Congress had the same access to intelligence as the president of the United States...? Not true...? Of course...

this story has been out there for several days now but leave it to media matters to put all the pieces together for the record...

Of course, it isn't true that, say, for example, some obscure junior member of Congress had the same access to intelligence as the president of the United States. The claim that they did is so obviously, laughably false, it's hard to believe anyone could take it seriously. Yet, the false claim appeared in every major news organization in the country, over and over again. Some reports merely quoted it without rebutting it; interviewers failed to challenge guests who made the false claim; media figures adopted the obviously false spin as fact; and news reports watered down Bush's claim, thus avoiding having to correct it.

Media repetition of the claim without debunking it has been nearly constant. A few of the many examples:

* The Los Angeles Times reported on November 17 that "[i]n two recent speeches, President Bush disputed Democratic charges that the White House had manipulated the available intelligence to build support for invading Iraq. The president said Democrats now leveling accusations had access to the same intelligence he did before they voted to authorize military force in Iraq." Nowhere did the Times even indicate that Democrats disputed the "same intelligence" line -- much less note that it was simply false.
* On Fox News, Charles Krauthammer declared "Everybody looked at the same intelligence and had the same conclusion. I think it is a very strong counterattack and the Democrats are going to have a lot of explaining to do."
* A Washington Times editorial headlined, "A belated response to the Big Lie," approvingly quoted Bush: "Speaking to a gathering of veterans in Tobyhanna, Pa., the president noted that when he decided to oust Saddam, 'more than 100 Democrats in the House and Senate, who had access to the same intelligence, voted to support removing Saddam Hussein from power.' "
* A November 11 New York Times article reported, "The White House's effort to stop the erosion is centered on defining the president's critics as Democrats who voted for the war based on the same intelligence Mr. Bush saw but have switched positions, often under pressure from their party's left wing." Readers were given no clue that this claim was false.

to paraphrase a line i often used in corporate life, when we start believing what the bush administration says, that's when we should REALLY start to be worried...

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