Obama's sniper tale? When he stood up to Detroit's 'cold' shoulder

Is this another Bosnian sniper incident, where a Democratic candidate for president describes a scene involving some personal courage, but later videotape shows that maybe perhaps it wasn't really quite all like that exactly?

Sen. Barack Obama, the leading Democratic candidate for his party's nomination, is very fond of telling receptive audiences the story about how last May he walked right into the automotive lion's den of Detroit and told those industrialists they were going to have to shape up, change the way they do things and start making more fuel-efficient vehicles to protect our environment.

"And I have to say," the straight-talking Obama tells his chuckling followers, "that when I delivered that speech, the room got really quiet. [Laughter] Nobody clapped."

Well, in honor of Obama's return campaign visit back to Michigan this week, someone -- perhaps Republicans, perhaps someone closer to home politically -- assembled videotape of Obama's oft-told tale and spliced it side by side with videotape of that actual Detroit speech.

You'll never guess what. The room wasn't quiet at all. Obama, in fact, got a loud round of applause. And at the end of his address the camera's view of him at the podium is partially blocked because the audience of local businesspeople and automotive executives was rising to give him a standing ovation.

(UPDATE: Ben LaBolt, an Obama spokesman, has provided numerous contempoary independent news accounts of the candidate's Detroit speech. They describe the audience as presenting a standing ovation at his introduction but only delivering "polite" or "light" applause during it, along with selected quotes from some audience members praising his courage or consistency in delivering the message about better mileage.)

There were no departure ceremonies after the speech because of sniper reports. Far too dangerous for that. It was all he could do then to duck his head and just run for the vehicles. See for yourself below.

-- Andrew Malcolm

Comments

[mona]

What's the big deal? Obama will apologize, says its a boneheaded mistake, say he can no more disown his comments than he can disown the you tube video and democrats will kiss and make up with Obama. Please let's not waste our time trying to act as if the wrong Obama does really does matter. He is invincible because he will bring the "change" everybody wants. It's a fact. While on that note, everyone was in an uproar about what Bush said, puh leeze Bush has been talking this way for the past 8 years , " cowboy politics" is the term I hear thrown around. Today everyone is an uproar and Obama made it about him. WOW, could you be anymore full of yourself. I don't support Bush by any stretch but the uproar kills me. Here comes Obama to save us from Bush. Let's all stand up and clap for him like the you tube video because he just marched right in there and told Bush off.......Obama our hero!!!! ....Here he comes to save the day!!! I'm sorry I didn't believe the democrats when they told me Jesus was back and he's black. I'm sorry did I just commit blasphemy? Don't worry the democrats got my back, I will just apologize and all will be forgiven and forgotten. ( oh wait, the republicans will not forget!!!) Those damn republicans I tell you (LOL)

[Ann Prehn]

Compared to his usual audience response, that one WAS quiet!

[pat]

if this is all you got i think ill vote for him.

[Aengil]

Erm... I'm sorry, but that video is misleading.

The clips from the speech in that video are from the END of the speech. Of course he gets some applause then.

But it's not like he's hiding anything - a video of the whole speech was uploaded by his campaign. Watch it -
http://youtube.com/watch?v=j1nno1El3-g - and what do you know, the room IS quiet. You can hear people cough.

True, there are a couple of points where he gets some mild applause. It would be incredible if there was no applause at all anywhere in the speech, particularly when he's talking about preserving jobs in the auto industry, but at many key points, like right after that when he talks about fuel efficiency standards - complete silence.

Simply put, his comment that the room got really quiet is true. It did.

[Mike Carlson]

It is really sad that people keep trying to find something to bring Obama down, really pathetic things at that. People should realize he is change and change is always good.

[W Hez]

Someone should tell Hillary the race is over!
This is now getting embarrassing.

[Tim in VA]

You have to be kidding, right? They were obviously applauding the fact he offered to help with health care prices in exchange for working on better fuel efficiency. In other words, they were applauding the carrot, not the stick.

If you did any research on contemporaneous accounts of that May 2007 speech -- something we used to call "fact-checking" -- you'd see the thrust of that speech, overall, did NOT go over well with those in attendance.

Yet another nit-picking distraction from the real issues of the day. Oh well.

