Paper Apologizes For Publishing 'Assassinate Obama' Ad

WARREN, Pa. — A northwestern Pennsylvania newspaper is apologizing for running a classified advertisement calling for the assassination of President Barack Obama.

Warren Times Observer Publisher John Elchert says the ad appeared Thursday. It read, "May Obama follow in the steps of Lincoln, Garfield, McKinley and Kennedy!" The four presidents were all assassinated.

Elchert tells The Associated Press that the newspaper's advertising staff didn't make the historical connection.

He says the newspaper turned information over to police and that the Secret Service is investigating the person who placed the ad.

A note in Friday's paper says the newspaper "apologizes for the oversight."

Comments

[commercelib]

Oh, they APOLOGIZED. That makes it all right then. NOT!

[ThePhilosopher]

The staff's excuse that they didn't catch on to the point of the ad is actually probably legitimate; ads aren't scrutinized all that closely and the assassinations of Garfield and McKinley are rather obscure today. Their apology was warranted; what more do you want them to do? They made a dumb mistake, but I for one believe it was a mistake, an oversight. The real question here is who placed the ad and why.

[amirtalai]

guys, relax. The advertising staff is not the same as the editorial staff, and it's not surprising that the ad staff is not as knowledgeable. And I think I lot of people have the concept of Obama following in Lincoln's steps. It's not a huge stretch to think that these busy people didn't make the connection, since those other presidents are nowhere near as known as Lincoln and Obama. Their apology is enough, and we should let this go, and let the Secret Service deal with the person who placed the ad.

[Taiyo]

Agreed! I worked for a small weekly newspaper in California, and the kids that took the classified ads at the front desk were not yet out of high school. They were paid minimum wage and I'm sure there wasn't a valedictorian candidate among them. The editorial staff never even saw the classifieds before they went to print. it doesn't surprise me that something like this slipped through.

[plaidsportcoat]

"not as knowledgeable" = sto opid muricans from underfunded education systems

[Saintel]

Where is the outcry you ask? It's a smart move not to report on it for one reason. You don't want to help this person that placed the ad in the first place. If everyone starts reporting on it than everyone will talk about it. Than some bum might get the idea they can pull if off & my confidence in the secret service is not high.

[Joeyjackal]

Even a poorly educated child understands the concept of looking for commonality in a list by attempting to associate seemingly disparate, listed items by looking for a shared quality. But then again, quality is an often foreign concept and sorely lacking characteristic of these sore losers whom ought to try to imagine the challenge progressives faced in supporting a president that took office illegitimately, twice. Like George Carlin, for me and a popular and somewhat disenfranchised majority of Americans the last president will always be just Governor Bush as that was the last office he legitimately held.

[HyperInfluential]

Yeah, well that's what happened when readers sitting around drinking coffee and reading the paper took the time to think about the words in the ad. The staffer who typed that ad in was just thinking about getting to the end of their day, and probably didn't even remember that particular ad until the controversy started. It would take a lot to convince me this local paper was a secret cabal dedicated to fomenting treason, rather than this being an honest mistake.

[tdh]

Basically, the staff is probably so stressed they're just trying to check for spelling and make sure the ads get in that are paid for. Think about it: deadlines, mindless work, all that tiny print, small staff probably, fear of lay offs. Not surprising that it would slip through. The person who placed the ad was betting on it not being checked.

[colred]

I wonder if these adults who couldn't make the "historical connection" could pass the PA state graduation test.

[normathumb]

They didn't get the connection? How stupid are we to believe the paper's staff is? It is a threat, plain and simple and arrests need to be made. The paper's staff ought to be charged as an accessary for not going to the Secret Service as soon as it arrived. A newspaper pleading ignorance doesn't excuse them.

[lunchlady]

If the staff truly didn't understand this ad they shouldn't be running a newspaper.

