dear Mr. Milbank, I imagine you by now, have received the full text of what obama ACTUALLY said, vs. how you willfully distorted what he said

WHAT HE ACTUALLY SAID ... It has become increasingly clear in my travel, the campaign, that the crowds, the enthusiasm, 200,000 people in Berlin, is not about me at all. It's about America. I have become a symbol of the possibility of America returning to our best traditions.

your distortion ... out of context ...

"This is the moment . . . that the world is waiting for," adding: "I have become a symbol of the possibility of America returning to our best traditions."

I had not realized you where such a political tool of the mc cain campaign ... why not just say so

will you acknowledge your distortion?

sincerely, Jessica Britt

dear Mr. Milbank, I imagine you by now, have received the full text of what obama ACTUALLY said, vs. how you willfully distorted what he said

WHAT HE ACTUALLY SAID ... It has become increasingly clear in my travel, the campaign, that the crowds, the enthusiasm, 200,000 people in Berlin, is not about me at all. It's about America. I have become a symbol of the possibility of America returning to our best traditions.

your distortion ... out of context ...

"This is the moment . . . that the world is waiting for," adding: "I have become a symbol of the possibility of America returning to our best traditions."

I had not realized you where such a political tool of the mc cain campaign ... why not just say so

will you acknowledge your distortion?

sincerely, Jessica Britt

Let me echo Jessica's sentiments. They were definitely worth repeating.

As a columnist, Mr. Milbank is certainly welcome to his opinions. But shouldn't they contain just a wee bit of intellectual honesty?

If Mr. Milbank want's to perceive Mr. Obama's presidential bid as vainglorious and presumptuous, fine. Though is it really Mr. Obama's fault that folks in Europe and the Middle East, not to mention Baghdad greeted him more generously than they did Mr. McCain when he made his world tour?

I know, I know, snark is the new lingua franca and fairness is so 1998. And Mr. Milbank does have to entertain or, zip, back he goes to hard news.

So. Dance, monkey, dance

This is the reason why Obama seems unfriendly to media. If your own side can turn on you, who else can you trust? Dana, you used Obama to be noticed, but it will be hard for anyone to take you or your profession serious. Being popular doesn't always mean good.

I've always found your writing credible. I enjoy hearing your opinion on MSNBC.

However, you've certainly done your reputation a disservice with this article. Your "this is the moment" quote that you attribute to Senator Obama is so skewed as to be deceptive. You portray the Senator as a man with feet of clay, when in fact he was extremely humble.

On the other hand, your article is presumptuous. A little more humility on your side would have helped. Your tone came across as jealousy. Remember, you reporters are like the moon - all the glow you seem to have is a reflection of a brighter object that you are near.

I just have one question for you. Will you man up and admit you were wrong? I hope you will. I have always enjoyed your insight on MSNBC. However, you were way off base this time. You need to make amends.

Mr. Milbank:

Perhaps all that stretching on the Capitol steps with Richard Simmons led to too much blood to the head, causing a lapse in reason and judgment. Regardless, your opinion was too quick, too rushed-out-the-door-and-seize-the-spotlight-before-getting-the-facts-right. And speaking of getting the facts right, as pointed out on the Atlantic Monthly's website, there are other errors/omissions in your piece:

"The Capitol Police and the Secret Service, not the Obama campaign, closed the halls for Obama to pass yesterday. If you're inclined to think Obama presumptuous for this, then John McCain is also on your list; last week in Columbus, the police department there gave him full intersection control during rush hour. Oh, and that was David Cameron to whom Obama "gave some management advice," not to Gordon Brown, although Brown could probably have used it!"

See http://marcambinder.theatlantic.com/archives/2008/07/messiah_well_actually.php

I sure hope you (and the Washington Post) take some more time in the future to fact check your work. Otherwise, I suggest you go to work for your "sister" publication, the Onion.

PTU

Mr. Milbank,
I have always enjoyed your columns and appearances on various talk shows, but I'm very disappointed in your lazy journalism regarding your incomplete quote of Sen. Obama. You need to apologize or many of us will never pay any attention to you again.

It seems Mr.Milbank you are 100% right.Seems so many are sheerly blinded by contempt.

Dana,

I'm confused, many of the examples you use to prove your point are the same type things McCain did (world tour, speaking other countries, weekly fake presidential radio address, refer to himself as president in ad's, give a first term review of his presidency, meet with fed chief),why would the same actions be perceived so different from Obama, uppity?