[hesingswithfrogs]

Hmm is it another "bosnia sniper incident?" Are you hoping to find one and gain approval of all of your republiconnartist friends? That was a nervous minority clapping if I ever heard one. Notice how there were no vocal cheers and the clapping was rather subdued. Quite the opposite of what normally occurs at Obama's speeches. The floor rattles. It's interesting how the video produced is of Obama and not of the audience. Wouldn't a view of the audience tell us more about what percentage of the audience was clapping? Sure, hang "nobody" around his neck and ignore the true gist of what Obama was saying. You are grasping at straws and your desperation is showing.

[Travis]

This is an absurd comparison. Sen. Obama's speech in Detroit was definitely poorly received by industry insiders:

"Obama talks tough on Detroit
Criticism of auto industry could make winning support an uphill battle":

http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080514/BUSINESS01/805140387/1014

"Obama's Tough Talk Backfires in Motown":

http://www.newsweek.com/id/34740

"Bill Ford, Jr. Miffed by Obama's Criticism of Auto Industry":

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,277013,00.html

[Susan Powers]

This scares me to say call him this but I did see him called this somewhere else, "the chosen one" can do no wrong. Isn't this sad that the United States is being sold a false bill of goods... again?
It doesn't matter anyway, this deal was made in the back rooms, we are not a nation of "of the people, and for the people"

[Are you kidding me?]

Are you kidding me? This is Obama's sniper tale? So the audience clapped twice? Isnt it a given that when you end a speech that you receive some kind of applause? Great job Andrew?

[Lol]

This has got to be a joke. He told a story and made it funny by saying it was quiet. NOT THE SAME as saying he was under sniper fire. Its nice to have a president with a sense of humor.

[John]

I don't think lying is very changey-hopey.

[Obama Mama]

I think this video is very misleading. True, they were applauding and he said they weren't. But... Obama is used to worshipful adoring crowds of mindless sycophants. To him, if they're not fainting and sighing and throwing their panties (that includes, of course, Democratic men), they're not with him. So he didn't "misremember". He didn't lie. He just doesn't have a close personal relationship with the truth like he does with Jesus. The black Jesus, of course, not the other one.

[Hogarth]

People should realize he is change and change is always good.

LOL, sure it is. That whole climate change ('change' being its new name since we can't seem to decide if it is warming or cooling, but it doesn't matter: SEND ME MONEY AND I WILL STOP IT, sez St. Al Gore) thing is all for the good, eh?

Gas prices changed this week. Up to $3.95 in my area. Thank goodness "change is always good."

This is the kind of naivete that will put a 46 year old neophyte, far left, fascist-appeasing Liberal in the White House, where he will be the happy, smiling change-puppet of our dysfunctional tax-us-until-we-bleed-and-consider-the-job-half-done Congress and dictatorial tyrants from all over the globe.

But hey, yeah, change is always good.

[John Paul Telhomme]

For a while, I have always doubting the " journalism" of these two. Is this splices YouTube video supposed to contradict Obama? I bet that if you had the whole video, you would have played it in full to show your objectivity but you have none and even as "journalists" you rely on manufactured evidence. Gees! Bitterness-gate, Wafflegate , sweetie gate and now lets-restore-our-industrial-manufacturing-power gate. Thanks Andie. Thanks Donaldo.

[Taptap23]

It is a very deliberate misremember. Most of Obama's fierce supporters are greens. These stories fed right into the "US Car Executives are Monsters" ideas.

[Hope]

Perhaps the applause wasn't all that memorable. Perhaps Obama's not in it for his own glory. This is such a non-story. You Hillary supporters are really losing it.

Hillary invented sniper fire lies, invented the dying pregnant woman (because she had no healthcare) lies, paul v clinton lies... please!

http://www.paulvclinton.com is where the real video is!

Obama '08!

[EDH]

Hmm. HRC implied she had entered a zone of physical danger, but other than be there, she did not claim to have acted courageously.

BHO later tries to convey that he courageously stood-up to the auto industry. In fact, what he did was offer a federal subsidy to pay for their out-of-control private sector union benefits in exchange for proposing inefficient command and control CAFE standards on manufacturers.

His economic advisor Goolsbee called this an example of a "market-based Grand Bargain"?

I suppose if HRC proposed tossing tax payer money out of the C-130 transport to distract the "snipers" while she landed there would be a greater parallel.

[John B Sheffield]

Well yesterday the non-story was "sweetie" today it is "applause or not" - my oh my, is it August already, the month when everything seems quiet and the media have to scrape round for stories, all that is happening in the World at present and this is classed as either news or worthy debate - NO!!!!

