As Thinkprogress has noted, the firing of Gen John Batiste for speaking out on the Iraq War has been a complete disgrace. Their given rationale is that his advocacy against Bush's Iraq Strategy has undermined the viewers ability to see his analysis as "unbiased and objective" according to Linda Mason, CBS News Vice President, Standards and Special Projects:
"When we hire someone as a consultant, we want them to share their expertise with our viewers," she said. "By putting himself front and center in an anti-Bush ad, the viewer might have the feeling everything he says is anti-Bush. And that doesn’t seem like an analytical approach to the issues we want to discuss."
I'm sorry but such an opinion on the viewers part would be highly prejudicial would it not? Rather than take steps to prove such bigotry wrong, by pointing out that Batiste is a lifelong Republican, CBS has instead chosen to give in and confirm that view with their decision.
Nice.
It's also interesting to note that CBS News continues to maintain several pro-Bush War advocates on it's staff, but has yet to question their objectivity.
The sheer level of hypocritical B.S. coming from CBS on this issue has been staggering. While they've fired Batiste, CBS continues to keep former White House communications director and consultant to the McCain campaign, Nicholle Wallace on the payroll. Here are a few examples of Wallace's "Objectiveness":
"The Democrats have to walk a fine line and be careful. People don’t want to turn on the TV and see every story being about the obstruction of people trying to do things." [Washington Post, 3/7/07]
"Well, you know, people ask me all the time, ‘Do they [in the White House] get it? Do they get how bad things are?’ And the answer is yes." [CBS Evening News, 12/12/06]
At the end of the day, no matter how discontent some voters are, they really don’t want to see Democrats in control of the Congress. [CBS Evening News, 10/23/06]
And here are some of Wallace's statements on McCain:
I think, one, there is John McCain and there is everybody else. Nobody else running for president or thinking about running for president is even in a category of suggesting or proposing policy that any commander in chief is considering adapting. And I think John McCain himself addressed the political perils this week when he came out in all his interviews and said, 'You know, everyone knows I have presidential aspirations, but let’s put all that aside and do right by the men and women of our military.’ And I think that is the essence of who he his and what his campaign will be about. [CBS Saturday, 1/6/07]
Yeah well, You outta know Nicolle.
But Wallace isn't alone in her blatant partisanship, there's also CBS Military analysis Michael O'Hanlon who has openly advocated his support for Bush's Surge Strategy in Iraq. From the Washington Post via TPM.
President Bush's plan for a surge of American troops in Iraq has run into a brick wall of congressional opposition. Critics rightly argue that it may well be too little, way too late. But for a skeptical Congress and nation, it is still the right thing to try -- as long as we do not count on it succeeding and we start working on backup plans even as we grant Bush his request...
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