Cindy 'Changed Story on *?'; Tracking A Lie Through the Conservative Media

[truthpusher]

Media Matters just released this to the press...

http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/usnw/20050811/pl_usnw/media_matters_for_america__cindy_sheehan__changed_her_story_on_bush____tracking_a_lie_through_the_conservative_media109_xml

Media Matters for America: Cindy Sheehan 'Changed Her Story on Bush?'; Tracking A Lie Through the Conservative Media
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23 minutes ago
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WASHINGTON, Aug. 11 /U.S. Newswire/ -- Cindy Sheehan, mother of a soldier killed in Iraq, has drawn significant media attention for staging an anti-war protest outside President Bush's ranch in Crawford, Texas, where she is demanding to meet with the president. On Aug. 8, Internet gossip Matt Drudge posted an item on his website, the Drudge Report, in which he falsely claimed that Sheehan "dramatically changed her account" of a meeting she had with Bush in June 2004; Drudge attempted to back up his false assertion by reproducing Sheehan quotes from a 2004 newspaper article without providing their context. After the story appeared on the Drudge Report, it gained momentum among conservative Weblogs and eventually reached Fox News, where it was presented as hard news and in commentaries. Media Matters for America will examine how one false story on an Internet gossip site ended up the focus of prime-time cable news coverage.

Drudge's Aug. 8 item claiming that Sheehan had changed her story used quotes from a June 24, 2004, article in The Reporter of Vacaville, California, where Sheehan lives. The Reporter article described a meeting that Sheehan and 16 other families of soldiers killed in Iraq had with Bush in Fort Lewis, Washington, earlier that month. Sheehan's son, Army Spc. Casey Sheehan, was killed in Iraq in April 2004.

Drudge quoted Sheehan seemingly speaking glowingly of Bush: "'I now know (Bush is) sincere about wanting freedom for the Iraqis,' Cindy said after their meeting. 'I know he's sorry and feels some pain for our loss. And I know he's a man of faith,' " and, "For the first time in 11 weeks, they felt whole again. 'That was the gift the president gave us, the gift of happiness, of being together,' Cindy said." Drudge contrasted these quotes to Sheehan's statements on the August 7 edition of CNN's Late Edition with Wolf Blitzer, in which she said, of the 2004 meeting with Bush: "We wanted to use the time for him to know that he killed an indispensable part of our family and humanity."

Drudge, however, took Sheehan's quotes from The Reporter out of context in falsely claiming a shift in her position. The June 24, 2004, Reporter article also quoted Sheehan expressing her misgivings about Bush and the Iraq war:


(snip)

Throughout the day on Aug. 8, Drudge's false story needed little time to spread to conservative Weblogs:


-- Drudge posted the Sheehan item on August 8 at 10:11 am ET.


-- Right-wing pundit Michelle Malkin posted the item on her Weblog one hour later, at 11:22 a.m. ET.


-- At 12:40 p.m. ET, the Drudge story appeared on C-Log, the Weblog of the conservative news and commentary Web site Townhall.com.


-- At 2:33 p.m. ET, MooreWatch.com posted the story.


-- At 3:23 p.m. ET, William Quick of DailyPundit.com posted the story.

(snip)

link to complete statement: http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/usnw/20050811/pl_usnw/media_matters_for_america__cindy_sheehan__changed_her_story_on_bush____tracking_a_lie_through_the_conservative_media109_xml

[ecoalex]

1. Hate to burst your bubble , but she did gush over the shrub

This is a repost

I don't see that Drudge did misquote Ms Sheehan from the publication that carried her quote.Let's be honest, credibility is important, emotions are not rational.Factually Cindy did say what was quoted by Drudge, as much as you may not like it, Sheehan had a change of heart, all Drudge was saying, a fact..

http://www.thereporter.com/search/ci_2923921 Article Launched: 06/24/2004 06:00:00 AM

in the meeting. Shortly after Casey died, Bush sent the family a form letter expressing his condolences, and Cindy said she felt it was an impersonal gesture.

"I now know he's sincere about wanting freedom for the Iraqis," Cindy said after their meeting. "I know he's sorry and feels some pain for our loss. And I know he's a man of faith."

The meeting didn't last long, but in their time with Bush, Cindy spoke about Casey and asked the president to make her son's sacrifice count for something. They also spoke of their faith.

While meeting with Bush, as well as Sen. John McCain, R-Arizona, was an honor, it was almost a tangent benefit of the trip. The Sheehans said they enjoyed meeting the other families of fallen soldiers, sharing stories, contact information, grief and support.

For some, grief was still visceral and raw, while for others it had melted into the background of their lives, the pain as common as breathing. Cindy said she saw her reflection in the troubled eyes of each.

"It's hard to lose a son," she said. "But we (all) lost a son in the Iraqi war."

The trip had one benefit that none of the Sheehans expected.

For a moment, life returned to the way it was before Casey died. They laughed, joked and bickered playfully as they briefly toured Seattle.

For the first time in 11 weeks, they felt whole again.

"That was the gift the president gave us, the gift of happiness, of being together," Cindy said.

[spotbird]

4. Which proves what exactly?

So at one point she had some respect and trust in her government then she learned how despicable they really are. Good for her.

[PunkPop]

5. What part of "out of context" don't you understand?

"Gush"???? She did nothing of the kind. Her words were those of a grieving mother trying to show respect to the President of the United States.

Why are you defending that scumbag Drudge? He twisted and manipulated that story for his own purposes.

[Imagevision]

9. Cindy? Like any woman, she has the right to change her mind!

so, suck-up and listen to what she has to say today and tomorrow and thru the Bush Vacation!!!

[spotbird]

2. Perhaps if Bush would change his opinion

in light of new information we wouldn't be headed to WWIII.

Only a fool clings to a belief when facts prove him to be wrong.

[ixion]

3. "in bed with the 'radical left'?"

:wtf:

Why the hell is this 'moran' allowed to get away with saying stuff like this?

Oh yeah, I forgot: IOKIYAR. :grr:

[TahitiNut]

7. Where can I join up with the 'radical left'? Where are they?

I've looked and looked and looked and I can't find any 'radical left' group or organization at all! Did they storm the Supreme Court in December 2000? I don't recall hearing anything. Where are the masses of 'radical leftists' with torches and pitchforks?

[RandomKoolzip]

6. I thought that it was the 2004 meeting ITSELF which changed Sheehan's

mind. I seem to remember a thread or two about it back then, and reading that finally seeing B*sh's eyes after telling her story made her realize that he didn't give a shit about her son.

Somebody PLEASE tell me why, even if this wasn't the case, why WHY WHY it would even MATTER at all if she felt one way in 2004 and a different way now? The DSM and the deepening quagmire in Iraq are enough for a lot of people to change their minds....it's not as if Bush, who was once a coke addict and alcoholic, is gonna stay a coke addict and an alcoholic just for the sake of consistency, right?

[headache]

8. one statement I've heard is...

...that she's being used as a pawn of anti-B*sh groups who want to parade a grieving mother in front of Crawford ranch solely to humiliate the Preznident.

Because the mainstream media hasn't followed Sheehan's plight all these years, they aren't aware how deeply she holds these feelings and the extent of her commitment.

Where would the wing nuts get the idea that she was being used by left leaning groups? Maybe 'cuz that's what the fundies appear to have done with the Schindlers, Terri Schiavo's folks