Hot Mic Moment Catches Obama in Private Chat
EmailA week after a hot mic caught Rev. Jesse Jackson expressing a desire to turn Sen. Barack Obama, D-Illinois, into a eunuch, Obama and one of his chief surrogates were caught chatting by an open microphone, clearly thinking no one could hear them.
This "hot mic moment," however, was far less incendiary.
The speech, scheduled to begin shortly after 10:45 am ET this morning was delayed after President George W. Bush called a press conference for 10:20 am ET.
After delaying the address, finally Obama and former Rep. Lee Hamilton, D-Ind., came to the stage where they were greeted by applause.
“They’re glad to have you here," Hamilton said to Obama of the assembled crowd, in comments later picked up by ABC News’ Sunlen Miller but not heard in the larger auditorium. "They’re probably a little anxious, they’ve been sitting here an hour.”
Suggested Obama, “You might want to mention that we didn’t want to step on the President’s program."
“Should I mention that?” Hamilton asked.
Moments later, Hamilton told the crowd, that "the reason we’re a few minutes late beginning is because the president of the United States is having a press conference and we didn’t want to step on his message. So we started a few minutes late."
– jpt
USS Gabrielle Giffords Honors Courage 
Mitt Romney's Full Speech at CPAC 2012
sooooooo…. why is this worth putting up? Hamilton said to the crowd exactly what Obama said. I guess I just don’t get this one.
Posted by: matt w. | July 15, 2008, 1:11 pm 1:11 pm
This is very stupid! this is not a hot mic moment…..
Posted by: Kent | July 15, 2008, 1:14 pm 1:14 pm
OMG..what a cheap shot
He is always late to his events and instead of taking responsibility for being late, he uses President’s press conference to justify his tardiness!!! so he can score a point of being polite??
What a guy?
Posted by: Frieda | July 15, 2008, 1:19 pm 1:19 pm
So what’s wrong with what was said? Is someone trying to turn a grain of sand into a sandstorm?
Sorry to deflate anyone, but I see no harm in any of the words said on the “hot mic”.
Posted by: Rhys | July 15, 2008, 1:21 pm 1:21 pm
Hot mic moment??, it isn’t even luke warm!!!
Posted by: char19145 | July 15, 2008, 1:21 pm 1:21 pm
Frieda: Sure! Please get a clue. Obama scheduled his speech for 10:45a from yesterday. Suddenly Bush schedules a press conference this morning for 10:20a after not having a presser since April! No problem though. The more Bush sticks himself into the election the more people will be reminded of his 28% approval rating and the horrible job he did as President.
Posted by: Sean | July 15, 2008, 1:27 pm 1:27 pm
Mccain continues to claim taht off shore drilling is ok and environmental friendly and is safe from hurricanes….
“As for offshore drilling, it’s safe enough these days that not even Hurricanes Katrina and Rita could cause significant spillage from the battered rigs off the coasts of New Orleans and Houston.” mccain said
why no reports on what actually happened
during those hurricanes
Hurricanes Katrina and Rita Caused 124 Offshore Spills For A Total Of 743,700 Gallons. 554,400 gallons were crude oil and condensate from platforms, rigs and pipelines, and 189,000 gallons were refined products from platforms and rigs.
The largest of these was 152,250 gallons, well over the 100,000 gallon threshhold considered a “major spill.” [MMS, 1/22/07]
Posted by: bhrandon | July 15, 2008, 1:29 pm 1:29 pm
obama sure hammered mccain on iraq today… what a great speech…
Posted by: bhrandon | July 15, 2008, 1:41 pm 1:41 pm
Why not post about how Obama has once again “scrubbed” his website to erase criticism of the surge!
The official “scrubber” of Obama’s website sure has been busy lately! They erase CONSTANTLY!
Posted by: Jo | July 15, 2008, 1:41 pm 1:41 pm
Obama’s Aide: “Uh, Mr. Obama the surge is working”
Obama: “Oh no, that’s terrible news. Quick go to my website and erase a lot of the criticism I had of the surge, especially those words “civil war”"
Obama’s Aide: I’m on it!