It seems illogical to attack Obama for how people respond to him when he performs the same actions as McCain, doesn't it?

More important, in the future provide more context. Obamas comments taken in context are not only different but expressing the opposite of how you describe them. It's now clear he was saying it wasn't him, that created the 200k crowd in Germany but a desire to see change in America.

I am disappointed that you chose to use a out of context quote as an example to support your opinion.

Perhaps you will take a future post to reassess your conclusions in a more fair manner after considering the actual *actions* of the two candidates.

I am truly disappointed in that you have bought-off on the Rovian propaganda. That you attributed a quote to Obama that was 180 degresss from what he actually said and gobbled up the lies promulgated by the repugs. This column diminishes you as a person and as a journalist.

Strange,

So little contrast in this piece. No examples of the humble actions of McCain that contrast Obama's presumptuous behavior?

Why, because they have taken most of the same steps, Obama's are just seen in a "different" light. He's not allowed to act like he just might win this thing, who does he think he is, John McCain?

Mr. Milbank, in his recent article claiming that Obama is being presumptuous, has done something remarkable. In a campaign where the pundits, the 24/7 media, and the Internet commentators have made it one of the dumbest in American history, he has outdone them all. By the mere act of running for the office, every would-be president, with the exception of George Washington who was more or less annointed, has been presumptuous. All of them presume to be able to hold and execute this powerful office, all have expressed certainty in winning and have tried to be presidential. Therefore, the apparent criticism is vapid, it's nonsense on its very face, unless he wants his readers to believe he meant to write an extended tautology. What he may be saying is not that Obama is presumptuous (since obviously every candidate is), but rather that this particular candidate is being uppity. Consequently, we have to conclude either that Milbank has written another bone stupid article typical of this campaign, or, consciously or unconsciously, is making a not-so-veiled racist comment. Either way, he should be ashamed of this loathsome piece.

Dissapointing. Where do you turn to these days to get real journalistic insight? What is so disspointing is that all of our media in this country that comes in the form of an op-ed, newspaper or tv news program is now owned by the Corporation. No independent news to speak of anymore!

SAD, SAD, SAD!

I was frankly shocked when I read your column even before I saw how the quote you used was proven to be completely distorted.

Why shocked? Because I always admired your writings and your presence on MSNBC. I thought you were credible and professional.

But this piece you wrote was nothing but an unsubstantiated hatchet job. And not only that, it turns out it was an unsubstantiated hatchet job filled with errors (including claiming that Gordon Brown was the recipient of the Obama advise when he was not).

It's a shame that it took you so long to develop should a great reputation for a fine journalist but one column to throw it all away.

Mr. Milbank - I trust that by now (evening 7/31)that you and the rest of America are painfully aware that your depiction of Mr. Obama in this article rested on a second-hand quote that appears to have been grossly inaccurate.

Mr. Obama has stated many times, furthermore, that he is the leader of a "bottom-up" movement whose legitimacy is derived from the will of the people (like me, most of the time) he represents.

This is the construction that named witnesses to Mr. Obama's words (in contrast to your unnamed source) understood him to be making one more time.

We all make mistakes. You appear to have made one, this time. I often read and listen to you, and generally enjoy your work.

The question is, will you now have the journalistic integrity to acknowledge that you made a hasty and likely erroneous report.

Your conduct in your on-line WaPo chat today, where you derided "whiners" was not promising. It's my hope that this is not your last word on the subject.

You may choose to dismiss me and the hundreds or thousands of others like me as fools, ideologues or "whiners", but I hope you won't.

Before you start calling others presumptuous and arrogant, you may do well to look in the mirror.

We all make mistakes. The question is, do we learn from them.

Mr. Milbank, as others have pointed out here and elsewhere, you have made a serious mistake on many levels. You now have a choice to make. You can either apologize to your readers (and anyone else who will listen) publicly, or you can take what would indeed be a "presumptuous" route of believing you are "above" putting this right.

I look forward to seeing which you choose.

As I am sure that you have received a ton of criticism on your piece, let me just add that it was deservedly so.

I can't believe that someone that I held in high regard as a journalist and a MSNBC commentator would stoop so low by sacrificing journalistic integrity for the sake of a witty punchline.

It would be a great service to a vast number of your supporters if you either write a retraction admitting that you parsed a quote to fit the narrative of your piece, or submit a formal apology to the Obama campaign.

