NY Times' Nagourney distorted Obama's "proud citizen of the United States and a fellow citizen of the world" quote

Summary: In a "Political Memo," Adam Nagourney distorted a quote from Sen. Barack Obama's Berlin speech in which Obama referred to himself as "a citizen -- a proud citizen of the United States, and a fellow citizen of the world." Nagourney cited only the second part of the quote, telling readers to "expect" that in future ads Sen. John McCain will highlight "Mr. Obama's presenting himself as a 'fellow citizen of the world.' "

In an August 11 "Political Memo," New York Times reporter Adam Nagourney falsely suggested that Sen. Barack Obama "present[ed] himself" only as a "fellow citizen of the world" during his July 24 speech in Berlin, when in fact Obama referred to himself as "a citizen -- a proud citizen of the United States and a fellow citizen of the world."

Nagourney wrote of Obama:

His appearance at a rally before 200,000 Germans in Berlin led the McCain camp to describe Mr. Obama as presumptuous and provided the scenes for the first so-called celebrity ads. (Expect more of that in future advertisements, highlighted by Mr. Obama's presenting himself as a "fellow citizen of the world.")

Nagourney left out the first part of Obama's quote, in which Obama referred to himself as "a proud citizen of the United States," much as President Reagan referred to himself in a June 17, 1982, speech to the United Nations General Assembly, in which he said, "I speak today as both a citizen of the United States and of the world." Suggesting that McCain would try to use the quote against Obama, in addition to misrepresenting the quote, Nagourney did not note that other prominent Americans have referred to themselves similarly.

Nagourney also uncritically quoted Steve Schmidt, a senior adviser to Sen. John McCain, saying of campaign ads calling Obama "the biggest celebrity in the world": "The advertising is effective because it speaks to a truth that people instantly get." But Nagourney did not note that those ads contain falsehoods. The McCain campaign ad "Family" -- which asks "Is the biggest celebrity in the world ready to help your family?" -- falsely claims that "[t]he real Obama promises higher taxes." In fact, as Media Matters for America has noted, Obama has proposed cutting taxes for low- and middle-income families, and McCain's own chief economic adviser, Douglas Holtz-Eakin, has reportedly said it is inaccurate to say that "Barack Obama raises taxes."

An analysis of the candidates' tax plans by the Tax Policy Center found that "Senator McCain's tax cuts would primarily benefit those with very high incomes," while "Senator Obama offers much larger tax breaks to low- and middle-income taxpayers and would increase taxes on high-income taxpayers."

Further, another McCain campaign ad released during the summer -- a period Nagourney asserted McCain has used "to seek a thematic spine of the campaign he intends to run against" Obama -- falsely suggests that Obama did not visit wounded troops in his trip overseas.

From Nagourney's Times "Political Memo":

But the truth is that both campaigns have used the summer to prepare for the fall ahead: patching up weaknesses, testing new lines of attack and laying the foundation for how they want to portray the opponent. Aides to Mr. McCain and Mr. Obama are both well aware of the risks of easing up during this period. (Case in point: Michael S. Dukakis, the 1988 Democratic presidential nominee, who made the mistake of spending his summer touring his home state, Massachusetts.)

More than anything else, Mr. McCain has used this period to seek a thematic spine of the campaign he intends to run against Mr. Obama. The recent advertisement portraying Mr. Obama as a frothy celebrity may have originated as a Hail Mary pass intended to draw attention to a campaign that had been overshadowed by Mr. Obama's, um, celebrity. But it is one that McCain aides believe has proved successful. They are planning to use it aggressively through the Republican convention and into the fall.

"The American people are likely not going to want to elect someone to the presidency based on their ability to transform themselves into a celebrity," said Steve Schmidt, a senior adviser to Mr. McCain. "The advertising is effective because it speaks to a truth that people instantly get. It opens the doors to an examination of what exactly are his qualifications to be president of the United States in a time of economic crisis and in a time of a national security crisis."

This was inspired by what McCain advisers, and some Democrats, suspect was one mistake Mr. Obama made on his otherwise well-received overseas trip. His appearance at a rally before 200,000 Germans in Berlin led the McCain camp to describe Mr. Obama as presumptuous and provided the scenes for the first so-called celebrity ads. (Expect more of that in future advertisements, highlighted by Mr. Obama's presenting himself as a "fellow citizen of the world.")

If this kind of attack strikes a chord, then Mr. Obama may find that he gave Republicans a gift, underscoring their message, with his decision to deliver his convention acceptance speech before 76,000 people at a Denver stadium.

Implicit in this emerging portrait of Mr. Obama is an effort to portray him as alien to many Americans, reinforcing what polls suggest is a reluctance that many have about voting for this newcomer. Hence the references to his years at Harvard and at Hyde Park in Chicago, and a running commentary on what he is doing on his Hawaiian vacation this week, all intended to make him seem elitist or effete.

—M.G.