Fox Anchor Calls Obama Fist Pound A "Terrorist Fist Jab"

Update: MediaMatters has issued a call to action around this incident.

ACTION: The Obamas' affectionate "fist bump" is no "terrorist fist jab"

On the June 6 edition of Fox News' America's Pulse, host E.D. Hill teased an upcoming discussion on a gesture Sen. Barack Obama shared with his wife, Michelle, saying, "A fist bump? A pound? A terrorist fist jab? The gesture everyone seems to interpret differently."

A "terrorist fist jab"? Seriously?

Tell Fox News this is appalling and unacceptable, and demand an apology from E.D. Hill.

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Original Post: MediaMatters reports that Fox News' E.D. Hill referred to the Barack-Michelle Obama fist pound as a "terrorist fist jab" during Friday's edition of "America's Pulse."

During the June 6 edition of Fox News' America's Pulse, host E.D. Hill teased an upcoming discussion by saying, "A fist bump? A pound? A terrorist fist jab? The gesture everyone seems to interpret differently." In the ensuing discussion with Janine Driver -- whom Hill introduced as "a body language expert" -- Hill referred to the "Michelle and Barack Obama fist bump or fist pound," adding that "people call it all sorts of things." Hill went on to ask Driver: "Let's start with the Barack and Michelle Obama, because that's what most people are writing about -- the fist thump. Is that sort of a signal that young people get?" At no point during the discussion did Hill explain her earlier reference to "a terrorist fist jab."

From the June 6 edition of Fox News' America's Pulse:

HILL: A fist bump? A pound? A terrorist fist jab? The gesture everyone seems to interpret differently. We'll show you some interesting body communication and find out what it really says.

CNN notes that the fist-pound is catching on. Witness Sens. Dianne Feinstein and Kay Bailey Hutchison share a fist-pound here during CNN's Late Edition.

Related: Obama Fist-Bump Rocks The Nation! [ETP]

Comments

[ilcapo]

a terrorist fist jab??what the hell is that??the numbskulls at FIXED NEWS are desprate for something on Obama since the Rev Wright and Ayers hit job didn t do the trick,man are the radical right desperate or what?

[LMurphy418]

If that's a terrorist action, my four year old should be locked up.

Seriously, talk about making a mountain out of a mole hill. Faux News has outdone themselves this time.

[MerhabaAbi]

There wasn't even a mole hill.

[jimdog1954]

This is the same simple-minded child psychology the right uses all the time. They use buzz words designed to piss off their functional­ly-illiter­ate viewers so that they don't think and therefore cannot intelligently process the truly relevant issues. Flag pins, flag-burning, Gay marriage, over-the-top preachers, they are all just red meat to throw at the hungry chipmunks.

[dr4Will]

this is an African voodoo ritual in Kenya!!

[WoudKano]

Speaking as a Kenyan....­not as an African, methinks that the "dap" between the Obamas was intended to elicit the sort of dumb, ignorant and mindless discussion that was first started by ED Hill of Fox News.....a­nd has so far garnered 1125 comments..­..and counting..­.

FIve words people: GET A %^$# LIFE ALREADY!!!

[Krankil]

Again, the damage is already done. If everyone acts like you suggest: "GET A %^$# LIFE ALREADY!!! " SPS News would never stop smearing and lying. When you tell a lie you need to be called up on it. Furthermore, you need to be held accountable if you have a LICENCE as a "news provider".
SPS news is a propaganda machine. Their strategy requires certain number of stupid people to be scared of a democrat candidate for whatever reason in order for a republican to win. All they have to do is tell lies over and over and each time catch few people and put them in the right wing column. Of course these are people who vote but are too lazy to think for themselves (they need a Rush Limbaugh or a high school drop out like Sean Hannity to think for them). Rush Limbaugh himslef says all the time: If you tell a lie often enough people end up beleiving it. He's talking about himself of course but manages to stir his fans attention toward the liberals when he mentions it LOL..

