Hannity truncated Obama quote to claim it was an example of "blame America first"

On the April 3 edition of his Fox News television program, Sean Hannity played a clip of President Obama saying in an April 3 speech in Strasbourg, France: "In America, there's a failure to appreciate Europe's leading role in the world. Instead of celebrating your dynamic union and seeking to partner with you to meet common challenges, there have been times where America's shown arrogance and been dismissive, even derisive." Hannity then said: "And the liberal tradition of blame America first, well, that's still alive." Hannity later asked: "Why is there this anti-Americanism in Europe?" In fact, immediately after the part of the speech Hannity played, Obama criticized anti-Americanism in Europe as well as Europeans who "choose to blame America for much of what's bad."

Obama stated: "But in Europe, there is an anti-Americanism that is at once casual but can also be insidious. Instead of recognizing the good that America so often does in the world, there have been times where Europeans choose to blame America for much of what's bad." Obama continued: "On both sides of the Atlantic, these attitudes have become all too common. They are not wise. They do not represent the truth. They threaten to widen the divide across the Atlantic and leave us both more isolated. They fail to acknowledge the fundamental truth that America cannot confront the challenges of this century alone, but that Europe cannot confront them without America." At no point during the show did Hannity acknowledge that Obama had made these comments.

Hours before Hannity aired, Fox News' newly launched website, The Fox Nation, similarly truncated Obama's speech when it linked to an April 3 U.K. Telegraph article about the speech and omitted Obama's comments about anti-Americanism, even though the Telegraph article quoted those comments.

From Obama's speech:

Such an effort is never easy. It's always harder to forge true partnerships and sturdy alliances than to act alone, or to wait for the action of somebody else. It's more difficult to break down walls of division than to simply allow our differences to build and our resentments to fester. So we must be honest with ourselves. In recent years we've allowed our Alliance to drift. I know that there have been honest disagreements over policy, but we also know that there's something more that has crept into our relationship. In America, there's a failure to appreciate Europe's leading role in the world. Instead of celebrating your dynamic union and seeking to partner with you to meet common challenges, there have been times where America has shown arrogance and been dismissive, even derisive.

But in Europe, there is an anti-Americanism that is at once casual but can also be insidious. Instead of recognizing the good that America so often does in the world, there have been times where Europeans choose to blame America for much of what's bad.

On both sides of the Atlantic, these attitudes have become all too common. They are not wise. They do not represent the truth. They threaten to widen the divide across the Atlantic and leave us both more isolated. They fail to acknowledge the fundamental truth that America cannot confront the challenges of this century alone, but that Europe cannot confront them without America.

So I've come to Europe this week to renew our partnership, one in which America listens and learns from our friends and allies, but where our friends and allies bear their share of the burden. Together, we must forge common solutions to our common problems.

So let me say this as clearly as I can: America is changing, but it cannot be America alone that changes. We are confronting the greatest economic crisis since World War II. The only way to confront this unprecedented crisis is through unprecedented coordination.

From the April 3 edition of Fox News' Hannity:

HANNITY: Tonight.

OBAMA [video clip]: There have been times where America's shown arrogance and been dismissive, even derisive.

HANNITY: Obama apologizing for the arrogance of America?

[...]

HANNITY: America is arrogant. That's what Mr. Obama said today, doing his best Dixie Chicks impression while his new world order tour traveled across Europe. And that is our headline this Friday night, day number 74 of a country I am proud of, Obama attacks America. Now, speaking to an audience in France, this is what the president said this very morning.

OBAMA [video clip]: In America, there's a failure to appreciate Europe's leading role in the world. Instead of celebrating your dynamic union and seeking to partner with you to meet common challenges, there have been times where America's shown arrogance and been dismissive, even derisive.

HANNITY: And the liberal tradition of blame America first, well, that's still alive. But should we really be surprised from a man who sat in Reverend Wright's church, from a man who launched his political career in the home of a man who bombed the Pentagon and is unrepentant. Mrs. Obama may not be proud of her country, but I bet she's proud of her husband tonight.

