<font size=4>The Associated Press Makes It Up
<font size=3>Powerline
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I've long said that the Associated Press is the nation's worst source of media bias. But this one, frankly, blows me away. It was first noted, I think, by Freepers and followed up on by Swimming Through the Spin, linked to by InstaPundit.
The AP ran this story:
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WEST ALLIS, Wis. - President Bush (news - web sites) on Friday wished Bill Clinton (news - web sites) "best wishes for a swift and speedy recovery." "He's is in our thoughts and prayers," Bush said at a campaign rally. Bush's audience of thousands in West Allis, Wis., booed. Bush did nothing to stop them. Bush offered his wishes while campaigning one day after accepting the presidential nomination at the Republican National Convention in New York. Clinton was hospitalized in New York after complaining of mild chest pain and shortness of breath. Bush recently praised Clinton when the former president went to the White House for the unveiling of his official portrait. He lauded Clinton for his knowledge, compassion and "the forward-looking spirit that Americans like in a president."
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A number of people who were at the rally and didn't hear any boos sent angry emails to the AP, which resulted in a rewrite of the story. If you follow the link to the original story, this is what you get. Nothing.
The AP put up a revised version which is exactly the same as the original, except that it omits the two sentences about the crowd booing and Bush <font color=blue>"doing nothing to stop them."<font color=black>
No explanation and, as of yet, no apology.
Meanwhile, someone came up with an audio of the President
Bush's speech, which is linked to by Drudge. Listen to it
here. The audio is stunning. When the President says that
he's just received word that Clinton had been
hospitalized, you can hear the crowd react with sympathy
and dismay. When Bush goes on to say that President
Clinton is in our thoughts and prayers, and we send him
our best wishes for a speedy recovery, the crowd applauds
and cheers enthusiastically. No booing. None.
Note that the AP didn't say <font color=green>"there were scattered boos" <font color=black>(there weren't) or even <font color=green>"one guy booed."<font color=black>
The AP reported, falsely, that <font color=blue>"Bush's audience of
thousands in West Allis, Wis., booed."<font color=black> That isn't spin;
it's a flat-out lie. And the AP writer added the malicious
embellishment that Bush did nothing to stop the
(nonexistent) booing.
Is this the most astonishing example of media bias I can
remember? Offhand, yes. It is sheer, malicious fabrication
and slander--of President Bush and of Republicans
generally--in what purports to be a brief, factual account
of Bush's speech.
What this shows, I guess, is that the establishment media are in a full panic mode over John Kerry's prospects. Any semblance of professionalism, or even basic honesty, in this instance, is gone.
The AP needs to do some serious soul-searching, and fire, at a minimum, the guy who wrote that story, if it wants to retain even a shred of credibility.
While I was typing this, video footage of the West Allis rally ws played on Fox News, but without any mention of the AP fabrication.
UPDATE: The AP's lie is spreading rapidly around the globe. Salon says: <font color=blue>"Audience boos as Bush offers best wishes for Clinton's recovery."<font color=black> WSTM television in New York has a slightly different version of the story, with an AP copyright, which says: <font color=blue>"Many in Bush's audience booed when Clinton's name was mentioned. The president made no comment on that and continued with his rally speech."<font color=black> WRIC television in northern Virginia has the same <font color=blue>"many booed"<font color=black> story. In Iowa, KWWL television reports that <font color=blue>"Many in Bush's audience booed when Clinton's name was mentioned. The president made no comment on that and continued with his rally speech."<font color=black> The same misinformation is being promulgated in Georgia, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Mississippi, California, Tennessee, Indiana, the Carolinas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Ohio, Minnesota, and New York again.
I'll stop there, but there are many more. Do you suppose that all of these news outlets will offer corrections? What proportion of the people who hear this story will ever find out that it was a complete lie, fabricated, apparently, by a Democrat who works for the AP?
The AP now has a new version, which says, more accurately:<font color=blue> "The crowd reacted with applause and with some "ooohs," apparently surprised by the news that Clinton was ill."<font color=black>
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This, folks, is a scandal. The blogosphere should not rest
until the AP is brought to account. |