Mr. Milbank,

You are a funny writer, but I've always had a hard time discerning whether you've been a committed critic of the Bush machine, or merely a political paparazzo. This Obama column, in all its dirty distortion, seems to confirm the latter. The sad kicker is that this piece throws into question the veracity of your very entertaining past writing on Bush and his people.

It's been a while since your HUGE gaffe. When will the American people hear your apology? It's OK to admit you made a mistake, unless you are in the pockets of this slimy republican administration also, or perhaps you are just a plain racist? We will be waiting

I know you don't read blogs, because if they're important enough they'll be brought to your attention, but you should read this: http://www.thenewargument.com/?p=231

You might learn something about the importance of context. From participating in your discussion yesterday (you didn't answer my questions), I can tell you're not one to accept criticism. But, since you live for snark and need to make everything into a joke, maybe the satire in the article will change your opinion on the quote you used in your column.

Dear Dana, I realize I am late in commenting on your article but as a fan of yours I must add my concerns to those mentioned above. What were you thinking? Or were you? I agree that you should apologize for such slovenly writing. It seems NBC has enlisted you in their seeming vendetta against Obama. I found equally disturbing the interviews conducted by Williams and later by Brokaw on Meet the Press. Where are the columns and interviews with McCain grilling him about his early support of the war?
And the latest racist ads by RNC and approved by McCain - where are the comments on this latest slip to the slime?

Shame on you. Wanda

Dude,

Dropped you from my Bookmark bar. But hey, I wish you continued enjoyment at the Whitehouse Easter Egg Rolls.

Slim

Have I missed Dana Milbank's apology and the Washington Post retraction?

Dana-
By now (and judging by the comments to your post) you know how much damage your column and the subsequent echo-pundits have done, by misjudging Senator Obama's comments to the Democratic Caucus. I hope next week you will appear on Keith Olbermann to clear up this mess. As you know only too well, the Media can make or break a candidate. I hope in the future you will take your position seriously, and report on lies and distortions by the candidates (I'm talking about some of McCain's comments last week while you were all focussed on Obama''s "uppity" behavior,)
You can do better. Please do.

Mr. Milbank:
Having missed you on MSNBC's Countdown since your out-of-context Obama quote in The Post, we were wondering who was keeping you off the show, and when you'd address the issue publicly...even in this blog. Tonight our concerns were answered by Olberman in his World's Best Persons segment and all I can say is "what a disappointment."
We (my wife and I) always looked forward to your humor and insight. We were disappointed in your column last week, but accept your right to your opinion; it did not mean we would not watch or read your comments. We did not judge you or what might have been behind your comments. We simply have been waiting for you to offer an explanation and own up to what you said. We are both disappointed that you have chosen not to do so.
We both will miss you on Countdown and wish you well, and we'll continue to follow your column in the Post online. But I hope you realize that you've missed an incredible opportunity to rise above petty pundits and establish your position as a columnist of integrity above most of your colleagues by offering an honest and sincere explanation of your comments. It is still my hope that you will eventually do so.

Apparently, Dana has found his true cable soulmate in Campbell Brown, whose contempt for the impeachment hearing -- see http://www.huffingtonpost.com/linda-milazzo/cnn-anchor-slams-impeachm_b_115264.html -- mirrored what he displayed in his own blog entry "(Not an) Impeachment Hearing". How could he not leave out the context of Obama's remarks? While Keith shows class in saying good luck, I'll say good riddance.

Sorry to hear of your departure from Countdown, I will miss you. I just dropped in here to read the column that caused the ruckus. Sigh, it seems as though some people have lost their sence of humor, which is forecast to increase in intensity along with the hurricane season. Best of luck to you.

Oooooh, ouch! - what a nasty column

about Barack's return to D.C.! I must

say I was truly shocked by your uppity

attitude. I used to enjoy your humor -

what happened to you?

Mr. Milbank,

Refusing to correct your misquote here is pretty sickening.

In the past, I had found your insights worth reading, whether I agreed with them or not.

Now it looks increasingly like you will ignore the ethical standards of your industry in order to assert your personal opinion as fact.

A simple mea culpa would have been easy to forgive. It's just a Rough Sketch, right?

Publicly fighting the obvious when you're clearly wrong not only seems obstinate and defensive but, IMO, is ultimately damaging to what I'm sure is a hard-earned reputation.

What a shame.