You've hit on a MAJOR problem I've had with the mainstream media (TV, newspapers, online sites) and with the chucklehead pundits and CommonTaters reading the headlines from a teleprompter each nite to the masses... everything is a soundbyte, everything is edited down and then reinterpreted to whatever story suits them best. Out of context.
But you've missed the other matching bookend.
INTENT.
There have been plenty of good people who have mispoken. But there is a gungho, kneejerk mentality -- rabid almost -- waiting to play GOTCHA! with celebrities and politicians...
There is a great trade in mock outrage. People choose to be insulted, choose to be offended, choose to be disappointed, choose to be angry when someone says something -- instead of listening to the words and trying to decipher if there was malicious intent or not, they simply presume the worst, turn it into a scandal or media-driven mini-tantrum creating more trouble than it should have been afforded. There is a cottage industry in generating these flare-ups. There is the choice to believe the worst about everyone and then be opportunitistic and use any chance to draw blood.
People, I still believe, are decent. But they are human -- they make mistakes and say things. It's not about excusing what was said - sometimes, it's flat out offensive. But it doesn't mean the intent was to harm, divide, insult or offend. And there isn't a single person who is then commentating on that statement and person who can offer any true knowledge or insight into what that person meant, felt or intended. And there are quite a few people out there making quite a name for themselves choosing to mass market the mock outrage to court followers and attention.
O'Reilly and Sharpton come to mind. Perhaps this is what they discussed over iced tea?

Obama is showing his true colors and they arent black. He is willing to race bait for his own ambitions. And the joke is he is running as someone who can unite people.But it seems the only people he wants to unite are Republicans and is very willing to try and divide Democrats over a phony race issue. If he insists on playing a phony race card it will blow up in his face. It may already have.

Rachel,

you and them could rant and rave as much as you want; though it is about time the elephant in the room was taken out of the hat.

It still does not change the fact that words have power; it still does not change

the fact that Hillary Clinton stated that

Barack Obama was raising false hopes, in his inspirational message; in the heels of that statement, Bill Clinton comes and makes his "fairy tale" statement. It seems to me, they are calling out, "fire", in a crowded theater.

Furthermore, for Hillary Clinton, who is against the politics of "personal destruction"

when it is about her, to sully the memory

of one of the greatest presidents this country ever had, Lyndon Johnson, and America's greatest Icon, in one breath, because of politics and her fear of losing, well that leaves a lot to be desired. And let's not be talk about what the president of BET said,

and he is trying to clean it up; but we know what he meant. If anyone did not use drugs, or come near them in the last 40 years, was either dead or stiff; well one does not negate the other, does it?

Hillary and Bill should stick to the issues

and let the votes fall where they may.

Yes, we can!

Enough said.

Many years ago, as an idealistic youngster (a hippie, actually) I truly believed that the proliferation of technology would allow the human race to communicate so much more efficiently that misunderstandings and needless conflicts brought about by lack of current information would become a thing of the past.

Could I have been more wrong???

What we have now is such a cacophony of voices assailing us from all sides, it is as if the wheat and the chaff have become forever intertwined. The world of politics is where this din rises to its most stupefying crescendo- little wonder that context is so easily ignored. Thanks for your quixotic effort anyway, Rachel.

As and African American man, I know racism when I see or hear it.. What the Clintons said do not meet the test. You can't have it both ways. On one hand you want to bring the country together in spite of race. While on the other hand you embrace the slams by the media, black talk show host, and other who are trying to bring a wedge between the Clintons and Black people. To my Black Brothers and sisters,stop letting the opportunist guide your thoughts and ideas about who you will support for the nomination. Afterall, isn't that what Mr. Obama stands for? According to his message he want to be elected based on his vison for the country as suppose to his race..I was behind Mr. Obama until the race issue came up. if he had stepped up and put a stop to this non-sense earlier, I would still be in his camp. He needs to man up and state weather he thinks the Clintons are racist or not. If he thinks they are, then say so. If he think ther're not, say so. Instead he lets it continue to what he think is a benefit. He is dead wrong. (Great ariticle)..Bill Clinton was on Tom Joyner this morning. He made his case for what he said quite well..Step Up Mr. Obama, It's your turn..

Ms. Sklar brings up a very important issue. For whatever reasons - intentional misrepresentation, laziness, a desire to attract viewers or to sell newsprint - the msm have recently created the news more than they have reported it. The modern phenomenon of twisting comments and taking them out of context has become almost an art form.
It hardly seems necessary for the msm to try to make the news more interesting than it already is, but that is exactly what they have been doing. They are doing a misservice to the American public by their false reporting.
At least when Tim Russert or Stephanopolis asks a loaded, or just plain pointed, question of a candidate, they get a chance to reply. But when a reporter files a news story that is intentionally false, unless the subject of the spun news is in the good graces of a news service, or has enough money to pay to have their story told, the lies may go unanswered.

Russert's interview compiled the DECONTEXTUALIZED assault on Hillary, showing Zero ability to listen to her responses with "OK so you are saying...".
It was one of the lowest moments in the history of American journalism, siding with the DISTORTION
against all the coutnervailing evidence. Hillary
however has TRUTH on her side, and will prevail thanks in part to blogs like this that lay it out in a way that can circulate in hyperspace and make its ways into print --- Ms. Dowd are listening:? You need to respond immediately to what Sklar is saying here less your views become tainted as untrustworthy and not subject to relevant revision in the light of the evidence at hand.