Next story!!

[John Paul Telhomme]

Dear Don and Andrew,

I wonder if you consider yourselves objective journalists. Judge for yourselves -- here is the complete speech:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=j1nno1El3-g

And here are commentaries written at the time the speech was delivered by
(1) Newsweek:http://www.newsweek.com/id/34740

(2) Fox News: http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,277013,00.html

Having seen the video and read through both articles, I think he is right and you are wrong.

[Obama BS Meter pegged]

'Nobody clapped' means nobody swooned and fainted in that that revival tent mass hysteria kind of way. Seems there'll be more of this 'nobody clapped' business the longer Obama is exposed. In this Short Attention Span Theater of Democrat politics, maybe he's passed his 'sell by' date. Jumped the shark.

[Emlyn]

Uhhh.....Okay. Is the Dem race now so dead that the Los Angeles Times will print just anything that might create some new controversy?

I didn't hear silence, and neither did I hear "a loud round of applause" as you put it. What I heard was polite clapping during a pause in his speech; no doubt one of many.

This is not news. Go do your job.

[Chris Carlson]

Yeah, a standing ovation WHEN HE CONCLUDED HIS SPEECH. Sounded like he got little more than "pity applause" for his line about increasing fuel-efficiency to me.

This is stupid, and the premise that it's the equivalent of Hillary's sniper-fire comment is absurd.

[ALice Jones]

Andrew, did you learn this type of false reporting in school? I am sure your parents/guardians are very proud of you. No wonder sales are down for newspapers. I also love how people just read and follow these types of things like sheep without actually trying to find out the real deal. This is what's wrong with this country.

[Kent Waller]

LA TIMES: YOU CAN QUIT CAMPAIGNING FOR HILLARY, IT IS OVER.

[Steve]

This is about Obama being full of himself......He, a single man, can push around detroit automakers. Does he understand that not everybody wants a 35mpg car? Yes he does, but he would rather dictate to people what they can or can't have, how they will get it, and who will be responsible.

You people are gullable.....change in his terms means socialism. Government/Obama doesn't care about you. He cares about being in control of you. Most liberals need somebody in control of them, but I'm willing to roll the dice and let you figure it out on your own.....

[Don Hannaford]

THIS IS NEWS!!! If gas is $4.00 a gallon, If the Iraq war is still going bad, if we are in a recession, If President Bush's approval rating is at 30%,let's look at the rising National debt, the shrinking of the dollar, Who really cares if McCain is too old, lost his bearings,whether he voted for Bush or not, whether he can't tell sunni from Shia, Whether or not Reverend Wright or Ayers will hurt Obama, or that Hamas wants Obama to win, or if Obama wears a lapel pin (Neither Clinton nor McCain wear one) or whether he misspoke of 57 states,whether we care if Clinton came under fire in Bosnia. Wheter Britney is wearing under pants or not, People are worried about the real issues: Gas Prices, The War, The economy. Americans want "change in this election," and they especially care about health care, jobs, gasoline prices, college affordability and the Iraq war.

[Millie]

Obama is certainly a very good speaker but we have had great speakers throughout history who have been diasterous. I just finished reading one of his books and I was left with the impression that Obama is a racist...he is anti-white. The worst terrorist in this world has just issued another threat.....the leader of Venezuela is gathering weapons........Obama wants to sit down with the Iranian leader........Hamas wants Obama as the leader of the U.S.A. Doesn't Obama scare you? He would be wrong, wrong, wrong for the U.S., esp. on foreign policy. He's a liar. He admits in his books that the way he speaks and what and how he says words can convince people of things not true. Well......speaks for itself......

[Wildmonk]

You Obamamaniacs are amazing in your ability to deceive yourselves.

Yes, the clapping *is* muted...but this is obviously because the sound being used is coming through the media feed (essentially, Obama's microphone).

Second, are you *serious* in saying that people are clapping just because it was the "end of his speech"? So Obama gets a *standing ovation* but, because the audience didn't stand on their seats and hold up cellphones while wolf-whistling, they were *actually* quiet?

Truth is, Obama delivered a tough speech. Truth is, the audience wasn't crazy about certain parts of it and didn't clap much in those parts. But it is equally true that Obama, like Clinton, took a situation that required very little courage and now exaggerates the story profoundly to make it look like he has exhibited great courage and leadership.

