Lightning Rod

The Obama Assassination Pollster

John Hudson Sep 30, 2009
The creator of a Facebook poll asking users "Should Obama be killed?" has attracted a Secret Service investigation and a punishing salvo of public vituperation. The New York Times' Tom Friedman fumed, "I hope they put the jerk in jail and throw away the key." Carmen Dixon at Black Voices sighed, "Hate 2.0 looks exactly like hate old school style" and the LA Times said the poll "crosses a line."

The poll generated 730 responses answering either "Yes," "Maybe," "If he cuts my health care" and "No" before getting pulled by Facebook. The Christian Science Monitor calls it a "recent sign of health care anger" and notes that threatening the life of a president is a crime. Reason Magazine called the stunt "some retards Facebook prank," while others called the creator a "lone moron" and a "Needs-a-Life Facebook loser." Meanwhile, a retaliatory poll has been posted to Facebook, "Should the Creator of 'Should Obama be Killed Poll' Be Arrested?" 

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