NY Times Twists Bush Quote - Says 'Sheehan Emboldening Terrorists'

Elisabeth Bumiller's at it again...

As Brit Hume pointed out in his FOX News broadcast today,  the NY Times reported that the President said protesters like Cindy Sheehan were weakening the United States and emboldening terrorists. Here's NY Times writer, Elisabeth Bumiller's, direct quote:

"Mr. Bush has been careful not to go on a direct attack against a publicly grieving mother like Ms. Sheehan, and has pointed out that he met with her once already, in 2004, and that he has sympathy for her and her right to protest. Still, he said last week that protesters like her were weakening the United States and emboldening terrorists, and vowed that he would not immediately withdraw all American troops from Iraq, as she has demanded."

Speaking to members of the Idaho National Guard and their families, what the President actually said was: 

“An immediate withdrawal of our troops in Iraq, or the broader Middle East, as some have called for, would only embolden the terrorists and create a staging ground to launch more attacks against America and free nations."

Also, Bumiller opened her August 29, 2005 article entitled, "In the Struggle Over the Iraq War, Women Are on the Front Line," with "As President Bush traveled around the country last week, he got caught up in a battle of women," saying he tried to counter the protesting women by using another mother in his speech...Ms. Pruett, whose story appeared on CNN last week, has four sons in Iraq serving in the National Guard and a husband and a fifth son who have returned from Iraq, of whom Bush said, "America lives in freedom because of families like the Pruetts."

Interestingly, Bumiller failed to mention that Ms. Pruett was in the Idaho audience when the President referred to her, but rather chose to quote Sheehan devotees who pointed out that Ms. Pruett's sons were still alive and therefore shouldn't be compared to mothers who had lost theirs.

Sharon Hughes is a Radio Talk Show Host heard on KDIA in San Francisco and  RIGHTALK.com. Her weekly column apears in many recognized news sites. Sharon's blog: Veritas