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Tennessee Republicans' video slams Michelle Obama

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

May 17, 2008

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - The Tennessee Republican Party "welcomed" Michelle Obama's visit for a fundraiser Thursday night with an online video taking the Democratic presidential front-runner's wife to task for a comment some considered unpatriotic.

Michelle Obama was campaigning in Wisconsin last February for her husband when she said: "For the first time in my adult life, I am really proud of my country." The four-minute video posted on YouTube is built around the remark, replayed six times and interspersed with commentary by Tennesseans, identified mostly by their first names, on why they are proud of America.

Michelle Obama later clarified her remark, saying she meant she was proud of how Americans were engaging in the political process and that she had always been proud of her country.

"The Tennessee Republican Party has always been proud of America," the party said in a news release that included a link to the video. Obama's campaign accused the Tennessee GOP of engaging in smear politics and unfairly attacking the candidate's family.

The state GOP was roundly criticized in March, including by likely presidential nominee John McCain, for a news release that used Barack Obama's middle name - Hussein - and showed a photo of him wearing what it said was "Muslim attire."

The "welcome" video also takes aim at Barack Obama's fiery former pastor, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright Jr. "I'm proud of my country because of the freedom of religion, so if my pastor goes on a wild political tirade I can just walk out," says a man identified as Tate R., a graduate student at Vanderbilt University. Obama broke with Wright, his longtime pastor, after he repeated incendiary anti-American comments at a news conference last month in Washington.