Obama Campaign: "A Lot Of Disinformation" About Transition Advisers

Barack Obama's transition team pushed back on Wednesday morning against an AP report claiming that former Sen. Sam Nunn and former Secretary of State Warren Christopher are playing an integral role in the presidential transition.

"Senator Sam Nunn will play an informal senior adviser role throughout the defense transition process. His expertise and the respect he has earned will be invaluable to ensure a smooth transition," Obama-Biden Presidential Transition Spokesperson Stephanie Cutter said in a statement.

"Secretary Christopher is deeply respected in the United States and throughout the international community. However, he is not playing a role in the transition process. There's a lot of disinformation out there. We're working hard to put the agency review teams together and expect they'll be announced this week and inside the agencies by the end of the week."

The AP reported:

Nunn's role has been described by others, speaking anonymously because the transition teams have not been announced, as the leader of Obama's defense transition. Similarly, a senior administration official said former Secretary of State Warren Christopher would advise Obama on his State Department transition...

Nunn and Christopher would be part of a national security brain trust for Obama that is heavy on former Clinton administration officials, including possible national security adviser James Steinberg, a former State Department official.

The wire service has since updated their story to include Cutter's response.

The fact that disinformation is creeping out is not terribly surprising. With literally thousands of journalists attempting to ferret out snippets of news from what appears to be a highly disciplined and tight-lipped transition team, half-true rumors and innuendo can be easily magnified beyond their importance.

Comments

[TimberGhost]

What has HuffPo turned into?

I write a polite, thoughtful comment, on topic, and it gets ignored and not posted (O comments pending). Yet coincidentally, a post appears by another poster reflecting almost exactly what my point was?!?

Are some of you so threatened by your own lack of posting ability that you must steal others and use them as your own? Does HuffPo only hire high schoolers who still play the "I don't like him/her" games. Grow up, whatever your biological age.

Many of the old time regulars can no longer be found here, or only infrequently. Some may be under new names, but not all.

Three guesses why and the first two don't count.

[alieninvader]

Aren't we being de lusion al?

[TimberGhost]

No. It has happened often enough that it's more than an anomaly and I have seen other posters raise the same issue over time.

Speaking of time, are you an old poster under a new name or the young pup that your "member since Feb 2008" suggests? I am an old poster under a new name, been here since '06; so if it's the latter, you may want to hold off on your snarky comments until it happens to you. Or are you one who knows whose arsse to pucker up to to stay on the "inside"?

[Poboy]

I agree.

HuffPo is beginning again to show its disrespect for its commenters.

[TimberGhost]

Thanks, Poboy.

Welcome to my de lussion. ;)

[Invox]

The press needs to give the president-elect some breathing and stop making stuff up! He's communicating nearly every day, which is more than most presidents or "elects" do. I don't know why we can't take him at his word.

[jacqmac]

But the PRESS loves DRAMA! Didn't we just come through a campaign where a WEEK was wasted on the 'true meaning' of the phrase 'lipstick on a pig?' Or how about the stuff being circulated to the MEDIA by the RIGHT--"Obama is-------(fill in the blank)." And-By the way--I have a suggestion for the media---PULL YOUR CORRESPONDENTS OUT OF ALASKA!! 'FALL BACK' to Washington State. Let the Alaskan press and media cover their governor's less than triumphant return. I'm sure that you will be called in to do LOTS of in depth reporting as soon as you turn off the lights and cameras and LET ALASKA handle their problem(s). Besides giving the Governor a 'bully pulpit' for more obfuscation and speculation and downright untruths--I am getting BORED with hearing THAT VOICE! Actually--I'm getting DEAF from hearing it! Never did LIKE it and don't have to put up with it now that the campaign is over! Sooner (and I hope it IS sooner) the Repubs are going to get the message that THEY LOST and that HER message is NOT the message that the American public wants to HEAR. Focus on Jindal for a while-or Huckabee--or ROMNEY!! I'm so TIRED of this 'permanent campaign' I could SPIT!!

[PaceSetter]

http://www.openleft.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=9893

"There's a very early trial balloon being floated around Obama's tech policy that, while I don't want to admit it, is a somewhat worrisome sign. While Obama has been a stalwart rhetorical supporter of net neutrality in his campaign, it's going to be the detailed implementation of the rule that will matter over the next four years.

The two names being floated to head theFCC transition teamare Julia Johnson and Mignon Clyburn.

Johnson, of Video Access Alliance is a telecom funded astroturf group, Clyburn's main qualification seems to be that she is the daughter of Jim Clyburn, a powerful House Democrat who voted against net neutrality. That these names are being floated is a very bad sign, because it means the progressive interest groups and businesses working on the FCC transition are being cut out the process in favor of traditional DC norms of nepotism and open pay-to-play corruption.

