NY Times cited anonymous “critics” claiming Obama camp “raising the specter of violence ... to raise Senator Obama to mythic stature”

A New York Times article asserted that at a recent event, Michelle Obama, wife of Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama, “nimbly entwin[ed] references to violence with her more usual admonitions that a history of racism and despair should not keep her husband” from office. But the article did not provide any specific quote from Obama's speech to support its claim that she had “entwin[ed] references to violence” or that she “evok[ed] dangers,” as the headline stated. Moreover, the article acknowledged that "[n]ot everyone detected a double message in Mrs. Obama's remarks." Nonetheless, the Times cited purported complaints by unnamed “critics” that “raising the specter of violence is nothing more than an attempt to raise Senator Obama to mythic stature.”

A January 15 New York Times article headlined “Obama's Wife Evokes Dangers of Campaign” claimed that "[w]hen Michelle Obama addressed an audience of African-American political and entertainment heavyweights" at the Trumpet Awards Foundation, “she obliquely addressed fears that her husband's presidential run might put him in danger” and “nimbly entwin[ed] references to violence with her more usual admonitions that a history of racism and despair should not keep her husband, Senator Barack Obama [D-IL], from office.” Yet, as Bob Somerby noted on his Daily Howler blog, the article, written by Shaila Dewan, did not offer any specific quote from Michelle Obama's January 13 speech that explicitly indicated Obama had “entwin[ed] references to violence” against her husband or “evoke[d] dangers” of the campaign, and, later in the article, Dewan acknowledged that "[n]ot everyone detected a double message in Mrs. Obama's remarks." Even so, Dewan cited purported complaints by “critics” whom Dewan did not name “that raising the specter of violence is nothing more than an attempt to raise Senator Obama to mythic stature.”

The January 15 Times article in its entirety, with the quotes provided by Dewan to support her claim that Michelle Obama “entwin[ed] references to violence” against her husband or “evoke[d] dangers” of the campaign in her speech bolded:

When Michelle Obama addressed an audience of African-American political and entertainment heavyweights here on Sunday, she obliquely addressed fears that her husband's presidential run might put him in danger.

“There are still voices, even within our own community, that focus on what might go wrong,” Mrs. Obama said, nimbly entwining references to violence with her more usual admonitions that a history of racism and despair should not keep her husband, Senator Barack Obama, from office.

“It's not just about fear, people,” she continued during her remarks at the Trumpet Awards Foundation. “It's also about love. I know people want to protect us and themselves from disappointment and failure, from the possibility of being let down again -- not by us, but by the world as it is. A world that we fear might not be ready for a decent man like Barack.”

Interviews with black voters have found that some are reluctant to support Mr. Obama, Democrat of Illinois, fearing that his success would make him a target. But critics have complained that raising the specter of violence is nothing more than an attempt to raise Senator Obama to mythic stature.

Not everyone detected a double message in Mrs. Obama's remarks, but among those who did was Burnella Jackson-Ransom, who was married to Maynard Jackson Jr. when he became Atlanta's first black mayor.

“I know the feeling that my family and I had when we got threats,” Mrs. Jackson-Ransom said, adding that she had heard conversations about the issue, but did not think it would affect how people choose a candidate.

The Obama campaign has declined to discuss the issue, but Mr. Obama and Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton, Democrat of New York, are the only presidential candidates who have Secret Service protection.