It is truly a sad day in Magillaville.
It came to my attention last week that I have been repeatedly misreporting a fact for the last two years and it’s time to set the record straight.
As many readers are aware, I have repeatedly reported here that I tested a flaw in Barack Obama’s campaign e-mail-signup procedure—where anybody can input any address and name no matter how ridiculous—by registering my Gmail address under the name “Stupid Poopyhead” and that his team has been addressing me as “Stupid” ever since.
While the Obama team has been calling me Stupid in its messages to my Gmail account, apparently I did not use the last name Poopyhead as I had remembered.
How did I find this out and why only now? Well, the Obama team took its e-mail personalization up a notch last week and used both my fake first and last names in its subject line.
“A holiday video for Stupid McDoody,” said the subject line in my Gmail account.
“Stupid --
“You've been an incredible part of this movement this year. So some volunteers got together and helped us make a holiday video, just for you, Stupid McDoody,” said the message’s body copy.
Why didn’t I figure this out sooner? This was the first time Obama’s team used my last name.
Alas, facts are a reporter’s only friends and getting enough of them wrong can be career-damaging. Even worse, in this case I misreported my own actions.
How did I mistakenly report I had signed up as Stupid Poopyhead when I had really signed up as Stupid McDoody? Well, maybe it’s because to be absolutely certain about Obama’s registration flaw, I signed up my Yahoo account with the first name “Poopy” and last name “Head”—and yes, in that account the Obama team has been referring to me as “Poopy” ever since.
And, again yes, the Yahoo account received an e-mail from Obama’s team last week with the subject line: “A holiday video for Poopy Head.”
Somehow, I mixed the two names up and reported that I had registered my Gmail account as Stupid Poopyhead when the real registered last name for the account was McDoody.
Call it McDoodygate.
Of course, there will be understandable questions from readers:
“Poopyhead and McDoody are nothing alike. If he can mix them up, what else has he gotten wrong?”
“Is he really a cigar-smoking, high-functioning alcoholic, or doesn’t he drink at all?”
“Has anyone ever seen Michael Jackson and Ken Magill in the same room?”
I sincerely regret any pain and suffering McDoodygate may have caused.
And I promise I will work to regain readers’ trust after this most egregious two-year-long case of misreporting.
