NBC Attacks Suskind Book Critical of Obama But Promoted Bush-Bashing Book By Same Author

newsbusters ^ | 9/20/2011 | By Kyle Drennen

[tobyhill]

While co-host Ann Curry on Tuesday's NBC "Today" wondered if Ron Suskind's "Confidence Men" was "fact or fiction," on August 5, 2008, then-co-host Meredith Vieira touted Suskind's claim in "Way of the World" that the Bush administration's case for the Iraq war was "worse than Watergate."

Speaking of Suskind's latest work on Tuesday, Curry described how Obama administration "top officials are lining up to say they were either misquoted or taken out of context by the author." She then wondered: "Did he get the story right?"

In contrast, while Vieira noted the Bush White House labeling Suskind's book at that time "absurd and gutter journalism," she also stressed the reporter's credibility: "And now to that new bombshell book that claims the White House deliberately misled the American public about the case for war in Iraq. The author, a Pulitzer-prize winning journalist."

On Tuesday, Curry set up a report by White House correspondent Chuck Todd by emphasizing skepticism of Suskind: "We're going to begin now with that controversial new book about President Obama and the questions over its accuracy." In the report that followed, Todd explained how Obama advisors quoted in the book "all contest the book's reporting, saying their words were taken out of context or never even spoken" and that "The White House is pushing back furiously at author Suskind, even suggesting he lifted part of the book directly from the internet."

[YHAOS]

"He’s been at home watching his local news channels"

He's been home for two years and he hasn't been listening to Rush?!

There's the trouble right there.

[WestSylvanian]

I agree about NBC “news” broadcast tonight. Todd and Williams were a tag team full of concern about poor Barack. He’s being attacked by the big bad Republicans just when he is going to speak at the U.N. and New York is full of foreign leaders. He’s been “putting out political brush fires” all week and those nasty Republicans are making his life miserable. Perry is attacking him on his policies toward Israel and Barack has been trying to keep the Palestinians from pushing for recognition in the U.N. Perry, the report suggested, is just a poligical opportunist and ignoramus. The broadcast tonight started with that story—Perry unfairly attacking our dear leader. The nerve of Perry to criticize Obama! How unfair! /Sarcasm

It went on and on. These people don’t even pretend to be objective anymore. Either they think their viewers are fools, or, they’re pulling out all the stops to try to save their boy. How these frauds have any credibility with the American people is beyond me.