But the nonsense, well, it didn't stop there. Politico.com reports that in a meeting with European bankers, the president said that his administration was the only thing standing between them and pitchforks, and presumably he didn't read that off a teleprompter. Now, gee, Mr. President, I wonder where people get the idea that Americans are arrogant? And joining me tonight is former presidential candidate and author of Do the Right Thing, Mike Huckabee. You know, I'm gonna tell you, I resent this.

[...]

HANNITY: Why is there this anti-Americanism in Europe in as much as the -- their parliaments, their papers, their international bureaucracies -- why does that exist? Because --

HUCKABEE: I think there's a certain level of pride that every country has. I mean, certainly we have pride in our country, and I would expect that every citizen of any European country or any Asian country would also have pride. We want that; we think that's healthy. But when you begin to denigrate your own country and act as if it really is not that special to you -- there's a great Michael Ramirez cartoon, a twice Pulitzer prize-winning cartoonist --

HANNITY: He's great.

HUCKABEE: -- for Investor's Business Daily. He's got one, and Obama -- I'm going to use it on my show this weekend because I think it's brilliant -- Obama is holding up one of these, you know, fingers that says, "We're one of 20."

HANNITY: There you go.

HUCKABEE: We're just one of 20.

HANNITY: But, you know, but you think about it, we have adopted a different strategy, and that is we're the most generous people on Earth when people are in trouble. We've advanced the human condition more than any other country on the face of this Earth, while Europe has adopted socialism. And, you know, Barack Obama was talking today about a world without nuclear weapons - now, I would love that utopia, but as long as Kim Jong-il exists --

HUCKABEE: Yeah.

HANNITY -- as long as terrorism exists and [Iranian President Mahmoud] Ahmadinejad exists, we need nuclear weapons to protect good, free people from evil. He doesn't seem to understand this reality, and that's troubling to me.

HUCKABEE: It was also troubling that he goes to France and says, you know, we need to get rid of nuclear energy, and I'm thinking, you go to the country that gets 90 percent of its electricity --

HANNITY: Yeah, it's naïve. Exactly.

HUCKABEE: -- out of nuclear. It's like going to Texas and saying we really don't need cattle. I mean, come on.

HANNITY: I think that's a pretty good analogy, but I think it says a lot. You know, here he is -- he achieved in this country the highest office in the land -- the American people elected Barack Obama. I think it says more about him that he didn't make the case, as you are articulating tonight, about the goodness and the greatness and the wonder of America, and he talked about America's arrogance. To say Americans are arrogant when Europe wouldn't exist from the very problems they created is the height of arrogance on Barack Obama's part. I, you know -- I'm wondering if there will be more of a kick-back from this. What do you think?

HUCKABEE: I think there will be. It's one thing to say that we're a very proud country, and we want -- expect you to be proud. But to act like that somehow we should apologize for being Americans, I think most Americans will say, wait a minute, we recognize that other nations of the world are part of the great family of nations, and we respect and we honor and we celebrate you, but we don't do it at our own expense.

HANNITY: Didn't we see all of this in the campaign? And as I was bringing up -- didn't Reverend Wright give us a little insight into his thought process? Didn't, you know, Michelle Obama -- America's a downright mean country? I know everyone's focusing on what fashion designer she's choosing, what shoes she's wearing, and what gifts they're giving the queen in their little visit over there. But I'm thinking, didn't we get some insight? When you sit on a board and give speeches with Bill Ayers -- didn't this -- do you think he harbors deep resentment that he just hides? Because I believe he does.

HUCKABEE: Well, I don't know -- can't look in his heart, but I'm beginning to believe he may have listened to more of those sermons than I thought he had. Because when I hear him --

HANNITY: You are more -- you are far more, you know, willing to give him the benefit of the doubt.

HUCKABEE: I'm always more generous, aren't I?

HANNITY: Yeah, you are. You really are.

HUCKABEE: But I do believe that this was a terrible thing -- to go to Europe, standing in the midst of those people, and in essence saying the United States really isn't all that special, and you are the leading continent. And that's in essence what he said: that Europe is the leader. Now, look, I think Europe is a wonderful continent, but I don't necessarily believe that if you look at the great innovations that have changed the world and technology and in finance --

HANNITY: It's America.

HUCKABEE: It's America.