Right-wing media grasp at straws: Seal fall is “a sign”

Drudge: “Obama loses his seal.” Under the headline, “Obama loses his seal,” the Drudge Report prominently linked to an Associated Press article reporting that Obama's presidential seal fell off of his podium during his speech at Fortune magazine's “Most Powerful Woman Summit.” From the Drudge Report:

Geller declares the seal's fall is “a sign......... :)” In an October 5 post, titled, “Instant Karma's Gonna Get You,” Pam Geller quoted from the AP article and wrote, “A sign......... :)”

The Blaze: “Presidential Seal Abandons Obama.” Glenn Beck's The Blaze also linked to the AP article as one of its top stories. From The Blaze:

Fox & Friends: Is Obama's seal falling off podium “a sign of the times for President Obama?” During its October 6 broadcast, Fox News' Fox & Friends aired multiple segments on Obama's seal fall, at one point asking if the incident was “a sign of the times for President Obama.”

Right-wing media has a long history of launching absurd attacks on Obama

Right-wing media adopt “insane conspiracy theory” that Obama lied about attending daughter's soccer game. On April 13, American Thinker's Cat Corben reported that Obama “may have been lying about attending his daughter's soccer game last weekend,” claiming that the game “didn't exist” because “there were no scheduled soccer games for Sidwell Friends April 10.” Rush Limbaugh, Hot Air's Ed Morrissey, Confederate Yankee, and Don Surber all ran with the story. CBS' Mark Knoller subsequently reported that “a CBS colleague happened to be at the soccer game on his own & saw the Obamas there,” while ABC's Jake Tapper reported that “many ppl saw POTUS at daughter's soccer game at ft reno park soccer field” and criticized the “insane conspiracy theory.” Even after the story had been debunked, Andrew Breitbart's Big Journalism reported that "[t]he inquiring minds in the media suddenly don't care much that the president 'dissed' them and that there was no soccer game scheduled and it certainly would not have been at the address given by the presidential staff."

Right-wing media run with photo they claimed showed Obama ogling a young girl, but the photo showed no such thing. After a Free Republic member posted a Reuters photo of Obama and French President Nicolas Sarkozy at the 2009 G8 Conference, Matt Drudge promoted the same photo by suggesting Obama was inappropriately leering a young girl. Subsequently, Fox News and the New York Post followed their lead, highlighting the photo online and on screen, in some cases with provocative, needling, or scolding commentary, suggesting that Obama had ogled the girl. But a review of the video, which the media promoting the photo either did not watch or did not allow to give pause, made clear that Obama was attempting to navigate high steps while reaching back to help someone behind him do so as well. As Fox News host Greta Van Susteren said after airing video of the event, “Yes, a still picture can lie. And this one does.”

Right-wing media invent “bow-gate,” accuse Obama of “grovel[ing].” Right-wing media outlets repeatedly see pictures of Obama greeting other world leaders and politicians and declare he is “bowing” to these individuals, which they say is unbecoming of a United States president. For instance, the right-wing media attacked Obama for supposedly “bowing” to Saudi King Abdullah and Japanese Emperor Akihito, accusing Obama of breaching “presidential protocol,” claiming “it's not appropriate for an American president to bow to a foreign monarch,” and citing the supposed bows as a “sign” of Obama apologizing to world leaders.

Fox Nation, Drudge Report, CNS distortion: White House requested “Jesus” be hidden during speech. The Fox Nation and the Drudge Report advanced an April 15, 2009, CNSNews.com article claiming the White House requested that Georgetown University “hide 'Jesus' ” during a speech there by President Obama. However, as the CNS article noted, the White House requested “all signs and symbols” on the stage -- not solely the name of Jesus -- be covered.