Coffee Talk

What Does It Say About A Man… **UPDATED**

37 Comments

Update below the fold.

Or I could more accurately write, “What does this say about both of these men…?” Those “men” would be Barack Obama, both as a Senator and as president, as well as Tom Hanks.

Some of you may recall that back in 2008 during one of the debates, then-Senator Obama spoke often about his mother’s cancer, and struggles with health insurance:

[snip]Throughout his 2008 presidential bid, Obama attributed his passion for health care reform to painful memories of his mother’s battle with a health insurance company that allegedly tried to avoid paying her medical bills on the pretext that her disease predated her coverage. He used her image in a campaign ad as far back as September of 2007, and he often told the tale during his primary battle with Hillary Clinton. In a New Hampshire debate he phrased it thus: “When I think about health care, I think about my mother, who, when she was dying of cancer, had to read an insurance form because she had just gotten a new job and they were trying to figure out whether or not this was going to be treated as a preexisting condition and whether or not they would pay her medical bills.” [snip] (Click here to read the rest.)

Remember that? Well, guess what – it’s back! Yes, now Tom Hanks – he of the major hatchet job on Gov. Sarah Palin with “Game Change” is now the voice of Obama’s 17 minute commercial, “The Road We’ve Traveled.” And in this commercial, Hanks intones about this difficult time in Stanley Ann Dunham’s life, as this Washington Post article highlights:

[snip]The sequence, in fact, evokes a famous story that candidate Obama told during the 2008 campaign—that his mother, Stanley Ann Dunham, fought with her insurer over whether her cancer was a pre-existing condition that disqualified her from coverage.

But the story was later called into question by Dunham’s biographer. The fact that Obama’s initial claim is not directly repeated suggests the filmmakers knew there was a problem with the campaign story, but they clearly wanted to keep some version of it in the film.


Well, yeah, I mean, you wouldn’t want a good story to go to waste, would you? Who cares if it isn’t really true, right? Clearly not Obama and his Ad team. As long as they can get some emotional mileage out of it by manipulating people’s heart strings, why the hell not? That’s pretty much what they thought, or so it appears:

[snip] During the 2008 campaign, Obama frequently suggested his mother had to fight with her health-insurance company for treatment of her cancer because it considered her disease to be a pre-existing condition. In one of the presidential debates with GOP rival John McCain, Obama said:

“For my mother to die of cancer at the age of 53 and have to spend the last months of her life in the hospital room arguing with insurance companies because they’re saying that this may be a pre-existing condition and they don’t have to pay her treatment, there’s something fundamentally wrong about that.”

But then earlier this year, journalist Janny Scott cast serious doubt on this version of events in her excellent biography, “A Singular Woman: The Untold Story of Barack Obama’s mother.” Scott reviewed letters from Dunham to the CIGNA insurance company, and revealed the dispute was over disability coverage, not health insurance coverage (see pages 335-339).

Disability coverage will help replace wages lost to an illness. (Dunham received a base pay of $82,500, plus a housing allowance and a car, to work in Indonesia for Development Alternatives Inc. of Bethesda, according to Scott.) But that is different than health insurance coverage denied because of a pre-existing condition, which was a major part of the president’s health care law.

Scott writes that Dunham, who died in 1995 of uterine and ovarian cancer, had health insurance that “covered most of the costs of her medical treatment…The hospital billed her insurance company directly, leaving Ann to pay only the deductible and any uncovered expenses, which, she said, came to several hundred dollars a month.”

Dunham had filed the disability claim to help pay for those additional expenses. The company denied the claim because her doctor had suspected uterine cancer during an office visit 2 ½ months before Dunham had started the job with Development Alternatives, though Dunham said the doctor had not discussed the possibility with cancer with her. Dunham requested a review from CIGNA, saying she was turning the case over to “my son and attorney Barack Obama.”

That is a HUGE difference from the story Obama told. Having health insurance which covers almost everything while trying to get disability insurance to pay the rest is a massive discrepancy. Being out a few hundred dollars a month compared to what someone without insurance at that time would have been out is massive. And honestly – if Obama’s mother was short $200 to $300 a month, why didn’t he HELP HER until they could work this out? But the bottom line is that this version of the story, the one told by Obama, and to an extent the Obama Commercial, seems to be false:

[snip] The disability-insurance dispute certainly may have motivated the president, but he has never explicitly stated that. In any case, the filmmakers must have known they had a problem with this story or else they would have recounted it as Obama had done in the 2008 campaign, using phrases such as “pre-existing conditions,” “health insurance,” and “treatment.”

