During last night’s memorial in Arizona for the dead and wounded, Barack Obama claimed that Gabrielle Giffords opened her eyes for the very first time moments after he had left her bedside. Of course, the audience cheered with the revelation, and Obama beamed in response.
There’s a bit of a hiccup to this story. This morning as I listened to talk radio, I learned that The Sonoran Chronicle had published a story over the weekend, well before the memorial service, in which a doctor mentioned that Giffords could open her eyes and respond in other ways. However, doctors were keeping her heavily sedated to control swelling of the brain. I Googled the internet to search for that or any other article on this, and simply used the keywords “giffords eyes open sonoran”. Google immediately returned a link to The Sonoran Chronicle, but when I clicked it, the article had indeed been scrubbed from the newspaper’s website.
This certainly gives the appearance that Obama’s miraculous revelation to the audience was staged to enhance his image.
Someone’s got some ‘splainin to do!
Moe Lane
PG DeFreese
Victoria Coates
Daniel Horowitz
Dan Spencer
Also last night Politico..
bobmontgomery (Diary) Thursday, January 13th at 12:59PM EST (link)..reported that Pelosi, Gillibrand, and Wasserman-Schulz were *in the room*
with Giffords when she opened her eyes for the first time. This event was not only staged, it was choreographed. Who ordered the shirts? Who thought up the slogan? Whose idea was it to put them on all the chairs?
Two primary goals of the event were to get people to put those t-shirts on and to get Republican commentators to congratulate the President. Mission accomplished.
If the freedom of speech is taken away then dumb and silent we may be led, like sheep to the slaughter.
George Washington
spontaneous opening of the eyes
sharonmcp (Diary) Thursday, January 13th at 1:21PM EST (link)that’s the difference.
The fluttering and slight opening of the eyes were in response to stimulus.
What happened yesterday was the first time she had spontaneously opened her eyes.
There’s enough lies to legitimately accuse Obama of. This isn’t one of them.
“Above all, we must realize that no arsenal, or no weapon in the arsenals of the world, is so formidable as the will and moral courage of free men and women.” ~ Ronald Reagan
agreed.
proudmarinemom (Diary) Thursday, January 13th at 1:26PM EST (link)erica, this is the kind of post that is used by the left to fuel their rage at the right.
We cannot know whether Obama stretched the truth a little, but it doesn’t matter. I did not get the impression that he was trying to take credit for anything.
We are all elated to hear that Congresswoman Giffords is doing so well.
For me it is not a question..of the exact moment or circumstances
bobmontgomery (Diary) Thursday, January 13th at 1:48PM EST (link)…it is, why was the announcement made by BHO and not her doctors, her husband or family member? Why was the news “saved” for Obamapalooza?
I think I answered my own question.
If the freedom of speech is taken away then dumb and silent we may be led, like sheep to the slaughter.
George Washington
On target.
grandma Thursday, January 13th at 1:59PM EST (link)Rush level perception.
Did you just say "target"? :) nt.
bobmontgomery (Diary) Thursday, January 13th at 3:15PM EST (link)If the freedom of speech is taken away then dumb and silent we may be led, like sheep to the slaughter.
George Washington
How do you know?
ericathunderpaws (Diary) Thursday, January 13th at 2:07PM EST (link)How do you know the first time Giffords opened her eyes was just a flutter and the second time was spontaneous, and even if you are right, why would The Sonoran Chronicle scrub their article? Doing so is totally unnecessary unless there is an issue of some kind.
Because ericathunderpaws
sharonmcp (Diary) Thursday, January 13th at 2:32PM EST (link)Not more than 2 hours ago I listened to today’s press conference with the congresswoman’s doctors.
Plus, accusations such as yours is already being ridiculed by the left wing media.
Conservatives Accuse Obama Of Lying About Giffords Opening Eyes, Her Doctors Disagree
“Above all, we must realize that no arsenal, or no weapon in the arsenals of the world, is so formidable as the will and moral courage of free men and women.” ~ Ronald Reagan
Sorry, embed didn't work
sharonmcp (Diary) Thursday, January 13th at 2:35PM EST (link)but if you click the link above you’ll find a video of today’s presser with the doctors.