So? He's just a politician. Same as any other, really. The only thing exceptional about him is that he (a) speaks well from prepared notes (better than anyone since Bill) and (b) has almost no record to run on that would tell us whether he can really deliver anything *but* those speeches.

In the end, though, I agree that this won't be Obama's "sniper tale." It isn't powerful enough nor will the media pay any attention at all to their candidate's snafu.

[gajim]

"It is really sad that people keep trying to find something to bring Obama down, really pathetic things at that. People should realize he is change and change is always good."

Unless you're talking about Climate. Then change is bad, very bad, right?

[Mike M]

If you people knew how corrupt our government and the Clintons really were you wouldn't be talking all this garbage. We may be taking a chance with Obama but we already know what we would get with the Clintons and McCain. How many years of failure does it take for you people to wake up. McCain and the Clintons have been in office for years and look at the hole our country is in. From NAFTA to scandal you people could care less. I don't get it.

[cbiggie]

This is a reverse op... good try.

The end result is to convince you he was right and the auto workers kinda liked his ideas... not that he lied.
In other words, it's not so bad.

I guess he'll say he got the places confused or one of his staff remembered the city wrong... as in, 'Maybe it was the Saturn plant in Tennessee'. Only for media to look for that clip and see they loved it. Bonus Obama.

As a previous commenter stated, it was calm... no one fainted, swooned or clasped their hands in prayer.

Hint for the 'journalists', when will you get around to things that matter... like the Iraq contracts involving Compapnion Security and the power plant in Iraq, telling us which charities that returned donor money went to and the murder of three black, gay men from his church within weeks of each other, why two cousins tried on terror support gave to his campaign and the money hasn't been returned, Auchi and Alsammarae (or how someone could be connected to Oil for Food and the oil lobbyists aren't brought up, and how interpol could want his other donor, yet someone arranged a visa for both of them outta Chicago and there both of them walk freely) and the number one question, who vetted him and where are his documents.

Oh, and read his books, he contradicts everything he says and does by his own hand.

Good day.

P.S. Exelon, telecom

[SenorT]

Andrew Malcolm has already had his hat handed to him by a couple of commenters like Aengil who correctly point out the context and full video...

Pulitzer finalist eh? Has everything been watered down to mediocrity these days??

[shannon]

Well, if you are Obama and you are used to hearing thunderous applause, it isn't happening here - there is a titter of applause. I can get behind his remark.

[T. Edwards]

'Change is always good?"

Someone hasn't been reading their Edmund Burke.

[AK]

Wildmonk wins the thread. It's true that Detroit isn't thrilled with fuel efficiency mandates. The crowd didn't roll around on the floor and start speaking in tongues like they usually do when Jug-Eared Jesus speaks. But the crowd applauded his health-bailout-for-CAFE-standards line, and Hopewell Rezko Changington said they didn't. It's not as bad as the sniper fire thing, and most politicians lie/exaggerate. But Hillary and McCain never promised us a rose garden. The Obamessiah did. Then he lied about the crowd's response, and had the audacity to hope the video would never surface.

[snofyr]

The author is looking for a needle in a haystack. Keep looking...

[Rhoda]

What a bunch of crap!

[Cory]

Obama would stoop to any level and say anything to get elected. Disgraceful!

[Hogarth]

"Gas Prices, The War, The economy. Americans want "change in this election," and they especially care about health care, jobs, gasoline prices, college affordability and the Iraq war."

Weren't we supposed to get all of that with the 2006 Dem win in both houses of Congress?? Well, weren't we? Where is it?

Gas Prices: Dems vote against drilling in a postage stamp sized desolate area in the largest state in the country. Dems vote against using Shale oil in another underpopulated desolate state.

The War: talk, talk, talk. In their hearts, they seem to know the war was the right thing to do, because even with the power to stop it, they don't. They play political games with it, but haven't the guts to stop it. That is the lowest form of politics.

College affordability? Colleges are holding billions in tax free endowments. Congress has the power to change this. What is the president supposed to do? He doesn't legislate - Congress does.

Health care is in a mess because of Congressional meddling. Mandatory coverages, etc. have raised the price of so-called "insurance." Get Congress away from legislating expensive mandatory coverage that most people don't want or need, prices come back down.

Obama can do nothing with his Neo-Socialism but make all of this worse.

[p rega]

he will just blame this on his staff, like his last 12 mistakes.

