Gettin' It Right


The grio.com ("our lives.... our world.... our stories") did it. But so did The Washington Post, Politico, and most mainstream media outlets clean it up for Barack Obama. The Associated Press, however, went off the reservation. The AP had the nerve- the nerve! to quote the President of the United States and leader of the free world accurately. It quoted President Obama as having implored the Congressional Black Caucus on Sunday

Take off your bedroom slippers. Put on your marching shoes," he said, his voice rising as applause and cheers mounted. "Shake it off. Stop complainin'. Stop grumblin'. Stop cryin'. We are going to press on. We have work to do."

This has sparked a great deal of controversy, with the Associated Press even being accused of racism for reporting the President's words.... inaccurately? No, for quoting the President accurately.

No, really. Barack Obama, a graduate of Columbia University and of Harvard Law School (where he was law review editor) and resident of the State of Illinois, spoke before the racially segregated Congressional Black Caucus. He earnestly pandered to ", pulling out his finest southern accent, dropping his g's, invoking the civil rights movement, quoting Dr. King.... and was quoted accurately by the Associated Press.

For that, the AP was accused by MSNBC contributing editor Karen Hunter of being "inherently racist." Get the story accurate, report it straight, and be accused of being "racist." The Associated Press reporter who filed the story noted "in this case, the President appeared to be making such a point of dropping Gs, and doing so in a rhythmic fashion, that for me to insert them would run clearly counter to his meaning."

The AP deputy managing editor for standards and production explained "In this case, our reporter, who was there in person, felt the spellings were appropriate to convey a particular touch that President Obama appeared to be intentionally making use of." President Obama does not choose his words carelessly or thoughtlessly and did not do so for his prepared remarks on Sunday. He selected the themes, words, phrasing, and pronunciation for a purpose. The AP deputy managing editor for standards and production explained "In this case, our reporter, who was there in person, felt the spellings were appropriate to convey a particular touch that President Obama appeared to be intentionally making use of."

A responsible media outlet would report, accurately, everything said and allow the readers or viewers to determine for themselves whether it reflected their interests or those of the nation, as has generally been done in the case of "you betcha" and "refudiate" Sarah Palin. Anything less demonstrates a lack of respect for the public as informed citizens of a democratic republic.





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