CNN's Kyra Phillips On GAO Report: "Everybody Is Really Wanting To Hear From General Petraeus"
September 4, 2007 -- 6:22 PM EST // //
Oh, man, this is an unsightly one indeed.
Take a look at this video of CNN's Kyra Phillips reporting today on the big GAO report finding that the Iraqi government has only met three of 18 benchmarks for measuring political progress. Phillips wonders whether this really carries any "weight," and goes on to state as fact that "everybody" is "really wanting" to hear from Petraeus:
Here's what Phillips said:
And also, you mentioned General Petraeus, waiting for his report. He's the man on the ground, really running the show. So does this really hold weight when everybody is really wanting to hear from General Petraeus and what he has to say?Amusingly, the on-air reporter, Jessica Yellin, then gently lets Phillips in on the fact that she's just slipped into a particularly over-the-top GOP talking point:
YELLIN: Well, that's exactly what the Republican position is here, that General Petraeus really is the driving force here. And Democrats will acknowledge that, as well.Actually, lots of Dems wouldn't concede that Petraeus is the only driving force here, but at least the reporter explained the merits of the GAO report to Phillips and her viewers.But the GAO report does give a balancing force, if you will, because it's done by an independent branch of Congress. They're investigators. And so you can say there is absolutely no political interference. That's the position some will take.
Look, this is serious business, kiddies. The GOP is desperate to undercut this thing because it threatens to overshadow the Gospel According to Petraeus. So the Republicans' spin today is that the GAO report's methodology is flawed and that nobody will grant this nonpartisan, Congressionally-mandated report the level of credibility that they'll grant General Petraeus' assessment...of his own performance.
This despite the fact that Republicans themselves overwhelmingly voted for the Iraq supplemental spending bill that mandated this GAO report and mandated that it hold the Iraqis to strict benchmarks.
Gotta hope that the coverage and punditry on this tomorrow gives readers and viewers at least a bit of this key context, rather than telling the story exactly the way the GOP wants it told by reflexively assuming that "everybody" will automatically grant Petraeus' report greater weight and cred. Gotta hope.
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