CBS Edits Hillary Clinton Quote to Sound Less Divisive, Skips 'Right-Wing Machine'

CBS, the Rathergate network, offered up another misleading report. The August 8 edition of "The Early Show,"at 7:09 AM, edited a Hillary Clinton quote from the August 7 AFL-CIO debate to portray her as a populist.

JOIE CHEN: Front-runner Clinton also came up against sharp elbows with rivals accusing her of cozying up to big-money lobbyists. Before thousands of union members, the New York Senator sought to portray herself as champion of the little guy.

CLINTON: So if you want a winner who knows how to take them on, I'm your girl.

What she actually said was in the context of her preference in attacking the Republicans. The full quote is much more divisive than portraying herself "as champion of the little guy."

"For 15 years I have stood up against the right-wing machine and I've come out stronger. So if you want a winner who knows how to take them on, I'm your girl."

"Good Morning America" and "Today" both provided the full Senator Clinton’s quote in full context. "Good Morning America" ran the sound bite likewise.

STEPHANOPOULOS: Senator Clinton fired back, saying Democrats should not be fighting Democrats.

SENATOR HILLARY CLINTON: That, for 15 years, I have stood up against the right-wing machine and I've come out stronger. So if you want a winner who knows how to take them on, I'm your girl.

"Today" also accurately portrayed it in the same light.

CHIP REID: Moderator Keith Olberman, of MSNBC, gave Clinton a chance to respond but she said she'd rather focus her attacks on Republicans.

CLINTON: For 15 years I have stood up against the right-wing machine and I've come out stronger. So if you want a winner who knows how to take them on, I'm your girl.

Even though it was a Democratic debate, "The Early Show" managed to fit in, for the second time this week, attacks on Rudy Giuliani’s family. Upon speaking to John Harris of "Politico," host Julie Chen brought up the latest tensions between Rudy Giuliani and his daughter Caroline.

CHEN: What about Rudy Giuliani?

HARRIS: Rudy Giuliani is in somewhat of a similar situation. He leads in Republican polls. Yet it's not at all clear that in these first early contests come January he can maintain that in the crucial early contests.

CHEN: While on the topic of Giuliani, he had to come out and publicly address the fact his 17-year-old daughter appears to be a supporter of Barack Obama. How do you think he's doing and handling that?

HARRIS: Well, it's an awkward situation. As has been written about pretty extensively, the Giuliani family is under a lot of stress. His children, by all accounts, are not speaking with him, or at least not often. They're not actively campaigning for him. I think most Americans do tend to want to give a large zone of privacy around difficult family situations. We certainly saw that in the Clinton years during the whole Lewinsky scandal. Rudy Giuliani has the got to hope that people will afford him a similar buffer of privacy. His family life clearly is under a lot of stress and that is something the campaign recognizes as a potential vulnerability.