Last week, The Wall Street Journal wrote a story about how Barack Obama was too skinny to win over voters in the general election. We called this story a "farce" at the time, and it turns out that it was! At least partially. When attempting to dig up quotes backing up her thesis, Journal scribe Amy Chozick started a thread on a message board. When one commenter wrote a jokey response, Chozick pared it down enough to seem serious and included it as one of two voter quotes in her story. Thus, this comment obviously made in jest:

Yes I think He is to skinny to be President.Hillary has a potbelly and chuckybutt I'd of Voted for Her.I won't vote for any beanpole guy.

…became the much more high-minded, "I won't vote for any beanpole guy." It's precisely stories like these that make Middle America loathe the coastal media. Why pay attention to a news outlet that starts out with the assumption you are a bunch of hicks who are fat and unhealthy and won't trust anyone who isn't?

WSJ Backtracking From Sketchy 'Beanpole' Obama Story [Gawker]
Corrections & Amplifications [WSJ]
Earlier: The Journal Notices Something Different About Obama