RNC Jumps on Obama's Mistake

Article found at : http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/washington/2008/05/the-nazi-death.html

This is a video clip of Senator Barack Obama at an event this weekend in Las Cruces, N.M. In it, he talks about his great uncle, Charlie Payne, being in one of the U.S. troops that liberated the Nazi concentration camp in Auschwitz. However, it was the Soviets' Red Army that liberated this camp, and the Republicans have made sure not to let this mistake go unnoticed. The RNC said, "unless his uncle was serving in the Red Army, there’s no way Obama’s statement yesterday can be true. Obama’s frequent exaggerations and outright distortions raise questions about his judgment and his readiness to lead as commander in chief.” I think that it is being made a bigger deal than it is. The RNC is making it sound like the whole story was false or that there were elements that did not add up. This was not the case, he simply mis spoke and said the name of the wrong concentration camp. It was actually the camp in Buchenwald that his great uncle helped liberate. Considering these aren't the easiest names, I don't think its so unbelievable that he gave the wrong camp. Sure, the RNC or anyone has the right to point out his mistake, but I don't think that they need to make it sound like he intentionally lied or that the name of the camp is such a crucial aspect of the story. It's not like he gave the speech at the camp in Auschwitz. The point of the story was not the camp or where his great uncle liberated the Jewish people; what is important in the story is that his uncle was among some of the great U.S. troops that helped liberate the Jewish people from the Nazis. What camp or what city doesn't seem to be THAT important to me. I expect it to cause a little commotion, but they are making it seem like it's an atrocity that he mis spoke. They say his 'frequent exaggerations and outright distortions' cause questions, but I don't think that the stating the wrong camp is an exagerration at all, nor is it a distortion. The article asked an important question: "What's worse, Obama's apparent gaffe or the RNC pouncing on a Holocaust-related historical mistake for political advantage?" It seems like everyday someone new mis spoke, exaggerated, lied, or offended someone or some religion. I don't know if this is because we are now able to catch every single word, which we were never able to do until technology became so advanced, or if this election is just obsessed with every word that leaves someone's mouth. Granted, there have been some comments that deserve the scrutiny that they have gotten, but I don't think Obama's mistake about the name of a camp is one of them.