat]

44. you're right about that

That was my first thought. A stupid thing to happen, because no matter if he retracts it, most of the dimwits who listen to him will only "hear" the original crap.

That's why the Repigs put out crap on purpose, they know dirt sticks.

[xxqqqzme]

57. They know the dirt is hard to scrub out

once the stain has set.



(enlarging the metaphor)

[NewJeffCT]

55. You're dead right on that - they're still repeating the "Clinton lost bin Laden" one

You know, the one where a guy who is now a Fox news correspondent supposedly offered to hand over Osama bin Laden to Bill Clinton in the 90s that was debunked like 11 times? And, that's been over 10 years now.

[nxylas]

73. And admitted hoaxes re global warming

Like the Oregon Petition "signed" by such noted climatologists as the Spice Girls and the cast of M*A*S*H, and that plausible-sounding but fake article on sunspot activity that the author only wrote in order to see whether any of the usual suspects would call him on it (they didn't).

[scubadude]

21. Rush was punked. It doesn't matter.

Rush's fans will believe his line of spin. They will hoist him up as a savior. That's just how it works with his crowd. They don't have their own minds. They won't go beyond. They believe, and that is millions of people.

Sad, isn't it?

Scuba

[Zen Democrat]

42. Isn't it just insane that there are people who have blind faith in Fox News and Rush Limbaugh?

Rush being punked, or just flat lying his putrid brains out, doesn't seem to make a difference to the true believers. I suppose they may think that such things are tests of faith - like dinosaurs!

[niceypoo]

52. Republicans will be refering to 'Obama's thesis' for years to come

...as if it's fact..

It's what they do.

[DeSwiss]

22. A hoax fooled by a hoax.....

...that's gotta be worth a Guinness mention at least.

- It's no peace prize, but.....



K&R

[Catherine Vincent]

23. I'll go with what Dr. Dre' says about Rush....

http://www.tmz.com/videos?autoplay=true&mediaKey=1dc2202f-8d73-484e-895b-d27b0f8b12a8

[Mayberry Machiavelli]

24. Just read through the comments on LGF and was shocked. It was

amazing to see the amount of disdain for Limbaugh and use of mediamatters as a reference. What universe am I in?

[euphoria12leo]

48. I don't know

something has changed. I'm not going to give them too much credit for wising up because his replacement is probably Beck.


:shrug:

[Mayberry Machiavelli]

59. Well, not really, because the essential beef that the LGFers comments had against Rush

had to do with accountability for things he said, him sticking up for a bullshit story without knowing any facts just because it was negative for Obama (and then not coming clean when busted) etc. If you're going to apply standards like that Beck fares even worse than Rush.

It wasn't so much that they didn't like Rush, it was the fact that they were actually concerned about credibility, facts and accountability.

[euphoria12leo]

76. IMO

They have never cared about facts, credibility nor accountability. Whether it's about Obama are anyone else he has a following that echoes everything he has had to say. I didn't say they dislike Rush but they sure are calling him every name they can come up with. I am suggesting they have moved to a different arena of hate. And you think I don't know that Beck is worse than Rush? Their new leader is Beck and Palin.


:grr:

[DainBramaged]

25. What about Rush's penis transplant............I heard it's a DUZY

:rofl: "shrieking harpy Pamela Geller"

[LTR]

26. Limbaugh is a wimp

Here's what I wrote about the situation on my blog:


Come to think of it, didn't Dan Rather and his staff get the axe for reporting a story that actually had some truth to it? So, what about Dobbs? What about Fatboy?

Claiming "I have had this happen to me," Limbaugh said he didn't care if thesis quotes are fake, "I know Obama thinks it" Yeah, just like we don't care whether or not you condoned slavery, we just know you think it.

So, after weeks of whining and pissing and moaning about how that 'eeeevil librul meedya' gang-piled him to keep him from buying a football team, he knowingly went on his radio show and proceeded to spread lies about Obama, even after he found out they were fake. Sorry Rush, your credibility, whatever you had of it, is now even lower than a snake's ass.

