Howard Kurtz Falsely Claims Ed Schultz Apologized for Accusing Rick Perry of Racist Attack on Obama

As NewsBusters reported, MSNBC's Ed Schultz last week admitted deceptively editing a Rick Perry speech, but he never apologized to the Texas governor for using the doctored video to accuse him of making a racist remark about President Obama.

Howard Kurtz, ironically on CNN's "Reliable Sources" Sunday, falsely claimed, "To his credit, Schultz acknowledged his mistake and apologized" (video follows with transcript and commentary):

HOWARD KURTZ, HOST: Rick Perry can be loose with his words, but the pundits better be careful about going beyond those words. There's plenty of room to scrutinize the Texas governor without resorting to misleading editing.

Here's a clip of what Perry had to say this week about the federal debt.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. RICK PERRY (R-TX), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Getting America back to work is the most important issue that faces this country, being able to pay off $14.5 trillion or $16 trillion worth of debt. That big black cloud that hangs over America, that debt that is so monstrous --

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KURTZ: And here's how it appeared on MSNBC on "The Ed Schultz Show."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PERRY: Getting America back to work is the most important issue that faces this country, being able to pay off $14.5 trillion or $16 trillion worth of debt. That big black cloud that hangs over America --

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SCHULTZ: That black cloud Perry is talking about is President Barack Obama.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KURTZ: No he wasn't. The very next words, as Andrew Breitbart's Web site pointed out, were "that debt." By cutting off the tape, Schultz seemed to be suggesting it was some kind of racial reference.

Perry may be blaming Obama for the debt, just like every other Republican, but he wasn't calling the president a black cloud. Instead, it was a black mark on the MSNBC program.

To his credit, Schultz acknowledged his mistake and apologized.

No, he acknowledged his mistake, but never apologized to Perry for accusing him of making a racist remark about Obama.

Here's the transcript from Tuesday's "The Ed Show":

SCHULTZ: Now, last night, we played a clip of Governor Perry talking about the debt being a black cloud over this country. We did not present the full context of those statements and we should have. Here’s the full clip. Let’s get it right. Here’s a full clip.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PERRY: I’m a pro-business governor. I don’t make any apologies about it, and I will be a pro-business president. Getting America back to work is the most important issue that faces this country, being able to pay off $14.5 trillion or $16 trillion worth of debt. That big black cloud that hangs over America, that debt that is so monstrous -- there’s only one way you get rid of it that’s practical, that makes sense, and that is to free up America. Free up American entrepreneurs.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHULTZ: No doubt about it, it was a mistake, and we regret the error. On this particular statement, we should not have included it on our coverage of his overheated rhetoric. That’s our mistake.

You see the words "I apologize" or "I'm sorry?"

No. Neither do I.

Yet this is what Kurtz presented to his viewers Sunday. Why?

Shouldn't he have instead held Schultz's feet to the fire for editing the governor's speech to make him look racist and refusing to apologize for doing so?

Once again, it is truly ironic the name of this show is "Reliable Sources" for Kurtz was anything but during this segment.

Shame on you, Howie. You're supposed to bust people for this kind of egregious journalistic error not assist them in getting away with it.