Media Persist In Misstating Maliki’s Views

Original Link: http://noquarterusa.net/blog/2008/07/21/media-persist-in-misstating-malikis-views/

By SusanUnPC

CNN corrected the record yesterday, as Uppity Woman reported in “Maliki Disputes Report That He Endorses Obama’s Withdrawal Plan“:

[A] spokesman for al-Maliki said his remarks “were misunderstood, mistranslated and not conveyed accurately.”

Government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh said the possibility of troop withdrawal was based on the continuance of security improvements, echoing statements that the White House made Friday after a meeting between al-Maliki and U.S. President Bush.

The two men “agreed that the goals would be based on continued improving conditions on the ground and not an arbitrary date for withdrawal,” the White House said.

But, Politico.com’s Mike Allen, at Playbook 24/7, writes:

On MSNBC’s “Morning Joe,” Andrea Mitchell calls the Maliki endorsement of Obama’s Iraq strategy (semi-retracted after a complaint from the U.S.) “a deliberate attempt to put pressure on George Bush and the White House.”

This assumption by Andrea Mitchell is especially amazing considering that none of the press was allowed to go with Obama to Iraq or Afghanistan:

Obama doesn’t have press traveling on his government-arranged Iraq/Afghanistan trip. He’ll be joined in the Middle East by a plane of staff and press that took off LAST NIGHT [July 20, 2008] from Chicago.

Once again, the Obamedia are interpreting the news for us, rather than presenting the facts and letting us decide what’s true. Rasmussen Reports’ latest polling shows:

A growing percentage of voters also believe that most reporters are trying to help Obama win the election. Forty-nine percent (49%) hold that view while only 14% believe reporters are trying to help McCain. Other data shows that voters tend to think reporters are trying to make both the economy and Iraq seem worse than they really are.