Team Obama Claims To Be Totally Unfamiliar With A Story They’ve Trumpeted Before

Team Obama Claims To Be Totally Unfamiliar With A Story They’ve Trumpeted Before

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THE OBAMA CAMPAIGN HAS DODGED QUESTIONS ON PRIORITIES USA’S “HARSH AND MISLEADING” ATTACK AD

“President Barack Obama’s Reelection Campaign Distanced Itself On Wednesday From A Harsh-And Misleading-Ad That Effectively Ties Mitt Romney’s Business Decisions To A Woman’s Cancer Death.” (Oliver Knox, “Obama Campaign: Don’t Blame Us For Ad Blaming Romney For Cancer Death,”ABC News, 8/8/12)

• Obama Campaign Press Secretary Jen Psaki: “We Don’t Have Any Knowledge Of The Story Of The Family.” “But neither the campaign nor the White House passed judgment on the vicious commercial, which emerged from a super PAC backing Obama. ‘We have nothing, no involvement, with any ads that are done by Priorities USA. We don’t’ have any knowledge of the story of the family,’ Obama campaign spokeswoman Jen Psaki told reporters aboard Air Force One.” (Oliver Knox, “Obama Campaign: Don’t Blame Us For Ad Blaming Romney For Cancer Death,”ABC News, 8/8/12)

• Obama Deputy Campaign Manager Stephanie Cutter: “ I Don’t Know The Facts Of When Joe’s Wife Got Sick Or When She Died .” CUTTER: “You do know that we don’t have anything to do with Priorities USA. By law, we’re not allowed to coordinate with them, and by law, we don’t have anything to do with their ads. I don’t know the facts of when Joe’s wife got sick or when she died.” (CNN’s “Starting Point,” 8/8/12)
• Obama Campaign Advisor Robert Gibbs: “ I Certainly Don’t Know The Specifics Of This Man’s Case.” GIBBS: “This is an ad by an entity that’s not controlled by the campaign. I certainly don’t know the specifics of this man’s case. I do think there is a lot of concern in the country about what happens when people lose their jobs.” (MSNBC’s “Morning Joe,” 8/8/12)

MAYBE THEY WEREN’T LISTENING?

While Team Obama Insists It’s Not “Familiar” With The Story Of Priorities USA Star Joe Soptic, All They Have To Do Is “Check Their Own Campaign Archives.” “When President Obama’s aides said they weren’t familiar with former Missouri steelworker Joe Soptic’s life story, all they had to do was check their own campaign archives. Soptic, laid off from Bain Capital-owned GST Steel, stars in a Priorities USA Action spot this week in which he tells of how his wife died without health insurance after he lost his job.” (Reid J. Epstein, “Team Obama Says They Don’t Know Story Of Man Who Stars Of Its TV Ad, Conference Call,” Politico 8/8/12)

Obama Deputy Campaign Manager Stephanie Cutter Hosted A Call With Soptic In May.“But Cutter hosted an Obama campaign conference call in May in which Soptic told reporters the very story featured in the Priorities spot.” (Reid J. Epstein, “Team Obama Says They Don’t Know Story Of Man Who Stars Of Its TV Ad, Conference Call,” Politico, 8/8/12)

• “On The May 14 Obama Campaign Call, Soptic Detailed His Wife’s Illness And Death.” (Reid J. Epstein, “Team Obama Says They Don’t Know Story Of Man Who Stars Of Its TV Ad, Conference Call,” Politico, 8/8/12)
• Cutter: “Thank You, Joe. We Really Appreciate You And David Sharing Your Experiences.”(Obama For America, Press Call, 5/14/12)

Joe Soptic, The Star Of The Priorities USA Ad, Was Featured In An Obama Ad In May That Called Romney A “Vampire.” “Joe Soptic, the star of a new Priorities USA Action ad attacking Mitt Romney and a former employee of GST Steel, implies that Romney killed his wife – but it’s not the first charge he’s leveled at the presumptive Republican nominee. Soptic was featured in the controversial ad aired by the Obama campaign in May that called Romney a ‘vampire’ – a charge that drew condemnation from Democrats, including Newark Mayor Cory Booker.” (Zeke Miller, “Man In Super PAC Ad Starred In Controversial Obama Ad,” BuzzFeed, 8/8/12)

• “Soptic Also Appeared, Wearing What Appears To Be An Identical Shirt, In A May Television Ad For The Obama Campaign.” (Reid J. Epstein, “Team Obama Says They Don’t Know Story Of Man Who Stars Of Its TV Ad, Conference Call,”Politico, 8/8/12)

“Soptic Was Also Featured On The Obama Campaign Website.” (Zeke Miller, “Man In Super PAC Ad Starred In Controversial Obama Ad,” BuzzFeed, 8/8/12; Grant Fuller, “Faces Of Romney Economics: Joe Soptic, American Steelworker,” Obama For America, 5/15/12)

“The Longstanding Relationship With Soptic Strains The Obama Campaign’s Evasiveness On The Priorities Ad, In Which Aides Have Said They Can’t Comment On It Because They Are Unfamiliar With The Facts.”(Zeke Miller, “Man In Super PAC Ad Starred In Controversial Obama Ad,” BuzzFeed, 8/8/12)