PressEthic

As I watched a story titled First Guzzler on September 27th, I was amazed at how far CNN was willing to stretched the truth in order to take a jab at President Bush.

They started with a shot of Bush addressing the nation, asking that people refrain from unnecessary travel now that fuel prices are so high.

Then, the story went on to show the damage caused by Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Rita over the last few weeks, and explained that President Bush would be touring the wreckage in New Orleans once again.

To my amazement, these two bits of news were then tenuously linked to form one accusation. President Bush is a hypocrite who continues to waste fuel by flying Air Force One to New Orleans. Apparently, CNN reporters consider touring wreckage in New Orleans, “unnecessary travel.”

But, at least the reporters did research. They had gas-mile statistics for the largest Air Force One airplane in the President’s fleet. They charted highs and lows in the size of Presidential motorcades, noting that Bush’s was habitually on the high side. They then concluded, that President Bush himself, the man who urged Americans towards fuel conservation, was guilty of being the “Number One Guzzler” of gasoline.

Stories like this insult the intelligence of the American people. I can only conclude one of three things: 1. CNN reporters want to turn Americans into Bush-hating drones, 2. CNN reporters assume that Americans are already Bush-hating drones (at least the ones that watch CNN), or 3. CNN reporters don’t care what people think, but feel compelled to make up negative stories about Bush once the real negative stories become old news.

I like CNN, but this is one of the most ridiculous stories I’ve ever seen. Can anyone really defend it? Can anyone really say that it’s unbiased? Is CNN, like conservatives have always accused, the lefty equivalent to FOX News?