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Last Updated: Sep 14, 2008 - 9:32:01 AM |
If you think dirty politics are new, think again.. A Roorback is a
false or slanderous story used for political advantage. It is named
after Baron von Roorback, imaginary author of Roorback's Tour Through
the Western and Southern States, from which a passage was purportedly
quoted in an attempt to disparage presidential candidate James K. Polk
in 1844.
In the midst of the 1844 presidential campaign between James K. Polk
and Henry Clay, a letter was published in a newspaper in Ithaca, New
York claiming that a reputable witness (one Baron von Roorback) had
seen Polk purchase and brand 43 slaves. The letter caused an uproar
that threatened to derail Polk's campaign until it was discovered that
the whole thing was a hoax perpetrated by the opposing party — a
19th-century Watergate. Baron von Roorback didn't even exist. The
incident proved a political boomerang; Polk won the election and the
name "roorback" became a byword for political dirty tricks.
A current source for the latest in roorbacks from both sides is
http://www.factcheck.org/.
In short, don't believe anything that is said in the last weeks of a
campaign; the air is filled with roorbacks and 'keepers'; stories
which will damage the opponent which have been kept back to the last
days of the campaign where they cannot be explained or answered.
The airwaves are awash with Roorbacks. We only await the 'keepers' in a
few weeks time.
Source:Ocnus.net 2008
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