Good to see you're covering this, too (along with Olbermann and HuffPo); the rest of the elite media seems to be trying to bury this story.

And yes, CBS's explanation is woefully inadequate.

I second flufferwink's suggestion.

If CBS doesn't admit that this is a real mistake on their part, their credibility is in the toilet.

From now on, whenever viewers watch an "interview" on CBS, they're going to have to wonder if the person being interviewed actually said what they said in response to what was asked.

One would think people like Bob Shieffer would be upset about this, or Lara Logan. I do not consider Couric a journalist, so I don't really care what her response is.

"...the rest of the elite media seems to be trying to bury this story."
No, they're just too busy following the golden boy on his magical mystery tour.

The likely answer on why it was edited out is that those doing the editing weren't smart enough understand what they had.

also, isn't a bit deceptive to ask a question and then air an answer to a different question as if it were the actual response to the question?

does this kind of editing go on alot?

i don't mind that they edited for content and time, i do mind them editing questions and answers.

it's ok when colbert does it because he's funny. it's not ok when katie couric does it because she's supposed to be a serious news anchor.

Given that McWar's entire attack strategy is based on the surge, no news organization can justify trivializing flaws in this attack.

And of course the McCain campaign, who have been whining like a three year old in the candy aisle at the market about how little coverage they are getting, canceled their upcoming press availibility.

That is right, McCain is refusing to talk to the press.

Wether this is in response to McCain's ignorance of Iraq's recent past or because of McCain's disgusting comments of late I couldn't say. But for the media starved McCain campaign to turn down a media opportunity...

CBS, shame on you.

If Edward Murrow was alive...

Now juxtapose CBS' treatment of McCain with Couric's aggressive and myopic questioning of Obama regarding the Surge.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/07/23/katie-couric-to-obama-peo_n_114520.html

Who does the media favor? Themselves, that's why their trying to kneecap Obama and prop up McCain as much as possible. It all comes down to ratings and profits.

CBS news has become intellectually bankrupt longtime ago. Bob Scheifer is the final dry leaf fluttering on the dead tree- threatening to break and drift.

Even an undergrad knows- you edit the same'ol, same'ol, "already heard that one" part of the interview retaining the "new" news.

McCain was certainly making "new" news.

I have no doubt Katie Couric doesn't know shit about the timeline on the surge, so whatever her political leanings may be, she can be accused on intentionally not following up on the response.

Whatever little relevancy CBS news may have eroded a little further due to this episode.

One thing I realized is that the MSM wants a horse race and they will do anything to get it. McCain has been making gaffe upon gaffe but who am I to question is foreign policy credentials, when the press has already created an aura of experienced in foreign policy. The greatest myth on the campaign trail to date is: McCain’s verse experience on foreign policy.

I can't believe a credible news organization will totally edit out an answer just because they want specific narratives on the air.

CBS has totally lost it.

Amen to that bro

Careful narrowing your options. Teletubbies are a threat to the sanctity of marriage. Barney the Dinosaur is found in the Bible and compliments Creation Science, however.

They've been telling us what they were all along, though hiding it in plain sight. It's not CBS it's See BS (Bull Shit)...

stefran, I think you may have nailed it.

The CBS Evening News is in business to get ratings, which help them sell advertising time, which helps them make money.

They have more motivation to hide the failings of their famous anchor than to cover-up what would otherwise be seen as a feather in their cap, an "exclusive".

So I think the motivation was to avoid exposing Ms. Couric as being so gullible and uninformed that she didn't know to follow up with McCain on this ridiculous statement.

Better to just pretend like the whole thing never happened.

-- ARG

didnt he say because bill o said so? not obama.

Wishful thinking on our part? Actual link on CBS home page:

Last Day On The Job [ Couric & Co. ]

A LIE is not a "gaffe", Greg. We need to start differentiating between McCain the dumb ass and McCain the liar.

My open letter to CBS "News," sent this afternoon:

I was utterly dismayed at CBS' handling of a significant piece of news regarding the presidential campaign that arose during Ms. Couric's interview of Senator McCain. As a network news host, Ms. Couric's failure to follow up on Senator McCain's blatant misstatement regarding the "history" of the war in Iraq (as it pertains to the so-called "Anbar Awakening" and the so-called "surge") demonstrates a profound lack of knowledge by your lead newscaster, a complete lack of intellectual curiosity, or an utter lack of journalistic integrity.

But that glaring omission, as disappointing as it was, pales in comparison to your editorial decision to wipe Senator McCain's false statement from the televised record and send it "down the memory hole." Your decision to edit Senator McCain's falsehood out of your televised interview deprived Americans of a crucial piece of information regarding a major-party presidential candidate. Moreover, your decision to edit in a different answer to Ms. Couric's question (while playing the question to which Senator McCain responded with a lie) smacks of blatant bias in your news broadcast.

Ms. Couric's performance during that portion of the interview was inexcusable, Senator McCain's dissembling falsehood was a gross error in judgment, and your decision to conveniently excise those two blatant mistakes is the proverbial straw that broke the camel's back. Count me among the Americans who will never again watch a single second of a CBS "News" broadcast. You should be ashamed of yourselves.

Here's a copy of my letter.
Dear Sir or Madam:

While it is understandable for a newscast to edit for time. It is unconscionable for a news organization to substitute answers to questions that have a direct bearing on my ability to choose the person I wish to lead my country. This is not journalism and requires an abject and a public apology from whomever the decision-maker was, who literally put words in the mouth of a presidential candidate in a close race,

If you had tried this chicanery to make a candidate's answer appear to be less knowledgeable than their actual reply. You would rightly have been fined by the FCC for abusing your mandate. Keeping America in the dark about John McCain's lack of knowledge on his signature issue for this campaign amounts to the same thing.

Sincerely,

This is NOT editing for time. It is “catapulting the propaganda”. It is protecting the candidate from the reality and revelation that he is too old, and does NOT have a firm grip on the facts. And even issues that are supposedly his strong suit, he seems to have no real grasp of or knowledge about.

John McCain is experienced. However, none of that experience is actually relevant to being President of the United States.

He should just stick with his trophy wife and her hundred million $$$ and his 8 mansions and enjoy his retirement, and leave the actual governance thing to people who actually give a shit and know what they're doing.

This just in - McCain is sticking to his story and saying that what the Bush administration calls "the surge" was actually "made up of a number of components." McCain says some components of the surge began before Bush ordered more U.S. troops into Iraq.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080723/ap_on_el_pr/mccain

As long as you can redefine the time/space continuum, you will never be wrong again.

This is shameful. The media has long been in love with McCain, and biased against Obama, and this is more proof of how far they will go to protect McBush, their darling.

I think I've cracked the case - Katie Couric is a PUMA/Clinton Dead-Ender.