President Bush Takes On Al Qaeda Reporters (Pt. III)

CNN's Jack Cafferty smacks down the White House's assertions about the media coverage of the war...

After the Washington Post's Howard Kutz sheepishly defended the attacks, Cafferty said this-

"You know, I just have a question. I mean, part of the coverage, they don't like the coverage, maybe because we were sold a different ending to this story three years ago. We were told that we'd be embraced as conquering heroes, flower pedals strewn in the soldiers' paths, a unity government would be formed, everything would be rosy this -- three years after the fact, the troops would be home.

Well, it's not turning out that way. And if somebody came into New York City and blew up St. Patrick's Cathedral and in the resulting days they were finding 50 and 60 dead bodies a day on the streets of New York, you suppose the news media would cover it? You're damn right they would.

This is nonsense- 'it's the media's fault and the news isn't good in Iraq'. The news isn't good in Iraq. There's violence in Iraq. People are found dead every day in the streets of Baghdad. This didn't turn out the way the politicians told us it would. And it's our fault? I beg to differ."

Video- here.

Elsewhere... NBC's Baghdad correspondent Richard Engel has thoughts on this strategy.

As I've said before, it takes a special kind of chickenhawk to blame the media for your mistakes. Shooting the messenger is always the weapon of choice for the coward. War's going to hell? Poll numbers in the toilet? Blame Helen Thomas! Blame the newspapers! Blame the bloggers too! The base will eat it up! Fresh hot scapegoat... right off the grill.

That strategy may or may not work, but it's not what this 'war effort' needs. It needs honesty. It needs leadership. It needs accountability and a course correction. None of those we will ever get. Not from this President. Thank goodness we at least have a few reporters who won't be pushed around by him any longer.

Digby has more thoughts: Media Contortionism




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