Buried deep in yesterday’s Washington Post article about presumptive GOP nominee Mitt Romney being heckled during a visit to an inner-city school in Philadelphia, is the extraordinary news that a portion of those hecklers were organized by the Obama campaign:
Outside, meanwhile, some brick row houses across from the school were boarded up. Police had cordoned off a full city block to protect Romney and his entourage. Residents, some of them organized by Obama’s campaign, stood on their porches and gathered at a sidewalk corner to shout angrily at Romney. Some held signs saying, “We are the 99%.” One man’s placard trumpeted an often-referenced Romney gaffe: “I am not concerned about the very poor.”
Madaline G. Dunn, 78, who said she has lived here for 50 years and volunteers at the school, said she is “personally offended” that Romney would visit her neighborhood.
“It’s not appreciated here,” she said. “It is absolutely denigrating for him to come in here and speak his garbage.”
Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter (D) addressed protesters and the media, quipping that Romney “suddenly somehow found West Philadelphia.”
I’m not sure which is more offensive: the President of the United States community organizing private citizens to artificially undermine an opponent’s visit to an inner-city school with Occupy Wall Street sloganeering, or the Washington Post’ s Philip Rucker not only burying this news but also allowing themselves to be willingly duped into covering the story in the way the Obama campaign desired.
Obviously, what the Obama campaign wanted was a headline exactly like the one the Post gave them:
Hecklers mar Romney’s visit to inner-city charter school in Philadelphia
The last thing Team Obama wanted this week were stories about Mitt Romney reaching out to this community, so they manufactured a situation that would allow the media to write stories about how the rich, white, out-of-touch guy isn’t welcome there. But even though they got caught manufacturing the situation, the White House still got the coverage they desired from their Palace Guards.
Remember when the Post opposed and exposed campaign dirty tricks? Good times. Good times.
Follow John Nolte on Twitter @NolteNC
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