As for attacking him on the constitution, Obama taught constitutional law in college. Limbaugh was a disc jockey. I'd put more faith in Obama's knowledge of how our country works rather than a guy who buys hillbilly heroin at the Denny's parking lot.

http://ltradio.blogspot.com/2009/10/when-wingnuts-get-punkd.html

Fats Lowbrow has now lost whatever piddly excuse he had to play the 'victim' card. He pissed and moaned about how we made 'false' accusations against him, yet here he is being caught doing the same thing. Sniveling chickenshit wimpy bitch.

Rush Limbaugh is just a big fat pussy.

[mw]

27. If Rush had any credibility, he'd have lost it over this

But he doesn't, so he didn't.

[depakid]

29. Can a serial liar actually get punked?

:shrug:

Generally speaking- people who lie all of the time- who just make things up aren't afforded any credibility by responsible folks.

[underpants]

30. So he re-read the hoax while "apologizing"???

Wow talk about THE BIG LIE

Aside from the obvious correlation to the "birthers" getting pawned on the fake birth certificate

He actually mentioned the fake quotes from him last week related to his NFL embarassment...only thing is that I listened to his show for the first 10 minutes going to get lunch and he admitted that the press accurately reported on what HE SAID ON HIS SHOW only to counter that 5 minutes later saying "they never listen to this show" (playing victim) and again on this clip he wants his audience to forget that he said that

totally hilarious.

[PatrynXX]

31. Fox was punked with the Acorn story

duh. heck those two foolish documentary nuts and their silly pimp suit....... caused all sorts of shit.

[NecklyTyler]

33. So when does Joe Klein sue Limbaugh for slander? n/t

[jimlup]

34. Limbaugh is an idiot

:rofl:

[Anakin Skywalker]

35. Ah Hah Hah Hah! SUCKER!

The RW is so desperate for anything negative that this was bound to happen sooner or later! Suckers!

[NewJeffCT]

36. I wonder if Klein or the blogger will get death threats now?

seems like par for the course for the dittoheads.

[Vinnie From Indy]

37. Rush Wasn't Punked at all

Limbaugh quite regularly uses the technique of taking others work and using it as the basis for one of his rants. Truth has nothing to do with it. He simply needs a starting point for discussion. In this case, he used this untrue blog post to reinforce in his listeners that Obama is dangerous, unamerican and against freedom etc.

[NewJeffCT]

41. good point

I remember when Senator Franken was on Air America and he would continually challenge Limbaugh's facts to a dittohead from of his... until the dittohead finally had to admit that he didn't listen to Limbaugh for the facts, but because he liked his point of view.

[wroberts189]

38. You would think the oxycontin scandal would have put him in jail long ago.

Listening to him in the 90's (when I could bear it) was torture. "There is no such thing as Global Warming!"

He should be off the air ... he should have lost all credibility with all his lies and distortions.

Yet he is still on the air... like mosquitoes and deer flies ... nothing seems possible to make him go away.

And now we also have Glen Beck's totally insane rantings.

God I wish us Americans were more educated.


knr

[Loose Meat]

39. Did you see this?

I checked the link to the site of the original blogger who posted this story - http://pajamasmedia.com/michaelledeen/2009/10/23/the-obama-thesis-hoax/.

Michael Ledeen, a long-time right-wing hack of many colors. I had to read what he wrote in his "correction" a couple of times to make sure I wasn't imagining it or misinterpreting what he wrote.

The guy's an idiot.

He wrote (you can see it for yourself in the above link), "Apologies to the president(sic) and to Joe Klein, and to Rush Limbaugh, who had many very wise things to say about the Constitution and the views of the Founders today, and to everyone else who got involved."

Ledeen, at whose doorstep all of this foolishness is laid, can't control himself. He has to throw some imaginary praise to his master, Rush, even as he's showing himself to be a first-rate fool who is so rabid to "get" our President, he hurries and copies an idiotic piece of spoof and tries to pass it off as serious and legitimate information/news.

Our President is driving these bottom-feeders even crazier than they normally are. They can't "get" him, no matter how hard they try, and they just end up looking like even bigger fools.

If that's possible.

[NewJeffCT]

43. weren't all the RWers also punked by a pseudo anti-global warming site?

basically, as soon as this guy launched his fake website, Limbaugh and some RWers in Congress all trumpeted the website as evidence global warming was a hoax... only the guy set up a fake site and filled it with pseudo science knowing people would believe him without checking the facts.

