Op-Ed: Mystery Deepens on Rumored Michelle Obama 'Whitey' Tape

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Yesterday I reported here at DJ on an alleged video with Michelle Obama ranting against 'Whitey' at Trinity UCC Church.

Here's the original FOX video of the report and interviews.

It was this statement by pundit Roger Stone, who broke the Eliot Spitzer prostitution scandal, that caught my attention and convinced me it might be real:

RS: There really has little to do with the general election yet, and more to do with Hillary Clinton staying in the race. At least seven news organizations have contacted me wanting to know how to get their hands on the tape, and giving me more information that I had after I'd spoken to each one of them!

I now believe the tape exists; and I believe a network has it... if this pans out to be true based upon Michelle Obama's previous comment that this was the first time she had been proud of her country... which I think shows an attitude... it's problematic.

A promised big news release by Larry Johnson at the No Quarter blog at 9:00 this morning has failed to materialize, although Mr. Johnson remains quite adamant as to its existence.

It should be noted here, for the sake of objectivity, that Mr. Johnson is a former CIA analyst and now strong Hillary supporter.

He made the following statement on his No Quarter blog earlier today:

The Obama campaign is telling reporters from major news organizations that the videotape of Michelle Obama railing against “whitey” at a panel alongside Nation of Islam maximum leader Louis Farrakhan is nothing but a “scurrilous lie,” according to one of those reporters who called for an answer.

But at the same time the Obama campaign has disseminated either a doctored or concocted transcript of the supposedly nonexistent videotape. Major Obama donors went to the campaign demanding explanations after the posting of my story on No Quarter about the contents of the videotape confirmed to me by several reliable sources, all Republicans with access to knowledge but who do not know each other.

Here is a response and a sample of that alleged Obama campaign transcript, as posted on the Booman Tribune blog:

My old friend, Larry Johnson, knows about manipulating elections from his training with the Central Intelligence Agency. He doesn’t want Obama to win the nomination for whatever reason, and he’s in full propaganda mode to do everything he can to frighten the superdelegates.

He claims to have a shocking tape of Michelle Obama ranting in some anti-white diatribe. He promises to produce this tape tomorrow at 9am.

From what I understand, it is a tape of Michelle Obama criticizing the Bush administration.

How you’d write it:

Why did Bush cut folks off medicaid?
Why did Bush let New Orleans drown?
Why did Bush do nothing about Jena?
Why did Bush put us in Iraq for no reason?

How you’d say it:

Why’d he cut folks off medicaid?
Why’d he let New Orleans drown?
Why’d he do nothing about Jena?
Why’d he put us in Iraq for no reason?

How Larry Johnson wants you to hear it:

Whitie cut folks off medicaid?
Whitie let New Orleans drown?
Whitie do nothing about Jena?
Whitie put us in Iraq for no reason?

I say alleged, because I cannot find any official information on the Obama campaign releasing such a statement or associated transcript.

There is also this alleged quote attributed to the rumored video, from yet another blog:

Reported verbiage from Michelle Obama’s tape

Michelle Obama, “Once again, the white man keeps us down, what’s up with Whitey, Why’d he attack Iraq, Why’d he let Katrina happen, Why’d he leave millions of children behind. This is the legacy the white man gives us.”

The popular left-leaning blogger Wonkette also had a few choice words:

Anyway, there are all these convoluted myths about a video or audio recording of Michelle Obama saying “whitey.” The cast of characters rumored to join her in this video include Jeremiah Wright, Louis Farrakhan, Malcolm X and W.E. B. Du Bois.

Many Hillary/RNC insiders have supposedly seen the damning video. And once it is released, which could happen any day now, although the RNC insiders hope it’s not until “November 1″ and the Hillary white women obviously want it revealed tonight, Barack Obama will be finished! Curtains for him!

No country like America is going to elect the husband of a colored lady who says something like “whitey,” which is possibly worse than wearing a paisley scarf while selling donuts & sugar-coffee to fat people.

It begs a lot of questions:

Does the video really exist?

Does a major news network have it? If so, why haven't they released it?

Do Republican operatives, including Karl Rove, have possession of the video and are waiting to pop it on the American public as an October Surprise to sink Obama in the election, whom they consider a far more politically vulnerable candidate than Hillary?

If the video does exist, is Michelle Obama saying 'whitey' or 'why'd he'?

It is easy to get swept up in the moment, as I was by all the Internet buzz and rather convincing FOX News interview with Roger Stone yesterday. It didn't seem all that far beyond the realm of possibility, given past revelations of Trinity UCC and Reverend Wright, which Michelle attended with her husband for twenty-plus years.

Among other things.

Besides, nothing that comes out of Trinity church surprises me anymore.

Good thing Obama resigned. It was starting to reflect poorly on him.

But after a closer look, this seems to be a story not so much buzzing around the Internet as rattling within an echo chamber, in which No Quarter's Larry Johnson is at the center.

Does the tape even exist?

I expect we'll find out in October at the latest.

Or if it is released publicly and the story breaks sooner.

Or not.

The lesson learned for this DJ is that any sensational story that sounds eminently believable based on previously reliable sources has to be investigated as thoroughly as the most outlandish, even if it means losing a scoop.

Did I jump the gun? Jury's still out at this point. A lot of political insiders are still saying it's out there.

Not issuing a retraction just yet, but I'm in 'I'll believe it when I see it' mode now.

I'll follow up as this story develops further.

Stay tuned.