Find the Hidden "Pan"
Who are the most biased journalists of all? I would nominate, as a group, headline writers. Here is a case in point. This morning, President Bush delivered his weekly radio address. He talked about the Iraq Study Group's report, quoting sections that talk about what a disaster it would be to lose in Iraq or to withdraw precipitously. He said he would consider the ISG's recommendations and called for bipartisanship in the ongoing search for the best path forward in Iraq.
So how did Yahoo News headline the Associated Press's article on Bush's speech? "Bush pans criticism of Iraq war handling". Because Yahoo News often changes its headlines when we and others point out that they are wrong, here is a screen shot:
Now, here is the audio of Bush's four-minute radio address:
Can anyone find a "pan" by the President of any criticism of his policies anywhere in that brief address? No. It isn't there.
The AP article itself doesn't support the headline, but it is also biased. Here is how it begins:
President Bush spoke Saturday about parts of the Iraq Study Group report that mirror his policies — but he ignored the sections that criticize his administration's handling of the war.
Ha! Got you there, Mr. President!
Oddly, though, the only example offered by the AP's is self-refuting:
"The report went on to say, `If we leave and Iraq descends into chaos, the long-range consequences could eventually require the United States to return,'" Bush noted.The report, however, also said the situation in Iraq was "grave and deteriorating."
But wait! Bush hardly "ignored" the ISG's dire assessment of the situation in Iraq; on the contrary, as the same AP article notes:
Bush said the bipartisan group's report presented a straightforward picture of the "grave situation we face in Iraq."
The bottom line is that the President made a statesmanlike effort to strive for bipartisanship and good faith in the debate about where to go from here in Iraq, but the AP and Yahoo News are interested only in Bush-bashing.
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