"A lie can travel halfway around the world while the truth is still putting on its shoes." -- Mark Twain.

Still, it's certainly worth trying.

Like this one have helped turn the tide against hate.

Though it's sickening to read their examples, I'm glad the site is up.

Any person or group who goes after Obama or his wife or their kids should be exposed --totally--for whom they are, what they do and who their affiliations are. There are a few million people out here who would be more than willing to research name, organizations, affiliated member, and name/group history, etc. Sometimes the smear is perpetrated and then proven to be wrong or at best denied, but the idiots who initiate this despicable behavior are often left alone, with impunity. There should be a place on Obama's smear page and Michelle Obama watch for further information on these people, their group, their affiliations--a place not just for "tips" but character and credibility tips. For instance, "bittergate" was started by a woman who wrangled her way into an Obama fundraiser, a woman who had been following the campaign and had generated a certain amount of trust with members of the Obama campaign. By the time her star hungry editors had shipped the piece to CNN's Lou Dobbs, the elitist smear was intact. The context of that "scoop" was never revealed--that he was empathically trying to explain to two people who were going to Pennsylvania to canvas for him why these disenfranchised people distrusted their government, why they were bitter. If the context of that "smear" had ever been made public--if her editors had demanded context, there would never have been a story. By the time some of the people who also attended that fundraiser raised their voices to give the context, it was too late. Just a thought.

So she plays right into their hands. C'mon who doesn't expect her to show up one day with an Erikah Badu hairstyle screaming about evil whitey?

My African American female friends often tell me, they face sexism more often than racism, but they face both.

All women need to stand up and defend Michelle, even Hillary.

There is a lot of misinformation put out daily by the right wing in this country. However I think more and more people disregard it, except for the VERY ignorant.

Unfortunately journalism, is not what it used to be. There seems to be less fact checking and thought, especially on cable TV and the internet. Any idiot can put something up on You-Tube now.

Americans will not contemplate with complacency a black woman running round on the White House carpet with bare big black feet. Period. Unless she is there to do the cleaning.

This is rather funny considering that it is Michelle Obama who is a racist!

That quote from Twain had a lot of truth to it- up until the advent of the Internet.

From the column:

"call it out and counter it as soon as we see it"

Absolutely. Get right up to the net and stuff those shots.

Do that, and after a while it gets downright demoralizing for the slanderers, libelers, and cheap shot artists. Especially when they got nothing else.

Seriously, no one at Fox or in the rest of the blathering media has ever seen "Deal or No Deal"?

have returned, with new nyms. Aw, maggots are so wiggly and cute! Especially when you pour bleach on them!

When, oh when, does the ignore feature go live!?

It's a bit like snopes, it gives people someplace to go and verify or dismiss various statements.

I read elsewhere though, that the anti-smear section of Obama's site defends him from the "smear" of being a Muslim by pointing out that he's a Christian. Surely, he should also point out that being a Muslim is not a bad thing per se. I haven't checked it myself, I hope they've fixed it.

As a Hillary supporter, I think it outrageous that Mrs. Obama should be subjected to sexism or racism. It's not acceptable. I do think it's okay to examine her views on various policy positions however, as I know from personal experience that spouses affect your own views significantly. My husband and I have grown closer in our politics over the years, and have often persuaded one or the other of us to our views. So, no mudslinging, but I don't think we need to be hands off of her opinions on Iraq, global warming, the economy and so forth.

Unfortunately the position of wife to a presidential candiate is extremely poorly suited to strong-willed, independant, assertive women. We're still a country that likes their political wives to be attractive, quiet, sacrificing of their own professional ambitions for her husband and family, and have no opinions save for the "message". Above all else, they should never be asked to explain policy or anything other than why she picked out that particular tie for her husband to wear at the national debates.

Fair or not, Michelle Obama is going to face the same idiocy that Hillary Clinton, Tipper Gore and Teresa Heinz Kerry faced when their husbands ran for president. I still cringe when Hillary had to explain away her "stand by your man" concept and give a cookie recipe to show that she was domestically inclined and how Teresa Kerry was raked over the coals when she told a reporter to "shove it". Hell, we can go all the way back to the way Mary Todd Lincoln was demonized in the press for her spending habits. I'm sure if we looked hard enough, we'll find some unpleasant things printed out Martha Washington ("What, she has no children? What kind of a woman is she?")

It's all part of the game and one that the Obamas elected to play. Given the stakes and that we know the Republicans will play every dirty trick they can, Michelle is unlikely ever to see as an asset to her husband's campaign (very few wives have managed that trick), but she must not be a detriment.