Instead, they arranged the quotes and images to leave a misleading impression of what really happened.(Click here to read the rest.)

The WaPo Factchecker gave this story Three Pinocchios. In other words, more lies and false advertising from Obama, and Tom Hanks. They seem to be on a roll, don’t they?

It is deplorable, absolutely despicable, that anyone would use their mother’s illness as a manipulative ploy to garner sympathy, or votes. It speaks VOLUMES about the kind of man Obama is. It is incredibly telling about Obama and his constitution that he would tell this story the way he does.

And it speaks volumes about Hanks that not only has he produced some major league trash to support this man, attacking a woman relentlessly to prop up Obama, and then going along with this major manipulation of the facts of Obama’s mother. Wow.

While I am talking about Tom Hanks, a disturbing little piece popped up about him today. Eight years ago, he was involved in a school fundraiser with another celebrity. As part of their whole little schtick, they had another man on stage with them. He was white, but in “blackface,” with a big Afro (click here to view the video). Wow.

Now I realize they were doing a whole tongue-in-cheek thing to point out how very bereft of diversity their exclusive private school was, but to choose such a stereotypical representation is a bit startling. And I thought this sort of “blackface” depiction was a thing of the past. Eight years is not “past” enough, and certainly cannot be chalked up to “youthful indiscretion.”

Tom Hanks is sure making a name for himself in his sycophantic devotion to The One. But it isn’t a good one. Maybe he, and the Obama Story Team, can try using some facts next time. Oh, no, wait – then they couldn’t manipulate people’s emotions as much. Never mind. Gee – I can’t wait to see what comes next from this duo. I’m sure it will be a doozy. At least Three Pinocchios worth, don’t you think?

UPDATE: Well, Tom Hanks has seen the light. Now, he “condemns” the “blackface” skit mentioned above. Um, that’s great, but who in the world thought that was a good idea in the FIRST place?! It was only 8 yrs ago – like I said, it isn’t like this was something from when he was in college or anything. This was an auction at the school his kids attended. But, I guess better late than never, huh?

Now, I wonder when he is going to “condemn” his sexist, misogynistic attacks on Gov. Palin??

37 thoughts on “What Does It Say About A Man… **UPDATED**”

  1. kinthenorthwest says:

    Great article RRRA…and great backup…
    Seems that many in the media need to start looking back at the facts, especially in regards to Obama and his stories..So many of his stories just do not make sense historically or otherwise.
    What is strange is that so many celebrities that depend on the people who are now hurting for their income are showing their ignorance with their blind support of him. Maybe they are on the payroll too, for I just cannot fathom that there is such an ignorant group within film industry.
    Seems Deniro stuck his foot in his mouth during a event for Obama. However, it seems the WH came out and apologized for it..really shocked me..

    I am hoping that the Obama vetting trend that I am seeing now keeps escalating util all that we do not know about Obama comes forward..

    Seems they have found a postal worker who used to deliver mail Ayers resident…He has quite an interesting story about Obama; where the money for his education came from and where Obama was from.
    http://mobile.wnd.com/2012/03/postman-ayers-family-put-foreigner-obama-through-school/
    http://www.americanthinker.com/2012/03/what_the_mailman_knows_about_ayers_and_obama.html

    Reply
    • HELENK says:

      Kin
      I remember reading that story about the mailman during the primary. But like everything else about him it got swept under the rug

      Reply
      • kinthenorthwest says:

        More and more things are coming out…
        I think sheriff Joe taking on the BC helped a bit…Trump even supported it…
        If Obama was truly born in Hawaii, then bring forth the truth, not more lies and coverups that any 1st grader can see throught.
        If Obama is not the man the DNC has been trouting him as, then get another Democrat on the ticket.
        When the truth does come out, the DNC and Democratic party will most likely be destroyed due to all those that have to be in on it and know the real story behind Obama. I think this is what the DNC is scared of more than Obama being found out as a fraud. For the DNC knows that too many will be implicated in the mess.

        Reply
        • HELENK says:

          as it should be. The democratic party inflicted this phony on this country and should be held accountable. Committing Hari-Kari has consequences.