[Joseph]

Come on ... Obama is right. To him, the number of claps in that video is nobody alright, he is used to thunderous applause, not meek clapping. When it comes to applause, he can't hear that kind of clapping. So he is right :-). The English language can be ambiguous, metaphorical even.

And we don't see who is clapping. Is it histarget audience or just his supporters who clap on cue ?

[Burford Holly]

Who do I bill for the 30 seconds I wasted reading this piece of fluff?

[dmack]

uhhhhh. this IS dumb. Obamessiah is a tool, to be sure, but nitpicking this is just nuts. He rolled into detroit and pushed fuel efficiency via gov't regulation and it was quiet becuase they were being polite and listening to the latest socialist to come to town. WTF are people doing comparing that to the bosnia incident which is a pure and simple lie from a mentally ill person? Jeez. It's easy to poke holes in obamessiah's stands on things, why screw around with this silliness?

[Roy Mustang]

And in the 20 years he attended a Black Liberation church, he never noticed the pews were filled with racists.

But we all love Obama because of his DNA, right? The very genetic embodiment of a post racial America. Too bad his character is so flawed.

[jcrue]

RE: Mike Carlson's comment above 12:34AM

I think they are looking for anything they can report about Obama at this point.

He has absolutely no track record of decision making or executive experience, couple that with an astronomical number of "present" votes in the Senate and little else to show for his years of "public service", all that is left to be found is generally negative or critical.

If there was something substantive to report on Obama, the press has already beat it to death during the primaries season we have had to endure.

[B. Christopher]

I've taken your paper for 30 years ....but things have changed with the new owners. the old leadership would have had the reporter go back & watch the whole address (http://youtube.com/watch?v=j1nno1El3-g - )before writing an article on a clip.. instead we get reaction on clip out of context. Where's Conrad when we need him.
RETURN TO THE EXCELLENCE THAT WAS A TIMES TRADITION...and leave this to fox news.

[Sammy]

Another day, another Obama lie. This guy is a buffoon and a liar, and doesn't belong anywhere near the presidency.

[M. Simon]

How is he going to preserve jobs in the auto industry?

1. Make Americans buy American cars or else.
2. Outlaw factory automation

Sounds like a plan to me.

[Steve M.]

Getting cancer is change. Change is not always good.

[M. Simon]

Could some one explain how Obama can reduce gas prices?

Is he planning on opening our coasts for drilling? Giving the go ahead for oil shale production in Colorado? Lowering the tarriff on imported alcohol?

What?

[steve m.]

"Americans want "change in this election," and they especially care about health care, jobs, gasoline prices, college affordability and the Iraq war."

What makes you think any candidate will keep their election campaign promises? None have yet!

[justforkix]

Mr. Malcolm, too much time on your hands? Maybe you should look into writing about tragedies in Myanmar and China. This kind of triviotic drivel is what's driving our country to pot. Cheers and good luck with finding more interesting subject matter!

[Don Meaker]

Andrew, don't you get it? Democrats are allowed to lie, and it is always true in some kind of odd way. Republicans tell the truth (the guy who wanted to talk to Hitler in 1939 was Senator Borah, of Idaho), an it is an unfair false attack.

There. NOW NO MORE REPORTS ON OBAMA LIES.

[iowavette]

Who in the the heck is "you people?"

If you want to vote for an empty suit because he mouths happy platitudes, have at it. You and your children will reap this harvest.

[Dan R.]

Barack Obama is all smoke & mirrors. He's a weak-kneed ultra-leftist amateur who is woefully unqualified to be President of the United States. If he's elected, it will be Jimmy Carter all over again.

[Deward Bowles]

More non-news.

The assertions in the above article have already been debunked as garbage.

When Americans are facing some of the hardest challenges in 60 years all we get is fake news stories about flag pins, paster and gaffs.

No it would be too hard to write a story about the things people want to hear about like the war in Iraq, the economy, health care and illegal immigration, you see that would actually take effort to research.

You want more of the same, vote McCain.

My vote is for Obama.

[Brian Page]

I've never heard of the guy that wrote this, but you are an awful journalist. This is a stretch. Youtube + Politician = MEGA 21st CENTURY NEWS STORY!!!!!

Congrats!

[Slim]

Who are the idiots clapping for this tool?

[madison]

Wow it took me a full minute to scroll all the way down here, maybe Obama was just "mixing up the event with something else" just like every other politicition who has ever lived.

[DB]

You stiil can not trust him I don,t care what he says