Regarding Ashley Todd, I’ve got two words for you…
Francisco ... Nava. (sniff, sniff) Smell test results coming soon…
UPDATE: I had to run out after posting this, but now that I’ve had more time to review the allegations and the this-is-what’s-gonna-happen-next Twittering, the smell test gets a D+. And I think I’m being generous. Even Pajamas Media and Michelle Malkin (no linky for the stinky) think this might be a hoax. From PJM:
A reader who says he’s a plastic surgeon writes that he believes the attack is superficial and may be a hoax. Chillingly, he closes with this line which I’m paraphrasing: “This may be a Tawana Brawley moment for Republicans.”
Chillingly.
MORE: From the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review...
Police planned to administer a polygraph test to Ashley Todd, 20, because her statements about the attack conflict with evidence from the Citizens Bank ATM where she claims the incident occurred, police said.
UPDATE (10/24 9:30AM): A police representative was on MSNBC a short while ago and while she didn’t come right out and say it (she did use the word “inconsistencies” a lot), it was fairly obvious that Ashley Todd failed the polygraph test.
SIDE NOTE: I’ve been one of the few Obama supporters I know who hasn’t been nervous once (I swear, ask my wife) about his chances since our convention, but when I first heard about this story I became worried. Really worried. It fit tightly (and, as it turns out, too tightly) into the “Fear of a Black Country” narrative I’ve seen unfurled in the comment sections (and sometimes the posts) at wingnut and PUMA blogs over the last several weeks. The storyline goes that a) African Americans will riot in the streets for days if Obama loses the election or b) that large packs of swarthy black thugs will roam he United States as Barack’s enforcers if he wins. Inevitably, someone or several people mention how they’re going to go out and buy a gun. If this story turned out to be true, in my opinion, it would have done severe damage to Obama’s campaign and from one early report I read before running up the “Francisco Nava” portion of this post, the McCain campaign was acutely aware of that and were actively pushing this story (I read that it was a campaign spokesperson who initially told the press that the “B” stood for “Barack”). John McCain called Ashley. Sarah Palin called her, too. They were latching onto this story bigtime and were fully prepared to ride it for all it was worth. From what I’ve seen this morning, a lot of liberal blogs are still holding this story at arm’s length or not touching it at all, but I think it’s important that we clearly and loudly identify this as the HOAX that it appears to be and hang it around McCain and Palin’s necks because this story has already seeped into America’s feeding tube and it’s imperative that we yank it out of its throat hole before Twitter Brawley can do anymore damage than she’s already done.
UPDATE: Here’s a good post from a PA (Pittsburgh?) resident about the incident [via the comments at Instaputz]. Most interesting is this “UPDATE”:
Apparently local talk radio host Marty Griffin (KDKA 1020) isn’t buying it either. He’s reporting that Ms. Todd called the McCain campaign office before reporting this incident to the police.
Hang it around their necks.
UPDATE: New details from WPXI in Pittsburgh. She’s changed her story and the national chairman of the College Republican National Committee is going all in (much like someone else we know):
The College Republican National Committee confirms that before the attack, Todd had just finished a campaign assignment at the University of Pittsburgh.
The group’s national chairman, Charlie Smith, told Channel 11 News the alleged victim is taking time off to recover from what he views as a political hate crime.
“It’s really too bad that someone, anyone, would have to go through this type of intimidation and abuse when she’s just trying to be more politically active and more active in our democratic process,” said Smith.
Gawker has a lot more. And, as Betty Cracker points out in the comments, the Executive Vice President of FOX News blurted out the following on his blog:
If Ms. Todd’s allegations are proven accurate, some voters may revisit their support for Senator Obama, not because they are racists (with due respect to Rep. John Murtha), but because they suddenly feel they do not know enough about the Democratic nominee.
If the incident turns out to be a hoax, Senator McCain’s quest for the presidency is over, forever linked to race-baiting.
Posted by Kevin K. on 10/23/08 at 05:06 PM • Permalink
Categories: News •
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