Posted by: Jo | July 15, 2008, 1:43 pm 1:43 pm
yea she wants to keep donor money for her senate race
too bad shes 20 million in dept
Posted by: bhrandon | July 15, 2008, 1:45 pm 1:45 pm
Jo
i dont get your point… so since the surge is having some success we should just continue to stay in iraq
lol
who cares about what happened the last 8 years, tahts over, lets continue to stay in a place that doesnt want our troops there
Posted by: bhrandon | July 15, 2008, 1:47 pm 1:47 pm
Arrogance for breakfast arrogance for lunch arrogance arrogance all day long. Wonder if Obama has ever had a humble moment.
Posted by: smith | July 15, 2008, 1:48 pm 1:48 pm
this is SCANDALOUS, quick call Hillary i can’t take it anymore, more controversy, how could he mention the president without his name?
meanwhile, mccain is not being asked where the troops increase for afghanistan are going to come from if we don’t reduce the troops in iraq? are they going to fall from the sky?
Posted by: johnosahon | July 15, 2008, 1:49 pm 1:49 pm
Bhrandon,
You don’t get it?? Going to your website and erasing some of Obama’s speeches where he predicts horrible things from the surge?? ERASING THEM?? Pretending he never said them because the surge has not turned out like he hoped? (yes I said hoped).
You don’t see anything wrong with that?
Then you’re the blind sheep.
LOLOLOL. Obama = BUSTED. The most carefully choreographed campaign in history. What a fraud.
Posted by: Jo | July 15, 2008, 1:51 pm 1:51 pm
Instead of Obama admitting he was wrong about the surge, he goes to his website and ERASES the speech text where he predicts horrible things, so he can pretend he wasn’t WRONG AS HELL.
WHAT A PHONY!!!!!!!
Posted by: Jo | July 15, 2008, 1:53 pm 1:53 pm
Hey — did you see that now Obama is calling even the Iraq war a distraction? Everything’s a distraction in his world — everything that might take away attention from his holiness.
Plus, he scrubbed his website of anything negative he said and published on the surge not working.
What a piece of work. What a con man.
Posted by: Beth | July 15, 2008, 1:56 pm 1:56 pm
Jo,
How do you know the surge is working? Is that what you’re told to think or did you actually go over there and check it out yourself? Of course they want you to think the surge is working. They don’t want to let themselves look bad.
Meanwhile, over in Afghanistan, insurgents led an organized attack that broke through our lines, killing 9 troops. This is the deadliest attack on our troops in Afghanistan in 3 years.
Taking our resources over to Iraq, which had nothing to do with anything “war on terror” in the first place, has served to further destabilize and take resources away, from the situation in Afghanistan (the real front on the war on terror).
Where’s Bin Laden, by the way? Anyone seen him lately?
Posted by: Topher | July 15, 2008, 1:58 pm 1:58 pm
do not trust Obama on anything.
Obama said words matter, if he believes in words, why should he delete his own speech from his website.
Posted by: bhrandon | July 15, 2008, 2:10 pm 2:10 pm
Beth
so the iraq war isnt a distraction
do you remember 9-11?
or what?
Posted by: bhrandon | July 15, 2008, 2:12 pm 2:12 pm
This just goes to show Obama is pure class. Unlike Bush and Cheney, who spend their moments waving to the crowd by calling reporters obscene names, and McCain, who talks to his wife about how small private jets are the only way to get around Arizona, and how hard it is to find good help for their 11 homes.
Posted by: Seamus | July 15, 2008, 2:14 pm 2:14 pm
So I heard McCain wants to use the same strategy in Iraq as the Bush Administration is using in Iraq!! I’m sure that will work really well!!
Go McCain, just keep driving that point home! I’m sure the majority of voters will love that idea.
This assertion that he wants to use the same strategy in Afghanistan as is being used in Iraq came directly from his mouth, by the way!
McCain is the gift that keeps on giving.
To the Democrats!!!
Hey, I don’t think Phil Gramm has said anything ignorant and stupid today …. YET.
