I’ve often said that the most important source of media bias in America is the Associated Press. The AP is not as far left as, say, the New York or Los Angeles Times, but its influence is far more pervasive as its stories are picked up by hundreds or even thousands of newspapers. Today the AP did an article on a just-released ad for President Bush, dealing with the war on terror. Here is the AP’s lead:
President Bush vows in his latest campaign ad to “bring an enemy to justice before they hurt us again” although Osama bin Laden remains at large and only one U.S. defendant, Zacarias Moussaoui, has been charged with crimes related to the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.
Got that? According to the Associated Press, you’d better not believe the Bush ad, since the administration has made no progress at all in the war, given that bin Laden is (maybe) still alive, and only Mr. Moussaoui has been “charged with crimes” in connection with the Sept. 11 attacks.
Of course, the principal difference between President Bush and John Kerry is that Bush doesn’t envision the courtroom as the only logical place for a terrorist to wind up. The administration has killed or captured thousands of al Qaeda operatives. The AP knows this, of course, but its policy is never to let facts get in the way of promoting the Kerry campaign.
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