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White House rips NYT for ‘misleading’ editorial |
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By Klaus Marre
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Posted: 05/26/08 01:31 PM [ET] |
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The White House on Monday blasted The New York Times for “irresponsibly distort[ing] President Bush’s strong commitment to strengthening and expanding support for America’s service members and their families.” In an editorial on a new GI Bill, which passed the Senate ahead of recess, and Bush’s opposition to the legislation as written, the paper said that “having saddled the military with a botched, unwinnable war, having squandered soldiers’ lives and failed them in so many ways, the commander in chief now resists giving the troops a chance at better futures out of uniform.” The White House reacted quickly and strongly. “This editorial could not be farther from the truth about the president’s record of leadership on this issue,” White House Press Secretary Dana Perino said in a statement. She added that the newspaper’s editorial board “doesn’t let the facts get in the way of expressing its vitriolic opinions - no matter how misleading they may be.” Perino noted that the Pentagon has “specific concerns” about the legislation that was passed in the Senate, pointing out that the White House supports a GOP-sponsored version of the measure. In addition, she touted several steps Bush has taken to help service members and their families. The criticism of The New York Times is the second time this month that the White House has aggressively gone after media outlets. White House counselor Ed Gillespie earlier this month had blasted NBC News for how it edited an interview with Bush and for quietly ending its practice of referring to the internal strife in Iraq as a “civil war” even though the network made a big deal out of its decision to label the conflict as such in 2006. |