Posted by: Topher | July 15, 2008, 2:15 pm 2:15 pm
mccain had a hot-mic moment last week; with a crowd in front of him. He got the Steelers mixed up with the Packers while telling a story about his POW days. Either this guy is already senile or he thought he could pull this one over on the Pittsburgh crowd. However, all Steeler fans know that mccain could not have been referring to the Steelers of the 60′s which is when he was a POW.
Posted by: pt | July 15, 2008, 2:16 pm 2:16 pm
I meant the same strategy in Afghanistan as Bush is using in Iraq …. of course.
Posted by: Topher | July 15, 2008, 2:17 pm 2:17 pm
One thing I can not stand Obama is that this guy did absolutely nothing for this country, even during his entire US senate year, he did almost nothing except for passing one bill. Yet, he has the nerve to criticize all the hard work other people have done, as if only him in th entire world can do good things.
He is using his family, his appearance to win not his record and his achievement. He put his family picture on his web site now – pathetic. You have to use your young daughters to help you get votes. It is so clear the Obama wants people to see he is a normal guy — but there are so many normal guys there, being normal does not qualify you for president.
I am furous at hearing him criticizing McCain on immigration. What has Obama done? I was kind of moved at hearing McCain’s speech defending himself:
“At a moment of great difficulty in my campaign, when my critics said it would be political suicide for me to do so, I helped author with Sen. Kennedy comprehensive immigration reform, and fought for its passage. I cast a lot of hard votes, as did the other Republicans and Democrats who joined our bipartisan effort. So did Sen. Kennedy. I took my lumps for it without complaint.”
McCain is an honorable man. But Obama – spending past half a decade running for higher office position, what has he done? yeh, he did quite a few speech.
Posted by: amy | July 15, 2008, 2:18 pm 2:18 pm
Barack Obama will be the next president of the United States. You can take that to the bank of America! I do not know if Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity and the Little girl on the view would do after that but the rest of you obama haters better start, getting use to it. He will be a magnificent president for all Americans,black,white,hispanic, asian,native indian etc He will be a president that we can be proud of..It is amazing how all over the world everyone’s talking about Obama and wishing that the electorate vote him president..I have travelled in Asia and all I hear is Obama, Obama. I have friends who have been to Europe and South America and the refrain is the same. The world is tired of America’s foreign policy of war,war,war. I am tired of it and I am a patriotic American who hates war..does that make sense? Lets turn this sinking ship around(No thanks to the Republicans) and make a change for America and for the world. Vote Dems 08! Not only the smart thing to do but the right thing to do! I say Obama/Hillary 08! unbeatable!
Posted by: Earl | July 15, 2008, 2:20 pm 2:20 pm
I heard that John McCain said into a hot mike that Social Security was a disgrace!
Anybody gonna ask him about that? Ever?
Doesn’t he receive Social Security?
Is the media asleep at the wheel?
Posted by: Nobodys fool | July 15, 2008, 2:23 pm 2:23 pm
McCain’s entire campaign has been a “hot mic” moment. Czechoslovakia, Bomb Iran, 100 years, Packers/Steelers, Viagra/birth control, Sunni/Shia, the claiming he voted for the Iran bill he missed, the GI Bill he claimed he supported that he railed against, his own immigration bill he vowed to vote against. I could go on all day. McCain should be spending the summer tying up his affairs and preparing for retirement, not running for president.
Posted by: Seamus | July 15, 2008, 2:24 pm 2:24 pm
Amy, you were moved by McCain’s outright lie. His actual response to the lumps he tood for that bill was to promise, during the January 30, 2008 debate, that he’d vote against that bill. Now he’s pandering (lying) again, claiming he stood bravely behind it. Please. When will the press on the BS Express ask McCain about these lies?
Posted by: Settembrini | July 15, 2008, 2:30 pm 2:30 pm
“Meanwhile, over in Afghanistan, insurgents led an organized attack that broke through our lines, killing 9 troops. This is the deadliest attack on our troops in Afghanistan in 3 years.”
