CNN on 'the al Qaeda candidate'

An email message today from Tom McMahon, Executive Director, Democratic National Committee. He's absolutely right — members of the news media have an obligation to call bullshit when they see it.

Here's what a CNN Headline News anchor asked a Washington journalist on Friday during an interview about the British terror arrests:

"How does this factor into the Lieberman-Lamont contest in Connecticut? Might some argue, as some have, that Lamont is the al Qaeda candidate?"

You would expect this kind of disgusting and inappropriate suggestion from someone more like Dick Cheney. In fact, it was Dick Cheney who said last week that electing people who question the Republican war in Iraq encourages "the al Qaeda types".

The anchor later apologized to Lamont for misquoting Cheney -- but then went on to question Lamont about the same ridiculous accusation. He's not alone -- commentators and journalists have mindlessly repeated Cheney's remarks over and over again, reporting on it or inquiring about it over the past week as if it's a real question for debate.

Journalists have a responsibility to do more than regurgitate the most desperate and most extreme talking points. When journalists allow these defamatory and un-American suggestions to infect their coverage of the news, we have to act swiftly to call on them to stop it.

Democrats offer a new direction. We'll do a better job of fighting the war on terror by taking the target off the backs of American troops in Iraq; we'll get serious about capturing or killing Osama bin Laden; and we'll be ready for threats to our safety and security here at home, whether it's terrorism or hurricanes. We'll sit down with journalists and answer the tough questions about our nation's security any time -- but there's no excuse for resorting to repeating desperate Republican talking points.

Write to your local newspaper and let them know where Democrats stand, and that we're not going to allow our party and our candidates to be smeared.

http://www.democrats.org/speakout

Blogging about it will help, too.

Later: Correspondent Chuck Roberts apologizes.