“Above all, we must realize that no arsenal, or no weapon in the arsenals of the world, is so formidable as the will and moral courage of free men and women.” ~ Ronald Reagan
Sonoran Article at iOwnTheWorld.com
grandma Thursday, January 13th at 2:51PM EST (link)Article: If He Opens His Mouth, You’re Being Clowned
then click on: you people are gullible
to link to the Chronicle article:
The Sonoran Chronicle
Covering the Arizona and Sonora borderlands
Giffords survives the night; can open eyes
Posted on January 9, 2011 by cachocurt
By Curtis Prendergast
http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:bkjADo9S7qcJ:sonoranchronicle.com/2011/01/09/giffords-survives-the-night-can-open-eyes/+giffords+survives+the+night,+can+open+eyes&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us
Body language also suggests a lie
ericathunderpaws (Diary) Thursday, January 13th at 3:07PM EST (link)In this video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=023544fFtKg&feature=player_embedded) you can watch the response of Gabrielle Giffords husband when Obama conveys this wonderful news to the audience. Even though I’m saying this after the event, I will tell you honestly that when I watched this memorial service live, my female instincts told me Mr. Giffords looked a little uncomfortable.
I think Obama may have put Giffords between a rock and a hard place, and asked if he would permit him to make this claim during the memorial service. Why Obama might do this is left up to you and me to wonder. However, imagine for a moment that you are Mr. Giffords, and the President of the United States pressures you in some way. Do you say no to the President of the United States, especially if he’s of your party?
I’ve reached this conclusion for two reasons: Giffords blinks very rapidly when Obama makes the announcement. Furthermore, Michelle intently looks Giffords in the eye while gripping his hand, almost as if to say, “Remember, we agreed to do this.” When this happens, Giffords pulls back slightly when she attempts an affectionate head butt with him. I sensed he was uncomfortable.
Body language expert, Tonya Reiman has told us repeatedly on Bill O’Reilly’s program that people blink rapidly when a lie is being told. Reiman confirms the role of deception and blinking in this presentation (http://tobefree.wordpress.com/2008/02/16/body-language-tonya-reiman-demo/). Finally, Tonya Reiman warns that rubbing the nose (http://www.tonyareiman.com/articles/Body_Language_and_Interviewing) (see #4) may also suggest lying. Look what Michelle is doing!
Oh good grief
sharonmcp (Diary) Thursday, January 13th at 3:21PM EST (link)Could it be the man was blinking his eyes because he was trying to hold back tears?
Or because he’d gone 5 days on very little sleep?
Trying to make hay out of this is trivial and as ridiculous as the left claiming that they “KNOW” Loughner went on a shooting spree because of Sarah Palin, right wing radio, and TV.
Obama didn’t get the title of Liar in Chief for nothing and 2012 is still a year away. If the last 3 years are an example, he’ll give us plenty of real lies to use in campaign ads, trying to manufacture them with some ‘percieved’ conspiracy theory is not necessary.
“Above all, we must realize that no arsenal, or no weapon in the arsenals of the world, is so formidable as the will and moral courage of free men and women.” ~ Ronald Reagan
More than interesting.
grandma Thursday, January 13th at 3:42PM EST (link)TY for posting this. I didnt’ see the Obamarally, but just listened to it via radio. My DH watched it on TV. Comparing notes this morning, I realized a lot of overall info, other than the verbal, was lost by not seeing the rally. (I still cannot bring myself to watch his performances.)
No.
rabidcaveman (Diary) Friday, January 14th at 10:47AM EST (link)Noone should have to cave to the words, desires, or wants, of ANY person. If Obama was a decent person, which he is not, he would not have to use his “presidential” persona, to make an announcement about something that might be true, or false.
If it were MY wife in that room, I would tell him to shove his request where the sun don’t shine.
I challenge O'Reilly to ask Tonya Reiman
ericathunderpaws (Diary) Thursday, January 13th at 3:26PM EST (link)You know, sharonmcp, if Tonya Reiman is ever interviewed about this, and she agrees with you, I will change my mind. Until then, my instincts stand.
ericathunderpaws, I'm not saying
sharonmcp (Diary) Thursday, January 13th at 3:37PM EST (link)that Obama didn’t want to be “the one” to make the announcement that we’d all been waiting for, ie; that Congresswoman Giffords had opened her eyes.
But IMHO, it’s not something we should be dusting off our tin-foil hats for.
“Above all, we must realize that no arsenal, or no weapon in the arsenals of the world, is so formidable as the will and moral courage of free men and women.” ~ Ronald Reagan
title
americangod (Diary) Thursday, January 13th at 3:29PM EST (link)Does this work?
this diary isn't making us look all that smart
streiff (Diary) Thursday, January 13th at 3:30PM EST (link)You’re welcome to go ahead and pursue this nonsense in your diary but this story has been addressed in some detail by the doctors in the case.
http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalpunch/2011/01/giffords-eye-opening-news.html
You’re free to not believe it but you should realize the damage it is doing to your credibility with the site moderators.
“What keeps me here is the reek of beer, the ladies and the craic”