The rampant misquoting of not only the Clintons but about everyone else by MSM, bloggers, and Fox is a disservice to the American people -- so much so that such misquoting should be illegal with real penalties. It is almost treasonous. Definitely anti-American.

On "MTP" Hillary wanted it both ways. First, she claimed that Obama made an inconsistent statement about support for the war when he deferred an opportunity to slam Kerry and Edwards for their pro-war votes. Then, she claimed that he really did oppose the war but had made a "political" statement on "MTP" and since he is a pure as a snow guy, that was just horrible.

C'mon, she is so easy to see through it's as if she were made of glass.

Hillary still won't admit he had better judgment than her on the most important vote she cast as a member of the U.S. Senate. She still won't admit that she failed to do her job by not reading a 90 page intelligence document, yet she claims to be a wonk who gets into the nitty-gritty of every issue.

Moreover, Tim failed to ask her whether regardless of all the analysis she claims to have done, wasn't her vote on the war a political one, designed to preserve her chance at running for President?

Like Bill, Hillary refuses to tell the truth and her unsubstantiated claims against Barack that he is responsible for blowing up their comments is only making her negatives go up, not his.

Barack wants nothing to do with a fight about race. He has NEVER played the race card, even as she played the gender card after looking off-kilter after the debate about illegals getting drivers' licenses.

Hillary sees that her lead in SC has vanished and is trying, with the help of Bill, to smear and muck up Barack enough so that people will lose faith in him, and turn back to her. It's a Rovian plan and we Democrats should reject it and Billary for using it.

Hillary's remark about LBJ is fine with me, in part. It's true that inspiring leadership must be accompanied by legislation to move our nation forward but Obama presents the possibility of being both an inspiring force and a President who can bring about change.

Thank you Rachel. Unfortunately, it is becoming all too rare in the media for someone to simply lay out all the facts without selectively skimming those that support preconceived biases.

Based on many of the columns and comments on this site, it appears that some of Sen. Obama's supporters (apparently including HuffPo management) are infatuated with the truthiness of the Obama campaign in a way not unlike that of the radical right's worship of W.

Both Senators Obama and Clinton have their respective strengths and flaws, but both are clearly preferable to any of the GOP's candidates. Could we please at least agree to stick to realty and avoid the absurd distortions that the right wing makes its living at?

If the Democrats nominate Hillary Clinton, they will lose. As a New Yorker, I know several die-hard liberal Democrats who have told me they will vote for John McCain overly Hillary Clinton. If that's the case in NYC, imagine what it will be like in the rest of the country.
Not to mention, the GOP is salivating at the chance to run against Hillary and the very-much-still-philandering Bill.
Hillary does 3 things John McCain does not:
1) she lies
2) she regularly associates with crooks and shady characters
3) she loathes those who disagree with her.
Secondly, look at how the Clintons have already returned to the bad old ways of the 90s: associates of the Clintons do something sleazy, the Clintons feign shock, and quickly distance themselves from the offending parties. (Until no one's looking, then they hand out pardons and favors.)
This couple is a tawdry dream for Democrats to aspire to. Let's think big and achieve something we actually believe in, rather than something we have to settle for.

The whole "race" issue is being overplayed -- mostly by the media and somewhat by Clinton herself. Obama has never accused the Clinton's of being racist and one memo written up by an aide and given to an "activist" is not proof that he has done so. The accusations of racism have been levelled by many others, most of whom have nothing to do with Obama's campaign. Hillary is simply trying to point the finger at Obama for the problems that both she and her husband have recently created for themselves.

When all else fails,when you can't stick to the issues,when you have nothing of substance to say...PLAY THE RACE CARD!!!! Now,let's all go back to what we were doing.

Hey Rachel, ... let's be clear. We have a former presient campaigning for a candidate. Everyone is reticent to call him on his remarks and I'm thinking, ... "Why does he speak at all!?" It's his wife who is running and his experience is not her experience. Or is it Bill and Hillary as a team that her candidacy promotes?

"Fairy Tale" is associated to many aspects of Obama's campaign by implication and inference from the Clinton team. Live with it! Dispel it, ... if you can. But don't pretend the implication was not there. Bill is the best living political campaigner in America, ... and he knew he could speak the words, ... and yet deny their meaning at the same time.

Not this time. Hillary eats what Bill served up. If she loses, she has herself to blame for taking her husband on the road with her, and his mouth, ... which seems better at dissuasion than truth.

I'm a 56 year old white guy, ... and to me it sounded like a slam on Barack Obama for even imagining himself as our next president. If you can't selll me Bill & Hillary, ... you are in deep shit!

You owe Obama and our Black community an apology for your lack of imagination, and a belief in what you say you have worked for all your lives. It is bullshit, unless we all stand willing to take the next step.

Or is it so damned important for Hillary and Bill to go back to the White House and polish the Peole's silverware for their own corporate dinner parties?

Obama looks better to me by the day! Give us Hope, Barack! You had it before Hillary became a convert from her false hopes of last week!

The media have tried to marginalize Edwards, and now they are trying to ruin Clinton in order to pave the way for their stooge to run against John McCain in the fall.

The handwriting is on the wall, folks, and it looks terrible for Democrats in November. McCain won't have to get out of bed to beat Barack Obama; Obama is that weak.