..The philosophy of the President matters a great deal, but so do the details and the personnel. Obama's been so great on tech and telecom policy that it's hard to imagine this is anything but a brief detour, but I wanted to flag it in case it turns out to be the rumblings of something more problematic."

[OCKerouac]

It seems to me you are suffering for a worry-void since the end of the election. I suggest less coffee and more deep breathing... :)

[snarkopolitan]

"worry-void" Instant classic! %^D

[Nancy84]

It's time the people start re.volting against this "anonymous source" information that the press likes to use. I don't know how we can but it should be done.

I worry that the media and even President elect Obama's supporters are trying to micro-manage his every move. I really hope that the this new administration passes it's important information directly to us through email or another trusted source and we can just ignore the rest.

[OCKerouac]

This is the new world we live in with 24 hour news cycles. Consider that the amount of time between the end of the election and inauguration day is roughly the same as the amount of time between McCain's selection of Sarah Palin and election day...

Now consider that the vacuum created when there was no more need for 25 Sarah Palin stories a day has to be filled with SOMETHING...

Hence, speculation about the cabinet.

As far as anonymous sources go, this has been the backbone of journalism for al long as there have been printing presses. Clamping down on anonymous sources is tantamount to clamping down on the flow of information entirely. It is not the answer.

The answer is the public receiving said information needs to fully inform themselves before jumping to conclusions...

[TimberGhost]

I disagree.

There is a huge difference between, say, leaking the Pentagon Papers and leaking minutia information on Obama's cabinet, etc. picks.

And just how are the viewing (reading) public suppose to "fully inform themselves" when being bombasted with false rumors and disinformation to outright lies.

Need something to report on? Heck, my list would be so long I'd still be printing it at 5 pm tonight.

Unless it is a whistleblower situation, anonymous sources need to fess up be made to identify themselves. How can we root out the lazy and ill-intentioned if we don't know who they are.

[KathyinCT]

The Associated Press should be called on the carpet by the journalism profession. They are more wrong than right lately on many stories AND since they are a wire, their incorrect stories run all over the country and it's difficult to get corrections placed paper by paper.

If YOUR LOCAL PAPER CARRIES AP, take the time NOW to send a letter or make a call and tell them you are concerned about AP's inaccuracies -- cite this story, cite the AP poll that was proven to be distored by being drawn from a non-representative sample (50% evangelicals) so it produced a "McCain ahead by 1%" result in the week before the election.

Tell them that people are watching, fact-checking online, and if AP continues to be inaccurate, the PAPER needs to take them to task b/c the paper is publishing incorrect info.

DO IT TODAY. AP is like a creeping infection -- they print distorted stuff, it gets picked up virally, it's all over the web, people read it, believe it, repeat it . . . . .

HOLD AP ACCOUNTABLE.

[TimberGhost]

Well said and a good plan of action.

I'm on here with our Mpls Star Trib.

[snarkopolitan]

Something that also might get their attention: AP can be fact-checked instantly, which may drive even more readers away from print and onto computers.

[Durango]

I certainly HOPE much of this transition reporting is made up.

That would allow me to sleep better at night.

I just hope Obama is from the Democratic wing of the Democratic Party.

I believe he is so i will hereby ignore the rumors of the transition.

[Grunty1]

Sure much of it is made up. The media has been concocting tall tales about Obama since he announced his candidacy.

[LazarusLong]

The pundits are so starved for info that they just make sh*t up, hoping they guess something right.

[OCKerouac]

Exactly, since baseball free agency has grown stagnant over the last 3 to 5 seasons, politics has become America's new favorite past-time, and just like the 'hot stove' reports of the 90's in MLB, the more speculation gets thrown out there, the more likely ONE of the rumors will be correct...

[mervr1]

First of all, anyone that understands how President Elect Obama ran his campaign , which was nearly flawless and disciplined without internal leaks should understand that his Presidency will pretty much be run the same way. Very disciplined and well thought off strategic moves will be made, no erratic undisciplined.

People need to get a grip. The man isn't even in office yet, but everyone's speculating his moves.

I expect we will see a very good presidency if it's run like his campaign was.

[meede]

The pundits and everyone else speculating for ratings -- it's old and people are tired of it. It is also how so many rumors get started and fester. There is so much other news that does need to be reported yet stations are transfixed on spinning their own opinions.

Report the news -- Real news. That's what they were hired to do and that's what we pay our cable/TV/interent bills for. I know I don't give a rat's a.s.s. about the personal opinions of the commentators, pundits, etc.

