I’m told that Hannity’s running video of this but it’s not available online yet, alas.
In The One’s defense, he hasn’t called anyone a terrorist. When it comes to incendiary, divisive accusations, he prefers the comparative subtlety and elegance of questioning his opponents’ patriotism.
“As someone who’s been called a socialist, not born here, taking away freedoms for providing health care, I’m all for lowering the rhetoric,” Obama said [to the heckler, tea partier Ryan Rhodes]…
In an interview later with Fox News, Rhodes claimed that the President insisted that Biden had not made the original comment.
“He just denied it, he said the Vice President didn’t make any of those assertions,” said Rhodes. “He doesn’t want to even admit what was on TV nationally — all over the place — then how can you have a conversation?”
Rhodes added that Obama brushed him aside. “Then he said ‘we can’t have a conversation because you’re saying I called you a terrorist,’” recalled Rhodes. “The fact is it demonstrates the deep divide that he is unwilling to negotiate without going after the other side, the whole day was about going after republicans and talking about how unreasonable they are.”
He’s not kidding about that. The “country first” talking point was a recurring theme all day; here’s another clip of him launching into it at yet another town hall. Obama might have been able to appease this guy by at least acknowledging that there’s plenty of “tea-party terrorist” bilge coming from liberals in the media if not Congress, but there’s really no point in that. As we get closer to the election, Democrats will wield that talking point more and more brazenly in an any-weapon-to-hand approach to victory. In fact, Jonathan Last‘s already wondering how long it’ll be after Perry takes the lead in national polls before the left decides that George W. Bush, a.k.a. the new Hitler, was a genteel chap compared to this new Texan hybrid of Hitler, Bin Laden, and Yosemite Sam. Over/under: Six weeks.
Update: Here you go. Indignation level: High.
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