In any campaign season what Mickey Kaus calls 'undernews' bubbles away online: the gossip, the rumours, the conspiracy theories that the mainstream media won't touch, usually because they're not true or haven't been proven yet. You've heard 'em...Obama is a Muslim sent to destroy the United States... Hillary Clinton is having a lesbian affair with her handler...Bill Clinton had sexual relations with an intern in the White House. Just occasionally one of these stories turn out to be true. But that shouldn't obscure the fact that 99% of them are fictions made up by crazy people.
Now, I knew that the conservative blogosphere wants to turn Michelle Obama into a hate figure. I wasn't aware that there are some Clintonites who want to do the same. Until now. A blogger and not un-prominent Clinton supporter named Larry Johnson has been spreading rumours about a videotape that supposedly shows Michelle Obama sounding off angrily at 'whitey'. Rather pathetically, he keeps claiming that although he hasn't seen it himself, lots of other people have, and it's STUNNING and GAMECHANGING. Others have picked up on this story, and a little undernews squall has developed.
Well, as it turns out, there may actually be such a tape. But, rather amusingly, Mrs Obama isn't saying quite what her enemies want her to be saying...
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