[mairs]

Right Woud, the Obama's display of affection was only intended to elicit a response from the media. Yes. Sure. Whatever you say.

[jimmy2001]

you what i don't get people who post a message criticizing other people who post as wasting time or not having a life???

what does that say about the "criticizing poster"... following your line of thinking WoudKano..­. it says to me the critic not only doesn't have a life but additionally, doesn't have a valid opinion to contribute (post) to the discussion­... consequentially, said critic should just read and move on.

[cubalibre]

I can't believe they are getting a petition to demonstrate against this
obvious joke?Here we go again, the left trying to silence the opposition.
It's okay for you to spin things. Like Mc Cain saying America needs to
have a presence in Iraq for a long time even if it's one hundred years.
The liberal media turned into," McCain wants war for one hundred years"!
But when you do the same thing to the cry baby liberals. Right away it's censor
censor censor. Right out of the Marxist, Castro, Chavez playbook.

[andvoodoo2]

No, I'll tell you what "censor" is. Censor is when your President stops the media from photographing and televising footage of the coffins coming back from Iraq filled with the bodies of American soldiers. THAT'S "censor, censor, censor".

[Krankil]

Here you go again: McCarthyism. Just try to point out a lie from the right wing (a slander) and you are a Marxist, a Chavez and if you oppose the war in Iraq you're a terrorist (even thoguh you're much tougher than the chicken hawks in going after the real terrorist who killed 3000 americans and who live aorund the Pakestani/Afghani border)

Yes sir, McCain said that it doesn't bother him to stay in Iraq for a 100 years. Well guess what? it bothers me.
Staying in Iraq for 100 years DOES MEAN 100 years of war in Iraq. Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity haven't decided yet to tell you that. But if you just look at the Palestinian Israeli conflict, read some history, do some research and think for yourslef you may come to the conclusion that "middle east and occupation" is not the best combination to have peace !

Iraq did not attack us. Ossama who's in Pakestan did. Let's go fight those guys if you really care about America. And don't come back to me with the same bushism "the world is better off without saddam".. really? how is that? Just saying it makes it so ?? hmmm the words of wisdom right out of Bush's A#@hole

[mairs]

You have that wrong. I was watching his appearance when he first said that the American people didn't care if we stayed there 100 years. He never mentioned a "presence" there or any variation on an embassy, presence, etc. No nuance whatsoever. It was obviously a throwaway line at the time, an exaggeration on his part that he had to justify by qualifying his statement. It wasn't spun. That's what came out of his mouth.

[Groobiecat]

Ugh. So, basically, all NBA players and most professional golfers are, what, terrorists? Unbelievable. It's like some twilight zone kid has taken over a "news" outlet and puts people on who are these angry, not very bright children, but people pay attention to them because they have "power."

Ugh, I say...

[Cil]

Fox News is totally disgusting, this network will sell their mother if it would increase their ratings.

[collima]

John McCain's ending video - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VjGYb_KtAeg

Warning - Jaw to the floor affect! Fox News Alert type $hit!

[derrick99]

It absolutely pains me to "defend" Fox, as it is a ridiculous news outlet, but this has been blown out of proportion. I conceed that the entire concept of having a body language expert dicuss the fist bump is silly, and I agree that Fox was pushing their agenda by slipping the t-word into the segment. But the "oppostition" (that is us) has torn into a throw away comment as if Bill O'Reilly had burned Obama in effigy. Her comments seemed almost tounge in cheek to me (almost). If the body language expert had called it a "clear terrorist act" or the segment went on to show terroists fist bumping or some ofther sillyness, then it would be out of line. But that was simply not the case. Partisainship is a two way street and publishing multiple posts on the subject is just as over the top as her comment was, in my view. As so many commenters have said, lets focus on the issues.

[mairs]

Her face was screwed up in disgust, as if she was horrified to see that there were terrorists in her midst. She wasn't saying it like it was a joke.

