The below video from Breitbart.tv (h/t Larry O’Connor) shows one of the most blatant, race-baiting moments in recent memory. But not from the person MSNBC wants you to think it came from.

“That big black cloud that hangs over America, that debt that is so monstrous.” – Rick Perry

“That black cloud Perry is talking about is President Barack Obama.” – Ed Schultz

No Ed, the black cloud is “that debt”, as the undoctored video shows. Even by MSNBC standards, this selective editing by Ed Schultz, expressly to paint Perry as a racist, is pretty appalling. The ostensibly-more-credible-than-Ed-Schultz ABC News’ “The Note” blog also used the doctored quote*.

The fact that this is manufactured, however, didn’t stop some guy at Loop21 saying “Let’s hope he doesn’t actually start “hanging” these big black clouds he speaks of.” Hip Hop Wired ran an article titled “Governor Rick Perry Calls President Obama A “Big Black Cloud” which not only ran the doctored quote, but a completely manufactured one:

According to reports, when speaking of President Barack Obama, Perry referred to the President as a, “big black cloud” hanging over the country and also added that there is a “big black guy running the country and I’m not too happy about it.”

White House reporter April Ryan tweeted: “Rick Perry’s words ‘a black cloud over this country.’ He knows exactly what he is saying and appealing to. http://t.co/dd9epbl”. And dozens more such tweets from all manner of tweeters on the left.

I found some of those links, by the way, in a Mediaite article where Tommy Christopher reports all of these reactions without regard for possible context. Other than, that is, near the very end of the article, where he points out that someone else “allows for the possibility” the remark “might” have been innocent. At least Christopher made the effort to get a comment from ABC and Gov. Perry’s office, which is more than most of the lefties running with this doctored story bothered to do. But in the end, Christopher concludes that Perry’s remarks were “ill-advised, at best.” .

Far more ill-advised, one would think, would be taking the word of selective video-editing Ed Schultz, who was the only person in all of this to actually call Obama a big black cloud.

Update: Philip Klein at The Washington Examiner points out Obama used a similar metaphor in 2009:

And we must make it clear to every man, woman and child around the world who lives under the dark cloud of tyranny that America will speak out on behalf of their human rights, and tend to the light of freedom and justice and opportunity and respect for the dignity of all peoples.”

Update 2: Tommy Christopher corrects the record at Mediaite.

*Update 3:ABCs The Note blog has since updated their post to include the full intent of the quote.