In his column yesterday, the Washington Post’s Dana Milbank accused Sen. Barack Obama of being presumptuous and used a quote from an anonymous source who witnessed Obama’s speech before Democratic Congressional leaders on Tuesday to bolster his lede.

The witness’s version of the quote has been disputed by virtually all other witnesses — the quote published by the WaPo appears to be two quotes from Obama jumbled together to make him appear stunningly pompous; the actual quote shows he was trying to be modest. There is no actual audio or video of the comments.

Here’s Milbank’s version:

Inside, according to a witness, he told the House members, “This is the moment . . . that the world is waiting for,” adding: “I have become a symbol of the possibility of America returning to our best traditions.”

This is the quote heard by everyone else in the room:

It has become increasingly clear in my travel, the campaign, that the crowds, the enthusiasm, 200,000 people in Berlin, is not about me at all. It’s about America. I have become a symbol of the possibility of America returning to our best traditions.

Many Republicans, upon reading Milbank’s story, realized it could be used in an attack ad against Obama. Even if Obama was misquoted, the column may prove damaging to the Democrat by reinforcing a meta narrative the press can’t stop running with. Here’s more good news for the Republicans: you can combine other Obama quotes to make him sound like a terrorist, a Black Panther, or even a misogynist.

Now, this is how fear-babies are made:

Quotes from Obama’s “More Perfect Union” speech - Philadelphia, PA. March 18th, 2008

About Racism:

“In fact… anger exists within segments of the white community. Most working- and middle-class white Americans… are… misguided or even racist.. and are… regular garbage”

“My own… white grandmother… whom… I have already condemned, in unequivocal terms… is very… inferior.”

“White friends… are simply inexcusable.”

“Treat whites… just as I’m sure many of you have… been… stained by this nation’s original sin of slavery.”

“And yet, it has only been in the last couple of weeks that… this country that I love… expressed a profoundly distorted… deep-seated racial bias.”

“As such… I can disown the black community.”

About Women:

“The white woman struggling to break the glass ceiling… should… know… her… place.”

“Geraldine Ferraro… is a… demagogue.”

About Personal Greatness/Elitism:

“My unyielding faith in the decency and generosity… of America… is… both the greatness and the goodness of our nation.”

“I am… the true genius of this nation… God’s work here on Earth.”

“I imagined myself with… the stories of David and Goliath, Moses and Pharaoh, the Christians in the lion’s den, Ezekiel’s field of dry bones. Those stories – of survival, and freedom, and hope – became… my own American story.”

“We can get beyond our racial divisions in a single election cycle… with a single candidacy… particularly… my own… candidacy.”

Misc:

“I am the son of a… bomber.”

“I was raised with the help of… perverse and hateful ideologies of radical Islam… which… made me the most conventional candidate.”

“But for all those who scratched and clawed their way to get a piece of the American Dream… all helped create a cycle of violence, blight and neglect that continue to haunt us.”

“Like other predominantly black churches across the country, Trinity… has seared into my genetic makeup the idea that… inside dealing, questionable accounting practices, and short-term greed… is what… all the world’s great religions demand.”

“I… wish… I was raised… as a… slave owner.”

AND THE WORST OF ALL:

“I will never… be… dead and buried… Contrary to the claims of some of my critics… I will… rise… a forceful wind carrying… me… into the rafters…. Hope!”