[skibum49]

Stolen from another poster ... "the first photographed terrorist first jab"


http://drx.typepad.com/.shared/image.html?/photos/uncategorized/2008/03/04/johnny_weismuller_maureen_osullivan.jpg

[skibum49]

ops sorry "first photographed FIST jab"

[Krankil]

Barack Obama has already brought something new to combat smear and the dirty politics played by Karl Rove and the likes (those who bet on the stupidity of some americans not on their intelligence). He uses sarcasm to dismiss their lies (lately at the AIPAC meeting, he joked about the need to catch a dangerous muslim called barack obama based on emails circulating suggesting that SOME PEOPLE SAY he's a muslim). I think he needs to start calling Fox News SPS News (Some People Say) News. I guarantee you it'll draw enough attention to put SPS News on the defensive :)

[HoosSane]

I don't think Hill's remarks were intended as criticism, it was just a commentary on our little innuendos. Everybody has them. How long has the high five been around? 40 years ago I was doing hip-checks with my boyfriend. Maybe if Barack and Michelle had done something like that, it could have been joked about as some public display of sexual perversion.
People .... get a grip! Don't you know Barack himself would call this silly season? I think it's all just much ado about nothing. Makes me think of the Popeye movie with Robin Williams, where Olive Oyl's father kept telling everyone "You owe me an apology" about the most absurd things.
The best request for an apology I've seen through the campaigns so far was Hillary (during the April 17 debate) stating "You know I wish the Republicans would apologize for the disaster of the Bush Cheney years and not run anybody, just say that it's time for the Democrats to go back to the White House". That really cracked me up!
ONE for Hillary;
BUT *****OBAMA 2008*****

[Krankil]

The problem is that it's always the stupid people who would decide the outcome of the election and SPS News knows that very well. They bet on stupid people to pick on something like "terrorist jab fist" put together with Obama picture and that's it : He's a terrorist who met with Ben Laden when he was 2 months old (some people say even before that).
If there was a mandatory IQ test that everyone needs to take before they vote where the requirement is to have a 3 digit IQ, I wouldn't mind all the nonsense SPS News pukes every day. Unfortunately we're not there yet.

[0j0]

True. Just think how many stupid people still believe he is actually Muslim. These are people who will not vote for Obama stirctly based on this rumor.

[Reveille]

Just when you thought that Fox couldn't get any dumber or more paranoid.

[cybertoothcat]

Ii don't think Fox Noise is either dumb or paranoid..­.they're Rovian. Just doing ANYTHING and everything it takes to keep the White House without regard as to how rotten and dirty the trick. The people who actually believe Fox News is another story. THEY'RE the ones who are dumb and paranoid!

[ObamaLover]

this is very misleading.
she is not a fox "anchor". she hosts her own show.

calling her a fox anchor is like calling don imus an MSNBC anchor....

[rigormrtis]

So now I find out that the Wonder Twins were islamic terrorists? I mean, Wonder Dog I always suspected, but the Twins?

I'm guessing the whole Hall of Justice was really the Hall of Jihad.

[andvoodoo2]

Hill called it, "The gesture everyone seems to interpret differentl­y." Uh, no. Thinking people who actually live in 2008 know what the "gesture" is and "interpret" it the same way. Only the idiots at FauxNews pretend not to get it. I say, ignore them. They are just getting warned up. Save your outrage for the big stuff which won't be far away.

[lynninny]

So true. Anyone who knows anything (including the folks at Fox News) knows how to interpret this gesture (which I found to be a heartwarming moment between a married couple who just reached the most amazing goal they could set for themselves).

This is only going to get much, much worse. We should save our energy.

[Knowledgeseeker]

I'm glad she go fired... i hope she never find job

[dartagnan]

Faux Noise has become a parody of itself. MoveOn should just let them blather on and keep shredding what pitiful rags of credibility they have left.