There are no lines, Topher. That was an observation post behind concertina wire above a village. It resembles the Vietnam era forward firebases. They did break through the perimeter. They also fired from inside the village where the rules of engagement make it hard to use air support because of collateral casualties. It was well-organized and used massive forces against a small defensive emplacement which it was not able to overcome. It says more about the US individual units courage than their planning.
On the other hand, ABC news called the raid ‘daring’ which somewhat reflects their world view.
Is the US media becoming the fifth column in the war on terrorism and Obama’s biggest supporter? True or not, the perception of that like the perception of the New Yorker front page is fast undermining his campaign. The more he and they are perceived as the friend of our enemies, the faster alternatives to them and their messages will be embraced and many of those are equally dubious.
At the end, we become a fascist nation unable to tell truth from lies and completely suspicious of any source of information.
Posted by: len | July 15, 2008, 2:32 pm 2:32 pm
Most Americans are beginning to realize that we were duped by the Republicans into believing that the so called war on terror was necessary. With billions spent each week to keep our troops in Iraq fighting a war that should never have been..Our economy is limping, and people are losing jobs and their homes..gas is $4.00 a gallon. Time for the Republicans to go,go,go away! Lets treat John McCain with respect and send him back to Arizona to rest. Obama will be an excellent president and we will be proud to tell the world this is our president..not the laughing stock we currently have as president. People around the world have been laughing at our choice for president..I believe George Bush is a good man but president material! NO! Obama is presidential,articulate,bright,charismatic, a uniter not a devider and will be president for all America. Many people I know who were anti Obama are now talking about him in glowing terms and in anticipation of the change we can believe in..something is happening America! Something is happening!
Posted by: Earl | July 15, 2008, 2:45 pm 2:45 pm
I wonder if the New Yorker magazine is an equal opportunity supporter. I wonder if they would do a satire of McCain in a rocking chair with a walking stick in his hand, sitting in the porch as he count passing cars with a bottle of geritol in his hands. How about that one New Yorker?..What you did with Obama was intentionally done to stir up the haters and liars(Obama is a chrisian not muslim)but you want to stir the proverbial pot of hatred and lies and propoganda. No matter what you do..the fact is, Obama will be the next President of the United States. “Change you can believe in”. YOu can take that to the bank. Word!
Posted by: Earl | July 15, 2008, 2:59 pm 2:59 pm
Obama taking his anti-war statements off his website is not new. After 2002 he took down the famous 2002 speech that he later based his Presidential campaign on, till some Black group pressured him to put it back up, around 2006 maybe. I don’t have a cite handy, but that could be found through hillarysupporters or similar PUMA sites.
Posted by: turndownobama | July 15, 2008, 3:04 pm 3:04 pm
Didn’t the media report that there were Iraqi soldier trainees killed today – 20 or more by two suicide bombers? So, because no American Soldiers were killed, the “surge” is working. Wait till we leave, the American Embassy (that $700,000,000 monstrosity that the U.S. built without letting the American taxpayers have a clue) will get blown up by all the Iraqis who don’t want us there at all in any way, shape or form. We could have used that money right here to do some rebuilding of our own infrastructure – but N-O-O-O-O-O. Let’s rebuild Iraq after we have torn it down. Smart thinking.
Posted by: geecee | July 15, 2008, 3:36 pm 3:36 pm
“Doesn’t he receive Social Security?”
No he doesn’t…. nor does any other member of congress.
It would be great if we… the people… could receive the same (health and retirement) perks as our representatives do.
But you can’t blame McCain for this lack; it has been noted in tons of prior political campaigns… and nothing seems to put a chink in the armor protecting us from these perks.
sigh
Posted by: eyes wide open | July 15, 2008, 4:16 pm 4:16 pm
Lack of class, respect for the Office, and just pure narcissism!! Pure Obama!!
Posted by: Beckie | July 15, 2008, 11:59 pm 11:59 pm
Whew! There are some BIG TIME “HATERS” who have NEVER changed their mind on any statement/decision/action that they have made/taken! Must be nice to be PERFECT – the FIRST time around!!!
Thank you, Mr. Obama, for being cordial!!
Posted by: GreenLadyHere | July 16, 2008, 4:24 pm 4:24 pm