Source:
Media Matters for AmericaWash. Post again misreports Bill Clinton's Swift Boat comments
Summary: A Washington Post article reported that "(a)fter the Democratic debate in Philadelphia last month," former President Bill Clinton "insinuated that his wife's Democratic rivals were mounting attacks on her akin to the 'Swift boat' campaign Republicans launched against Sen. John F. Kerry (D-Mass.) during the 2004 race." In fact, Clinton did not accuse Democrats of swift-boating his wife; rather, he condemned Republican attacks on Democrats and the role the media play in contributing to such attacks. The article was at least the third in which the Post has reported on Clinton's comments without accurately reporting his statements.
*
After two previous Washington Post articles falsely reported that former President Bill Clinton had criticized Democratic presidential candidates for engaging in "swift-boat"-style attacks on Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY) during an October 30 debate, a November 29 article by Post staff writers Glenn Kessler and Anne E. Kornblut again failed to accurately report President Clinton's statements, which he made during a November 5 speech. In the article, Kessler and Kornblut wrote:
After the Democratic debate in Philadelphia last month, the former president insinuated that his wife's Democratic rivals were mounting attacks on her akin to the "Swift boat" campaign Republicans launched against Sen. John F. Kerry (D-Mass.) during the 2004 race -- an explosive charge that prompted some of Hillary Clinton's rivals to lash out more aggressively than ever.
As Media Matters for America has noted, President Clinton did not criticize Democratic presidential candidates for swift-boating his wife. In his November 5 speech, he warned against allowing elections to be decided by "trivial matters," and then discussed "snide comments" and "dishonest claims" about former Vice President Al Gore, as well as ads attacking former Sen. Max Cleland (D-GA) and the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth campaign that targeted Kerry. Later, President Clinton criticized the format of co-moderator Tim Russert's debate question about New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer's (D) proposal to allow illegal immigrants to obtain driver's licenses, saying it would "let the Republicans run an ad saying, 'All the Democrats are against the rule of law.' " At no point in the speech did Clinton accuse Democrats of swift-boating his wife; rather, he condemned Republican attacks on Democrats and the role the media play in contributing to such attacks....
Contact information:
The Washington Post
1150 15th St. NW
Washington, DC 20071
When contacting the media, please be polite and professional. Express your specific concerns regarding that particular news report or commentary, and be sure to indicate exactly what you would like the media outlet to do differently in the future.
Read more:
http://www.mediamatters.org/items/200711300004?f=h_latest