          Reply
    • Rabble Rouser Reverend Amy says:

      Thank you so much, Kin. And you are right, so many of Obama’s stories are just that – stories. My fave was when he said that the March in Selma inspired his parents to have him, even though he was abt 5 at the time. I guess they were also inspired to make the first time machine, too.

      WOW, that postal worker story is sure interesting! Perhaps this Sheriff is on to something…

      Reply
  2. Ferd Berfle says:

    This brings everyone an entirely new way of looking at our Manchurian candidate. If the stories about his use of his mother’s situation are true, he is not only scum but a bloodsucker.

    Reply
    • Rabble Rouser Reverend Amy says:

      I remember him coming out with this in one of the debates back in 2008. He used it quite a bit. The White House, according to WaPo, has not denied the veracity of the story as told by the biographer.

      It is hard to fathom the depths from which one would think it a good idea to use that fiction…

      Reply
      • Ferd Berfle says:

        It is hard to fathom the depths from which one would think it a good idea to use that fiction…
        ==============
        The sewer?

        Reply
        • Rabble Rouser Reverend Amy says:

          LOL, I suppose there is that!

          I do wonder with these great links folks here are posting abt Obama, his history, and being vetted, all of the machinations that occurred to get him, and Michelle, where they are now. It is astonishing.

          Reply
    • kinthenorthwest says:

      Remember the story of sitting on his grandfathers shoulders watching one ofthe space craft landings…another untruth..
      He does do will with the fiction

      Reply
      • Rabble Rouser Reverend Amy says:

        Oh, RIGHT – yes, I had forgotten that one. I remember how many twists and turns the MSM did when he said that, and how they covered for him. What else is new?

        Reply
    • Rabble Rouser Reverend Amy says:

      Abt damn time! Maybe if Obama doesn’t get the big huge pile o’dough this time around he won’t be able to buy the presidency again. Hey, a girl can dream, can’t she??

      Reply
  5. kinthenorthwest says:

    After the incident of scrubbing reports of Obama’s daughter’s vacation, this does not shocke me.
    If there is an ounce of truth in it then oh Crap.

    Forgerygate: Media Threatened With Federal Investigations If Obama Birth Certificate Story Reported
    http://www.westernjournalism.com/forgerygate-media-threatened-with-federal-investigations-if-obama-birth-certificate-story-reported/?utm_source=Western+Journalism&utm_campaign=0c1217a190-RSS_EMAIL_CAMPAIGN&utm_medium=email

    Reply
            • kinthenorthwest says:

              You have to drink lots of red neck water first and then go from leave the Democratic party…
              Hey thats what my youngest says I did…My youngest says I need to move back to Calif and quit drinking all the red neck water up here LOL

              Even though I love my baby…I still think she has gotten overly drunk on Obamaaide…LOL

              Reply
              • Rabble Rouser Reverend Amy says:

                “Red neck water”?? Oh, my. That is funny. Well, it didn’t take any “Red Neck Water” for me to finally leave the Dem Party after a lifelong membership. Unless it enables one to acknowledge the corruption of the party, then yeah, I guess so! :-)

                Reply
    • Rabble Rouser Reverend Amy says:

      Holy smokes, Kin – that is unbelievable. Well, I guess it was unbelievable a few years ago. Now, it seems par for the course for this president.

      If the gov’t is indeed threatening media outlets with severe repercussions if they print info that is unfavorable, you would think they would rise up against this tremendous breach. You would think they would not stand for being censored – isn’t that what this is?

      Wow…

      Reply
  7. Ferd Berfle says:

    Well, yeah, I mean, you wouldn’t want a good story to go to waste, would you?
    ==========================
    My God, Amy, you just nailed That One to the wall. I never thought of it in quite that way.

    Bravo!

    Reply
    • Rabble Rouser Reverend Amy says:

      Oh, no – we love having you here, Kin! But I do understand the desire, especially with all of the hooey going on.

      Reply
    • Rabble Rouser Reverend Amy says:

      I should have added, knowing now what I know abt Media Matters, their connections to not just MSNBC, but AL – JAZEERA, I don’t trust a damn thing they say. So, if they are making fun of this, and deriding people who are actually asking/answering the questions that SHOULD have been answered 4 yrs ago, well, you know…

      Reply
    • HELENK says:

      Kin
      find a “just because” every day. It helps to remember that there is always some kind of beauty and many good people and things in the world.
      It can be a picture, a song, a video, an article about something good.
      The just becauses are always there, we just have to look for them

      Reply

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