I think MSNBC is trying to get the President shot at.

Posted by Moe Lane (Profile) Wednesday, August 19th at http://www.redstate.com/moe_lane/2009/08/19/i-think-msnbc-is-trying-to-get-the-president-shot-at/

(H/T Ace of Spades, NewsBusters, & Hot Air) I'm aware that's kind of an inflammatory statement, but hear me out.

OK, remember last weekend, when there were a bunch of reports of armed people at the Arizona town hall? Lots of stories of bemused reporters trying to get their heads around the notion that in Arizona you can wander around with an AR-15 -
Which is not a fully automatic weapon, by the way. You can't buy fully automatic weapons in the USA*. I mention this because this is apparently news to our journalistic class.
- anyway, lots of bemused reporters, not least because of this picture (via here):

Health care rationing protester, by the way.  See also this video, and stop at about 0:28. OK, yup, same guy. Now watch this:

On Tuesday, MSNBCs Contessa Brewer fretted over health care reform protesters legally carrying guns: "A man at a pro-health care reform rally...wore a semiautomatic assault rifle on his shoulder and a pistol on his hip....there are questions about whether this has racial overtones....white people showing up with guns." Brewer failed to mention the man she described was black. Following Brewers report, which occurred on the Morning Meeting program, host Dylan Ratigan and MSNBC pop culture analyst Toure discussed the supposed racism involved in the protests. Toure argued: "...there is tremendous anger in this country about government, the way government seems to be taking over the country, anger about a black person being president....we see these hate groups rising up and this is definitely part of that." Ratigan agreed: "...then they get the variable of a black president on top of all these other things and thats the move the cherry on top, if you will, to the accumulated frustration for folks." Not only did Brewer, Ratigan, and Toure fail to point out the fact that the gun-toting protester that sparked the discussion was black, but the video footage shown of that protester was so edited, that it was impossible to see that he was black. The man appeared at a health care rally outside of President Obamas speech to the Veterans of Foreign Wars in Phoenix, Arizona. More at http://www.newsbusters.org

They cropped the video to obscure this guy's ethnicity. Because it didn't fit their narrative, which was that they think somebody - somebody white - was going to try to hurt the President.
I usually don't say this sort of thing all that often, but this is one of those times: this is inexcusable. THIS. WAS. DELIBERATE. They had the clip.  They knew that the guy was a peaceful protester making a point about the Second Amendment.  They knew that - by definition - he was not a crazy white right-winger itching to take a shot at the President.  But they altered his appearance so that it matched their argument that there is an active risk of crazy right-wingers itching to take a shot at the President.
This was an insanely stupid move on MSNBC's part - and one that was dangerous to the safety of the President of the United States of America, not to mention his security staff.  I am appalled that a supposedly reputable news agency would do this.
Moe Lane - Crossposted to Moe Lane.
*[UPDATE] Fine, since people are complaining: for given levels of 'can't.' The ways to do so are complicated, time and money-consuming, and generally not pursued.
Yes, I'm a horrible person for not wanting to get bogged down in that. So stipulated. Next?

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