Words Fail: McCain Backer Maimed by Pro-Obama Attacker

UPDATE: Ashley Todd admits her story's a fraud, "McCain Volunteer Admits Maiming Attack a Hoax."

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UPDATE: See, "Ashley Todd Hoax Theory: Backward B?"

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I would say this is shocking, but we're beyond that place in American politics today.

********ADDED: Video via Newsbusters:

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At some level, the Obama phenomenon has worked some bedevilment into society's lower quarters, as evidenced by Ashley Todd, who was allegedly attacked and maimed by a supporter of Barack Obama:

A 20-year-old woman who was robbed at an ATM in Bloomfield was also maimed by her attacker, police said.

Pittsburgh police spokeswoman Diane Richard tells Channel 4 Action News that the victim was robbed at knifepoint on Wednesday night outside of a Citizens Bank near Liberty Avenue and Pearl Street just before 9 p.m.

Richard said the robber took $60 from the woman, then became angry when he saw a McCain bumper sticker on the victim's car. The attacker then punched and kicked the victim, before using the knife to scratch the letter "B" into her face, Richard said.

Can we make broader generalizations from this case? Probably not, although Todd's mutilation was clearly politically motivated.

Ace of Spades initially suggested the story was a hoax, but as more information came in, he deleted those passages, saying:

CNN will quote me when they say "Even conservatives smell a hoax..." CNN only quotes conservative blogs when they make points helpful to the liberal cause. I've been quoted there three times and it's always been to attack Republicans. They've never once found me quite so interesting when I'm, say, noting Barack Obama's unprecedented voter and donor fraud.

So, yes, there's certainly much political weight to this story, however folks want to spin it.

My thoughts and prayers go out to Ashley Todd.

See also, Wake Up America, "Obama Supporter Attacks McCain Supporter and Carves Letter B Into Her Face."

UPDATE: Captain Ed addresses the "hoax" issue:

I spoke with two executives at the College Republicans on the record about this story. Charlie Smith, the National Chair, and Ethan Eilon, the Executive Director, both say the photo is legitimate and that it came from Ashley Todd, the victim in this case. The attack began at 8:50 pm ET and Ashley called the police at 9:30 PM ET. Initially, she was robbed, ran away after the robbery, and the robber followed her to her car. At that point, he became enraged at the bumper sticker and began beating her and scratched the ‘B’ into her face. Ashley went to the hospital early this morning after initially refusing medical attention last night, and had an MRI and/or a CAT scan. Doctors believe her cheek will heal fully.

I'm interested in the backward "B", which Kyle Moore says is a dead givaway for a fake attack:

She is then punched, kicked, and has the letter B carved backwards in her face. Again, the backwards bit is a pretty big deal because either her attacker was not just convenient enough to be big, black, scary, and an Obama supporter, but also dyslexic (Go ahead, just write a B backwards. I’m not saying it’s impossible, or even difficult. But it is something you have to physically think about–you have to intentionally write it backwards, and I find it highly suspect that someone in the thrill of the moment is going to take the time to stop and think about carving that B backwards).

A further note on that letter B. Though it is backwards, it is nearly perfect.

It’s not jagged, there are no off shooting lines you might expect if you are struggling for your life, which is what you would be doing in this kind of situation (No, seriously, you would go into fight or flight at this point). Even if the assailant had control of the victims head, she would likely move around enough to get the assailant to err at least once.

This attack has the lefties worried, in any case. It's a potential Pennsylvania Willie Horton game-changer for the Keystone State.