On Tuesday, Michelle Kosinski and Gabe LaMonica at CNN provided those who believe that the nation's establishment press has permanently crossed the line into the kind of behavior we used to see at the old Soviet Union's Pravda and Izvestia with plenty of corroborating evidence.
They did so by calling a White House transcript of a speech by President Barack Obama containing an obvious cover-up "corrected" (bolds are mine):
White House corrects record on 'unpaid bills'
The White House has issued on Tuesday a corrected official transcript of a speech President Barack Obama gave Monday at a Democratic fundraiser in Chicago to include a joke he made about having unpaid bills.
Reporters attending the event heard the president joke about his move from his Chicago home, once he was elected president: "One of the nice things about being home is actually that it's a little bit like a time capsule. Because Michelle and I and the kids, we left so quickly that there's still junk on my desk, including some unpaid bills (laughter) -- I think eventually they got paid -- but they're sort of stacked up. And messages, newspapers and all kinds of stuff."
But when the official transcript was released later by the White House, the bit about the unpaid bills was missing, and without explanation: "there's still junk on my desk, including some -- newspapers and all kinds of stuff. "
Now, a day later, the White House says that part was inaudible in the recording the stenographers use to make the transcript.
The updated version of the transcript, however, still does not correct the record with the actual words Obama used.
It indicates the portion the White House press office says was unclear on the tape: "Michelle and I and the kids, we left so quickly that there's still junk on my desk, including some -- *(inaudible) -- newspapers and all kinds of stuff."
So the CNN pair is telling us that the "correction" the White House made to characterize what people clearly heard as "inaudible" for the historical record hasn't been "corrected" to include what he actually said.
I can't believe I must write this but ... that means that the White House's "correction" isn't a correction at all. It's the very definition of a cover-up, i.e., "any action, stratagem, or other means of concealing or preventing investigation or exposure."
CNN's reporting in this instance — especially the headline, which would lead the average reader who doesn't move on to the content to believe that a correction to the "record" was properly and accurately made — also fits that textbook definition.
A Republican or conservative presidential administration attempting such a stunt, even allowing it to be present for a short time, would be subject to endless — and deserved — ridicule and outrage.
If they can't even tell the truth about a relatively small matter like this, imagine how much else the nation's press is willing to distort and conceal in the name of protecting Dear Leader.
Cross-posted at BizzyBlog.com.