[Xicano]

49. "Its's just a god damned piece of paper!"

Why didn't Rush say anything about that comment Bush made about our constitution?

[NecklyTyler]

53. K&R

[Joanne98]

54. He's so high on hillbilly heroin he can't see straight!

[Autonomy]

58. *Felt true* LMFAO

That's the republican mindset, we've all been saying it for years. Colbert of course is the #1 satirist on this point. Truth doesn't matter; what matters is feeling. Specifically, their (conservative) feeling.

[KansDem]

83. Perhaps I should have used that comment during my thesis defense...

...when I appeared before my committee.

I should wrote a lot of horseshit then when asked what facts or logic I used to arrive at my conclusion, I could have just said, "it felt true!"

:rofl:...yeah, that'd gotten me my masters!

[Can of Whoop-ass]

60. Dan Rather got punked,

then set up and demoted.

Why isn't Rush being demoted to satellite-land?

Oh, that's right - Republicans are above all rules.

[WinkyDink]

62. Dan Rather had the God's Truth in his hand, and CBS turned tail.

[TwentyFive]

63. Still on Limbaugh's website?

Beyond the pale. The repugs are desperate...and more importantly...disgusting and unamurkin.

[BlueSun]

64. Proof by Pleasure...

Note that even after Rush learned that the thesis was total bullshit, he still defended himself by saying the thesis 'felt true.'

I wrote extensively in another blog this weekend about the classic logical fallacy known as the "Proof by Pleasure" (some people are willing to believe anything, as long as it makes them feel good and supports their preconceptions), so I don't have the energy to recapitulate the entire rap.

However, one can see this 'Proof by Pleasure' fallacy in action by the fact that Rush believed that Obama holds these beliefs - with absolutely no evidence, and much evidence to the contrary (Obama taught Constitutional Law at the conservative University of Chicago Law School for a decade). The truth doesn't make Rush happy, so he rejects it, while any lie or smear, no matter how outlandish, immediately becomes fodder for his rants simply because the idea pleases him and reinforces his delusions. And so, even when he knows it has been proven to be a fake, he still tries to use it to criticize and smear Obama.

Rush is a sick puppy...

[newspeak]

87. All of those Dittoheads need a course in "Logic 101."

At least require the class before one listens to the likes of Limpballs, O'lliely and Beck. They apparently love their emotional tirade with very little truth content or reasoning.

[AwakeAtLast]

66. It "FELT true"?

OMG, what a waste of oxygen.

Yeah, our constitution was written because of what 'felt' true. :eyes:

[MrMickeysMom]

78. Well, you know what this means...

I think it's open season on what "FEELS TRUE"!

[newspeak]

88. well, ya know where that's coming from?

Remember when * stated that he was going to do what he FELT was right (from his gut)--who needs facts when you can listen to the voices in your head or your gut telling you what YOU want to do.

[Rosa Luxemburg]

67. The last days of Rush Limpbaugh

[emulatorloo]

70. Kick and Rec n/t

[mzmolly]

71. The right wing is continually reeling about the lies and myths they perpetuate.

They have a well orchestrated misinformation campaign. I'm surprised it took so long for anyone to call them on it?

[snowshadow]

79. I Just Love It!

Whenever Rush gets punked it makes my day. I was always told the third ones the charm.

[BrklynLiberal]

80. So Limpballs only revealed himself to be the total ass that we always knew he was...

[truthisfreedom]

82. Rush "the sucker" Limbaugh.

Sucker.

[marshall]

84. Does this mean we'll have a cacophany of "fake but accurate" theses?

We'll be hearing about this for weeks, if not months.

[Doctor_J]

85. You think the Limbeciles care that Rusty lied again?

they don't tune in to hear the truth.

[Blue_Tires]

86. Error: you can only recommend threads which were started in the past 24 hours

yeah, yeah, yeah....

[Doctor_J]

92. Why is that lying traitor still on AFN?

or why isn't Hartmann on to counteract his seditious, slanderous lies?

[la_chupa]

93. sad thing is - prolly a lot of ditto heads still believe it's true

and that Rush had to retract for legal reasons