Did they get a 3 year old to write that headline? What a bunch of maroons.

This is getting ridiculous. AP has to be outed. The byline is Philip Elliot. Other than a partisan hack, who is he?

Has traditionally sympathetic to the Arab world's public presentation of its causes, as regards the middle east. They are often criticized for their unbalanced partisanship. Sounds here like Obama just caught a stray bullet as it were. I wouldn't worry about it. They hate the same people you do.

Heck they hate the same people you do too, seeing how you hate everyone and everything. Your anger is going to see you right into the hospital if you don't get a handle on it.

It seems like the AP has been doing that a lot the past three months or so, just a little dig here and there at Democrats, sure to be picked up (or expanded) by the assorted papers. It's odd, that.

I hate it when headlines are designed to influence the reader to think negatively of a candidate for no reason. For example:

"What, was "Mandy" already taken?"

Bill and Hillary unveil her new theme song.

"Hillary and Celine, revisited"

It wasn't her fault!

"For Clinton, a warmer reception"

Fewer boos at the "Take Back America" conference.

"Edwards vs. Coulter, Clinton vs. Edwards"

As Elizabeth Edwards goes after the right-wing pundit, Hillary Clinton's pollsters asks: How about that $400 haircut?

"Hillary and the e-word"

In a new poll, a majority of Americans say they wouldn't even consider voting for Clinton for president.

"Hillary commutes her views on Libby"

Two weeks after dodging questions about a Libby pardon, Sen. Clinton comes out swinging in Des Moines.

"What people don't know about Hillary"

Can Clinton's campaign sell the candidate by selling her Midwestern roots?

(and my personal favorite)

"Caught on tape"

Are Clinton and Edwards plotting to push out the less popular candidates?

I just read an article yesterday on abc.com titled: Sex-Ed for Kindergartners? (http://www.abcnews.go.com/Politics/story?id=3395856&page=1). This article was a complete distortion of Obama's position on sex-ed in schools. For the record, he favors age-appropriate sex-ed in schools, which for kindergartners basically means "don't let people touch you in certain places."

To date, I've seen Obama accused of being a terrorist raised in a Madrassa, wanting graphic sex-ed for 6 yr olds, and now he apparently endorses genocide.

I think Obama scares a lot of people in power, not just Conservatives.

Thank you Doctor C. Everett Koop. I only wish I could wallow in bong fueled apathy like all of you.

Demanding that the person responsible for the headline be FIRED and that as a supposedly nuetral news agency, A.P. should be ashamed.

Not that they've ever been truly neutral, but if they catch enough shit, maybe they will think twice before trying a stunt like that.

This wasn't sloppy, it was intentional.

(Sorry, I couldn't resist.)

I live in a red state. Many of my co-workers believe that Obama is Muslim and was the government official who was sworn into office using a Koran.

Just throwing that out there...

Digby,

Why Do you assume the headline wasn't carefully thought out?

There is a sort of naiveté in some of the reporting up here as if the things politicians and news organizations say and print is somehow due to a lack of thoughtful consideration.

I think it is safe to assume at this point, that these headlines, remarks, assertions are the result of extremely careful thought and planning.

How long do you want to keep living in a world that surprises you, having been surprised in the exact same way hundreds, nay, thousands of time before?

Keep saying "I can't believe they said that." It helps them every time you do. It gives them license to "fool" again and again.

"I only wish I could wallow in bong fueled apathy like all of you."

Get a grip man. First you warn on poster of the dangers of anger, then in the next turn, you accuse everyone of drug induced apathy.

Is this the world you perceive, or are you just throwing stones?

Maybe a bong-hit would help.

How many times was Al Gore eliberately misquoted, improperly paraphrased and outright slandered by the press during his campaign?"Liberal bias" my a**.

We should make a huge deal out of these miscommunications. We can not let these things pass. We can not let Limbaugh, Sabage, O"Reilly, and crew spend the next 15 mos saying Obama wants all Iraqis dead.

Boy, I sure wish they'd stop being so "liberal" with their takes on these stories....

What the hell is wrong with the AP? They have consistantly propped up the neocon agenda. I guess the A for Associated means they are associated with the neocon block of the Republican party. Their objectivity is damaged if not shot altogether. I can't believe Air America outsources their newcasts to them. Maybe I'll write a letter... Maybe we all should.

Digby, your outrage is refreshing, but you obviously are a new student of the AP. See if you can find Dave Barry's ancient column on his time at the wire, then maybe look back at other AP dispatches over the years. Or, don't bother. As a former wire staffer, I can tell you this is how it's always been. The reporter may have written the overline, or maybe an editor did; it's not even clear from your post that the hed is an AP overline (news outlets routinely change them).

Anyone who is swayed by todays headlines or catch-phrases was only looking for reinforcement of their beliefs anyway. I believe any person that sincerely keeps up with news realizes how, in the end, it's all about making money as opposed to accuracy. Headlines have to create drama. Drama sells. The belief that news was ever impartial is a fantasy.

Digby, why do we hold the AP to a higher standard than Salon and its columnists, writers and editors?

Just check back at the legacy of coverage on Obama here at Salon, and you'll find boatloads of potshot headlines designed to take down Obama.

What AP did is irresponsible -- no less irresponsible than when Salon does the same.