This is actually hilarious.

Throughout this campaign season we’ve watched the media “fact checkers” denounce a very simple truth as a lie. In 2008, the Hillary Clinton campaign actively pushed the story that Barack Obama was a muslim. They didn’t do it blatantly… because that would be wrong… they did it by “dog whistles.” I posted on this contretemps not long ago:

But if we want to look at stone cold racism in the 2008 election cycle then we need to look squarely at actions taken by Hillary Clinton’s campaign.

Obama campaign manager David Plouffe accused the Clinton campaign Monday of “shameful offensive fear-mongering” by circulating a photo as an attempted smear.

Plouffe was reacting to a banner headline on the Drudge Report saying that aides to Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) had e-mailed a photo calling attention to the African roots of Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.).

“The photo, taken in 2006, shows the Democrat front-runner dressed as a Somali Elder, during his visit to Wajir, a rural area in northeastern Kenya,” the Drudge Report said. The photo created huge buzz in political circles and immediately became known as “the ‘dressed’ photo,” reflecting the Drudge terminology.

Plouffe said in a statement: “On the very day that Senator Clinton is giving a speech about restoring respect for America in the world, her campaign has engaged in the most shameful, offensive fear-mongering we’ve seen from either party in this election. This is part of a disturbing pattern that led her county chairs to resign in Iowa, her campaign chairman to resign in New Hampshire, and it’s exactly the kind of divisive politics that turns away Americans of all parties and diminishes respect for America in the world,” said Plouffe.

This is one of the pictures in question:

The Clinton campaign responded by saying “we’re sorry you are offended.”

“Enough,” Williams said in the statement. “If Barack Obama’s campaign wants to suggest that a photo of him wearing traditional Somali clothing is divisive, they should be ashamed. Hillary Clinton has worn the traditional clothing of countries she has visited and had those photos published widely.

Right, because white bread Hillary Clinton from Illinois is exactly the same as someone named Barack Hussein Obama about whom birther rumors are gathering.

Now, thanks to Wikileaks, we have proof that Hillary Clinton’s campaign engaged in push=polling in order to spread rumors that Obama had a history of cocaine use (I’m sort of surprised that this is an issue in a Democrat primary, I thought substance abuse was a prerequisite) and to hint at the notion that Obama is a muslim (again, I don’t know why that would be a negative in a Democrat primary as bizarre beliefs, like Catholics who support abortion, tend to congregate under the Democrat banner).

This email is from a woman named Kristi Fuksa at Hillary’s pollster, Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research. She is also named in some of the 2008 polling done for Democracy Corps, which is also headed by Stan Greenberg. It is addressed to Paul Begala and John Podesta. Also included are Tom Matzzie, a former director of MoveOn.org. Tara McGuinness used to be a senior VP at Podesta’s Center for American Progress. Susan is former Harry Reid chief of staff Susan McCue. What they are doing is coming up with attack points that can be push polled in order to define their opponent. What is interesting is the items that Hillary Clinton, 2008 version, thought would hurt Obama. Like his support of gay adoption.

These are the polling points, courtesy of The Right Scoop:

* 1 Obama (owe-BAHM-uh) was the only candidate at a recent event not to cover his heart during the national anthem and he has stopped wearing an American flag pin.

* 2 Obama (owe-BAHM-uh) benefited from a land deal from a contributor who has been indicted for corruption.

* 3 Obama (owe-BAHM-uh) would personally negotiate with the leaders of terrorist nations like Iran and North Korea without preconditions.

* 4 Obama (owe-BAHM-uh) voted against allowing people to use handguns to defend themselves against intruders.

* 5 Obama (owe-BAHM-uh) plans to raise taxes by 180 (one hundred and eighty) billion dollars a year to pay for his government-run health care plan

* 6 Obama (owe-BAHM-uh) voted repeatedly against emergency funding bills for U.S. troops in Iraq and Afghanistan.

* 7 Obama (owe-BAHM-uh)’s father was a Muslim and Obama grew up among Muslims in the world’s most populous Islamic country.

* 8 Obama (owe-BAHM-uh) is ranked as one of the ten most liberal members of the Senate because of his support of issues like gay adoption.

* 9 (Other)
* 10 (All)
* 11 (None)
* 12 (Don’t know/refused)

* 13 Obama (owe-BAHM-uh) voted against requiring medical care for aborted fetuses who survive the procedure.

* 14 Obama (owe-BAHM-uh) supports giving driver’s licenses to undocumented immigrants

* 15 Obama (owe-BAHM-uh) described his former use of cocaine as using “a little blow.”

So, if you want to know who popularized any of these stories as well as this pronunciation of Obama’s name, well, now you know.