First Lady's Negative Comment About the Flag During a 9-11 Memorial Ceremony-Fiction!

First Lady's Negative Comment About the Flag During a 9-11 Memorial Ceremony-Fiction!

Summary of the eRumor:
This is an email with a link to a YouTube video that shows President Obama and the First Lady, Michelle Obama, at a 9/11 memorial ceremony at Ground Zero in New York. The video shows Michelle saying something to the President over the audio of bagpipes during a procession. The email alleges that Michelle said, “All of this for a damned flag?”

The Truth:
It is tricky to interpret what someone has said by lip reading and whoever started this eRumor either sincerely thought that Michelle Obama was demeaning the flag or, worse, the originator intentionally misinterpreted it to be critical of the Obamas.

We thought the best way to investigate it was to consult lip-reading experts. We contacted two veteran lip reading instructors in Southern California who viewed the video together. They agreed that what they saw was Michelle Obama asking, "I wonder if they flew that flag."

They also agreed that she did not say "...a damned flag."

updated 11/15/11

A real example of the eRumor as it has appeared on the Internet:

Okay…I’ve HAD it….REALLY had IT WITH MICHELLE OBAMA!

Her pronouncement years ago of being proud for the first time in her adult life of her country PALES in comparison to what she said during a 9-11 commemoration over the weekend.

This anti American socialist blathering FOOL has gone WAY too far.

There she sat on Barack’s right side as bagpipers played and an honor guard folded an American Flag. You know how it’s done…With reverence and respect, folded precisely and crisply…honored. It was during that moment that our nations “First Lady” leaned to her husband’s ears and asked the question that should set your TEETH on fire!!!

“All of this for a damned flag?”

When Barack nodded, she sat back and gave a look of disgust. There is no audio but you can clearly read her lips. HE doesn’t show the least bit of surprise at her question!!

See the video by clicking here!

“All of this for a damned flag?”

YES!!! ALL OF THIS FOR A FLAG!!!

This woman is beneath contempt and in NO WAY worthy of the title she currently holds!!

“All of this for a damned flag?”

Michelle Obama has NO IDEA what that “DAMNED FLAG” is or what it stands for…NOT A CLUE!!!

That flag…the stars and stripes to her must be nothing more than an old rag…just pieces of cloth sewn together and not worth the consideration of a dust cloth.

That flag IS the representation of the GREATEST NATION ON EARTH. That flag flies in honor of those who protect this nation with their lives. It stands as a symbol of freedom and justice in this world. It protects our liberty and our rights. Each star represents an individual state and each stripe one of the 13 original colonies.

What irks me is that he nods in agreement to her statement - we need to remember this on election day.