Fox News Falsely Declares Bush Winner Of Iraq Funding Standoff -- Contradicting Its Own Reporting
Ahh, good old Fox News -- never a shortage of mendacity or entertainment.
The network is already declaring that the President has already won the standoff with the Dem Congress over Iraq War funding:
As you can see, the line on the screen reads:
PRESIDENT WINS SHOWDOWN OVER IRAQ FUNDING
The funny thing about this is that Wendell Goler, the Fox reporter pictured above, was simultaneously saying that negotiations between the White House and the Dem Congressional leadership are continuing. More to the point, Goler even said there was still a scenario that could lead to a Presidential veto -- that is, if the Dems insist on strict troop readiness standards.
Okay, so if Fox's own reporter is saying that a Presidential veto is still possible -- which, if it happened, wouldn't in any way, shape or form constitute a Presidential victory -- how could the network possibly be saying that Bush has already "won" this standoff?
Answer: By lying, of course.
Update: Commenter Crust notes that in fairness, it's possible that Fox was simply "confused," rather than outright lying. Fair enough. We'll allow it. Fox was either confused or lying. Of course, such "confusion" is endemic on the network...
What kind of victory will he win if he trumps Dems in his effort to continue bleeding our military to death for another 4 mths or even another year in Iraq? Politically he's the Jim Jones of the Republican party. They are helping him make the kool aid and then they're going to drink it with him. Woohoo that's some victory.
May 22, 2007 12:36 PM | Reply | Permalink
Alternate answer: In Foxlandia, President Bush always wins. The details are irrelevant.
It's like that kid when you were growing up, who never ever lost any game or contest that he played in. He either won, or claimed the other side cheated and declared himself the winner. And his family was rich and influential, so he was essentially correct. He always won, even when he lost.
Most towns have at least one of those kids. Well, one of those kids grew up to be President.
May 22, 2007 12:38 PM | Reply | Permalink
WHY? Because bush always wins - at least on Fox.
May 22, 2007 12:38 PM | Reply | Permalink
He won because he's the decider. By definition the decider has to win because the decider decides who wins. I'm pretty sure that's in the Constitution.
May 22, 2007 12:38 PM | Reply | Permalink
They've done this before; the Libby trial if I recall correctly. What a bunch of losers.
It would be interesting to see if Congress could win this battle by making it contingent upon approval of the Iraqi Parliament. If the Iraqi's don't approve, we're an illegitimate foreign occupying force. If they approve, well that's another problem, but it's not-going-to-happen. They've already introduced a resolution asking us to leave. War over.
May 22, 2007 12:41 PM | Reply | Permalink
Answer: By lying, of course.
Or, in fairness, by being confused. Just saying. I suppose you could make a case that Fox doesn't deserve the benefit of the doubt by this point, but your formulation struck me as a little over the top. Plus by answering your own question you ruled out the inevitable "Simple Answers to Simple Questions" link from Atrios.
May 22, 2007 12:41 PM | Reply | Permalink
heh -- now that was a serious oversight on my part
May 22, 2007 12:43 PM | Reply | Permalink
See, Greg, you think by logic. But to think as they think, you have to put your mind in a vise - and let it be bent. Bent logic is what they practice. And bent logic is not your forte - for which we are grateful, actually.
May 22, 2007 12:56 PM | Reply | Permalink
Apparently, some random senator-type dude thinks you guys are doing a good job: Russ Feingold at Dkos
May 22, 2007 1:00 PM | Reply | Permalink
CBS did this on the morning show this morning. They didn't have a graphic, but the announcer stated that the Democrats had lost the stand-off with the president. It was just stated very matter-of-factly. I almost threw a shoe at the television.
Hoosierville
May 22, 2007 1:08 PM | Reply | Permalink
If a bill goes to the president on Friday that contains no timeline, funding until September and benchmarks with no repercussions or accountability, then yes, I think they can fairly say that Bush won this battle. And they might even add that Democrats were rushing to finish the bill in time for their Memorial Day barbecues.
I hope they were wrong rather than just being premature.
May 22, 2007 1:25 PM | Reply | Permalink
The Commander Guy always wins because he's the commander in chief of Congress. Duh. Look in the Constitution.
May 22, 2007 1:41 PM | Reply | Permalink
Could the same reasoning also apply to their continual invocation of the fair and balanced mantra?
I didn't think so.
May 22, 2007 1:48 PM | Reply | Permalink
Yesterday, Raw Story had a big headline that said basically the same thing. Their comments section was inundated with hundreds of irate leftie screeds.
However, I tried to point out that the only place the story was being published was the Macon GA paper. NO ONE else would touch it.
Today, that Raw Story article is gone without a trace.
Sometimes you have to fact-check even the most reliable of sources.
May 22, 2007 2:00 PM | Reply | Permalink
Fox is just confused -- the same way they always seemt to get confused about the party affilliation of every Republican congressman who gets indicted for a felony and/or resigns in disgrace. Sort of a pattern of confusion.
May 22, 2007 2:07 PM | Reply | Permalink
The worst thing about the bill is that when Democrats try to counter charges that they caved, all they'll be able to point to is the increase in the minimum wage. That might seem like an achievement to them, but this whole debate is about the Iraq war. They need to be able to say that they won on something else. Include a line that tosses Alberto Gonzales from his job, dammit!
May 22, 2007 2:45 PM | Reply | Permalink
Many on the Left continue to make a critical mistake - they assume that television news is there to inform the populace.
Even when pointing out the blatant and continuous dishonesty of the likes of FOX News, many progressives are simultaneously hypnotized by that word "News", as if the word has magical powers.
There is a sense that if we continue to point out the shortcomings of the mainstream media, if we cite enough discrepencies or contraditions, they will realize that they have been mistaken and change the way they do things.
This is folly.
Television news organizations are not "News Organizations" in the way that we expect. They are nothing but PR arms of their respective megacorps.
No amount of letter-writing or blogging will ever change that basic fact.
One might as well petition a mountain to instead become a sea. We are talking fundamentals here.
FOX, CNN, ABC, NBC, and CBS are simply not in the business of informing the populace, and NEVER WILL BE.
The sooner we realize that, the better.
May 22, 2007 3:08 PM | Reply | Permalink
Duh! Bush did win. By vetoing the bill with a very weak deadline in it he forced Congress to back down. That is a victory. Fox finally reported something accurately.
Hoppy in Sacramento
May 22, 2007 3:47 PM | Reply | Permalink
Un fortunately, FOX got this one right. The dems folded in failue.
May 22, 2007 4:11 PM | Reply | Permalink
folded in failure
May 22, 2007 4:11 PM | Reply | Permalink
Fox is right this time. The Democrats have thrown in the towel. They're spineless pussies, and they didn't have the nerve to stand up to Bush when it counted. Fox is telling the truth. The president won. The Dems caved.
May 22, 2007 6:46 PM | Reply | Permalink