[hokulele]

That's right. I'd fire the "staffer" who put that ad in the classifieds. Just waiting for the end of another boring day is no excuse. Things being so messed up as they are, plenty of right-wing extremists who would be willing to step up and shoot anyone. This paper in western PA. needs to get a jolt of Federal intervention and let's see some heads roll.

What I've noticed (little 'ol me and millions of others) is that today one can say and do almost anything if you have enough celeb status and apologize the next day and it is soon shoved under the rug. Extremists will chew and spew on it for awhile, but for the most part, we have become a society where the unthinkable is often acceptable behavior, or at the least, tolerated.

[tdh]

This isn't the 50s. People are under a lot of pressure. Newspapers are stressful at the best of times, now they're struggling, people are scared for their jobs. Instead of jumping to conclusions that there's some kind of conspiracy, put yourself in the peoples' shoes who work at that paper, which probably pays nothing and is struggling to survive. Doubtful that this was purposely published.

[OswegoKayaker]

Did you take the time to read the paper? Not your liberal paper. This paper belongs back in the 50s.

[sassafra]

i would suppose that the paper's publisher will be having words with the editorial staff about now concerning severance packages.

[myworld]

I see why newpapers are dying,they are asleep at the wheel....

[4real]

Come on how could you NOT make the historical connections?

[roblabrousse]

Who works at this newspaper for starters? I would do a profile and security check on all of them. Then I would have whatever licensing agency monitor their output for the next several years, a sort of parole situation. This is not by any means an oversight. It's beyond irresponsibility. They should be heavily fined. This is Limbaughistic. Cheap and ugly and dangerous print of this sort should not be seen in newspapers. I hope the editor and those responsible are finger printed and have the worst time of their lives getting any approval that has to do with identity checks.

[ROBOT8]

"act of terrorism" means an activity that -- (A) involves a violent act 
or an act dangerous to human life that is a violation of the criminal 
laws of the United States or any State, or that would be a criminal 
violation if committed within the jurisdiction of the United States or 
of any State; and (B) appears to be intended (i) to intimidate or coerce 
a civilian population; (ii) to influence the policy of a government by 
intimidation or coercion; or (iii) to affect the conduct of a government 
by assassination or kidnapping.

Ref: United States Code Congressional and Administrative News, 98th Congress, 
Second Session, 1984, Oct. 19, volume 2; par. 3077, 98 STAT. 2707 (West 
Publishing Co., 1984).
-

[kandlefly]

Where is the outcry from Mika, Scarborough, Dobbs, Hannity, Beck, O'Reilly, Crackhead Limbaugh, Tancredo, Van Sustern and that Great American Pat Buchanan. Where is FOX, MSNBC, CNBC and CNN or are they happy to see an add calling for the assassination off the President.
Way to go guys you are true Blue Blooded Americans.

[Nancy84]

Maybe in this case, less publicity is better? Otherwise the ad is being promoted which is not good.

[4 Real]

That's because most of them set the stage for this type of thing. I'm waiting to see how far they will go before someone calls them out for either treason or sedition.

Let's face it, these guys just can't get over the fact an AA is president. It's all about race.

[RedWhiteandBrooklyn]

"didn't make the historical connection­."

Nice defense, knuckleheads. Let's see if the Secret Service buys it. I don't.

[HyperInfluential]

Hmm, which is more likely. A minimum wage staffer working repetitively with text entered an ad while working on "autopilot," and no one else at the understaffed, struggling, local newspaper even glanced at the thing again until the phone started ringing, OR the staff of a struggling local newspaper decided to conspire with someone in the community to commit the crime of threatening the president, so they could shut down their newspaper with a big controversial scandal that sends the lot of them to jail, in order to make the point that they hate our president.

Hmm. Somehow I think the Secret Service will buy the whole "only a few people work here, and none of us saw that or realized what it meant" explanation.

[mychagall]

I hope the Secret Service's investigation brings the paper down. This is no small matter.

[HyperInfluential]

I hope that happens only if the paper was actually involved in the crime. I hope we don't go in for witch-hunts in this country anymore.