Hillary Haters and the Myth of the Obama Staffer

Today's Chicago Tribune has an article about the Hillary haters out there. I write about this issue, too, based on attending the 2007 Conservative Political Action Conference in March, where Hillary barf bags could be seen and all kinds of vile comments about Hillary. The Democrats who think that Hillary is the primary candidate most likely to win in the general election don't understand the intense commitment of these Hillary haters who will stop at nothing to defeat her.

However, the Tribune article also includes a serious error sliming Barack Obama. The article describes "a renegade staffer for Sen. Barack Obama" who created a video mocking Hillary by imitating the infamous "1984" TV commercial. However, the person wasn't an Obama staffer. Phillip de Vellis worked for Blue State Digital, a contractor that designed Obama's website, although de Vellis didn't work directly on the website. Clearly, the term "staffer" typically refers to the direct employees of a campaign, not to every employee of every vendor.

Why does this matter? First, it's factually wrong. Second, it smears Obama by associating him with the vilest Hillary haters. Third, it attacks Obama by implying that he is unable to control his own campaign staff.