Is W.Va. Young Republican Chair An Expert On Obama's Past? Wrong On Key Fact About Senator's Service

IRONTON, Ohio -- The Huntington Herald Dispatch newspaper circulates in both Ohio and West Virginia on both sides of the Ohio River. Sadly, it has been used as a prop for disinformation about Barack Obama. West Virginia's Young Republican Chair Ashley C. Stinnett delivered a hit piece that doesn't have its facts straight. Stinnett says, "Many will recall not too long ago, Obama was merely a state representative in Illinois."

Actually, Stinnett may be the only person in the United State who recalls that Obama was a member of the Illinois House of Representatives. The truth is Obama served as an Illinois state senator. Stinnett's commentary gets really laughable when he says, "Americans are hungry for the truth, not media spin."

So here's some truth. Obama was elected to the Illinois State Senate in November 1996 and served a district from Chicago. But the Young Republican chair of West Virginia, who is also managing the campaign of GOP candidate James Teets for state agriculture commissioner, doesn't seem to have a clue. Stinnett doesn't seem to grasp the concept of dual chamber legislatures -- that the House and Senate are separate bodies. The Huntington newspaper -- one of the largest in the Ohio Valley between Cincinnati and Pittsburgh -- also identifies Stinnett as a "former citizen member" of its editorial board. It needs to run a correction setting the record straight. The correction should point out that Stinnett's command of facts is flawed, and that he delivered spin not truth. His attack on Obama was apparently intended to influence Appalachian voters -- but is so shallow it can't even properly identify the legislative office Obama held.