I'm finding myself writting many letters these days to networks & sponsors calling these people out. To just turn the show off tells nothing to the show, network or sponsors.

[TimberGhost]

Good on you, for that.

If we can multiply that number, we may get some results. Count me in.

[madeline2]

Has anyone seen this?

http://www.aljazeera.com/news/newsfull.php?newid=180832

[Bitsko]

It would help if you gave a little synopsis of what the link is. Thanks.

[bbridges1962]

Surely, you don't think everyone is going to click on a random link, do you?

[Chillinout]

I don't generally watch al Jazeera TV.

[AddictedToHope]

Here's a sampling:

How do Arabs view Obama’s choice for chief of staff?

A day after his historic election to become the first Black U.S. President, Barack Obama appointed Jewish congressman Rahm Emanuel to be his chief of staff, a move that raised concerns in the Arab world but strongly lauded in Israel.

* “Provocative appointment”

Even though the Arab world rejoiced at Obama’s victory, it seems that Emanuel’s appointment reinforces perceptions in the Arab world that Obama’s presidency wouldn’t change the U.S. foreign policy toward the Middle East.

They may be giving too much power to the chief of staff position. I don't think he actually makes policy decisions. Perhaps influences them, but Obama has shown himself willing and able to listen to many opinions before deciding.

[NationalTreasure]

The former Clinton aides, advisors, appointees and staffers are the worst leakers and they are filled with such arrogance and self importance that they only care about wielding their power and spouting off to the media.

These people are showing a careless disregard to the legitimacy of the Obama presidency and are undermining Presiident-Elect's creditablity.

The Clinton White House was run in a hubris filled manner and it did not serve the American public well.

President-Elect Obama needs to squelch this crap immediately. If President-Elect can not control his transition team he is going to be rendered irrelevant on day one.

[diamondgirl9]

You wish. He isn't even in office yet and you are already crying-get a grip.

[jobama]

I agree with him , you need to "get a grip" . If you don't start right it might be too late to correct the finish.

[canucklivinginUSA]

You know what is rendered irrelevant in minute one? Your comment

[Grunty1]

[President-Elect Obama needs to squelch this crap immediately]

Did you bother even reading the headline?

[mairs]

It's his critics who look hysterical, NOT Obama.

[kingmiller]

Reporters all need to take a vacation. Rather than ingratiate, finagle and run copy on half truths, leave the President-Elect and his team alone long enough to actually accomplish the structure of the transition at least. Whaddya say? Give the team a break and stop making fools of yourselves. Patience people. And prudence wouldn't hurt either.

[SuzyQ08]

Well said.. I totally agree! They need to back off and give Obama a chance to sort everything through. He just got elected last week!

[republicanfreezone]

The AP = The Least Trusted Source for News

[conniedogs]

There's always a shred of truth to every rumor....

[Sparky123]

When it comes to politics and the MSM.....there are lots of rumors and they best be ignored until things settle down.

[conniedogs]

There's always a shred of truth to every rumor.....I voted, contributed and campaigned for Sen O.

[ajax2]

There's always a shred of truth to every rumor....
FALSE, and it's not rumor but disinformation

[diamondgirl9]

The operative word is shred.

[Grunty1]

In this case, the shred is that Nunn and Christopher are involved at all.
However, the claim that they are playing "integral roles" is not.

[impik]

The only things i'm going to believe now is official announcements from the Obama camp. The rest is just pure speculations.

[Sparky123]

Yes. I marvel at how organized and efficient his team has been throughout this entire process. He is an exceptional leader and will make some very important changes that are much needed. We all need to give him time and support.

[johnmcclane]

whoa, keep it in your pants there sparky

[HappyIdiot51]

I second that. The news stations need viewership. They will say anything to get people to watch.

[Sparky123]

That is why the news networks never gave up that McCain just might pull it off. They needed to keep those McCain supporters watching. Their sponsors insisted. Their coverage can be compared to "Dancing with the Stars." Keep up the suspense until the final moment, even though the polls were right on for weeks.

[Skeptiqone]

I wish everyone could relax, and let this process happen. We are so accustomed to 24 hour news, that we stick on every tiny snip of information. The Obama team has done a good job so far, I think they will continue to methodically put together a team and pick good people to run the various departments. We have a great group to pick from. If you don't get your ultimate choice, remember that you are not the person vetting, and we should give this President the normal honeymoon all Presidents get.

Whether we get Kerry, Richardson, Clinton for Sec of State for example...WOW...we will be in for big change..Enjoy..

[Sparky123]

How about GORE for Sec. of State? He won't want to accept, but what a strong message that would send to the world.

[johnmcclane]

yes, a bad message. first of many i'd imagine