Watch the whole thing from which Charlie Gibson drew a partial comment out of context in order to make it say something Palin did NOT say:
In case you missed it, let me reproduce the relevant portions that Gibson either wittingly or stupidly twisted, with significant the words Gibson left out or glossed over with paraphrase:
” Pray for our military men and women who are striving to do what is right. Also, for this country, that our leaders, our national leaders, are sending [U.S. soldiers] out on a task that is from God… That’s what we have to make sure that we’re praying for, that there is a plan and that that plan is God’s plan.”
So, either Charlie Gibson did not actually listen to Palin’s comments or read a transcript or understand what he heard or read OR he did and deliberately edited her comments to twist them. Those words are plainly and clearly a conditional statement, anexhortation to pray for our national leaders to chose a path approved by God, to make their plan for Iraq line up with a Godly purpose.
That’s been a perfectly normal Christian thing to do for a couple of millennia–actually longer given Christian acceptance of the Jewish scripture as authoritative and such injunctions as to the Jews in captivity in pagan Babylon demand that the captives,
“Seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord on its behalf; for in its welfare you will have welfare.” Jeremiah 29:7
And, among other passages in the New Testament exhorting Christians to be good citizens, Paul wrote to a young pastor concerning his new pastorate,
“1 I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men;
“2 For kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty.”–I Timothy 2: 1-2
Sarah Palin’s exhortation to pray THAT our leaders plan in agreement with God’s will is no statement of belief that their plans already are.
Any other reading of it is either disingenuous or stupid.
Therefore, Charlie Gibson is either an idiot (for not carefully listening to or reading her actual words or because of his inability to understand plain English) OR he is a liar for taking bits out of context and twisting them to say what she did not.
Either way, unless he recants his slander (that’s “lieing accusation”)–or ABC slaps him upside the head hard–ABC will be on my list of banned networks, just as CBS has been ever since Rathergate.
h.t. STACLU
UPDATE: OK, I’m going with option 3, that is, Gibson is a fool AND a liar. And the Mass Media Podpeople who’ve (that’ve? After all, their actual humanity is lessened the more deeply they’re absorbed into the Collective… ) jumped on this and other Gibson-Palin points, as noted by Bill Dyer (Beldar) guest Blogging at Hugh Hewitt’s place, about her “Bush Doctrine” NON-gaffe:
Anyone who criticizes Sarah Palin, then, for asking Charlie Gibson to be more specific about the “Bush Doctrine” is trying to mislead you in at least two ways:
They’re pretending that the term “Bush Doctrine” has a single clear, unambiguous meaning that anyone who follows national affairs ought to have immediately recognized. It doesn’t, as I think this post and the materials I’ve linked here more than adequately establish.
They’re pretending that because Gov. Palin didn’t immediately try to guess which of several plausible meanings Gibson meant to give that term, but instead asked for clarification, she therefore must have been unprepared to discuss any of them. Gov. Palin herself disproved that premise, because upon receiving the requested clarification, she immediately responded with clarity and self-assurance.
If they had bothered to look, even the Wikipedia could have cured Josh Marshall, Greg Sargent, or Andrew Sullivan of their illusion that there’s a single, simple meaning to the term “Bush Doctrine.”
Yeh, I think I’ll stick with “Charlie Gibson and other Mass Media Podpeople Hivemind Spores of its ilk are fools and liars.”
Trackposted to The Pink Flamingo, , CORSARI D’ITALIA, Democrat=Socialist, Right Truth, and The World According to Carl, thanks to Linkfest Haven Deluxe.
When has accuracy been a priority in reports about conservatives from ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN and their spin-offs? Why should anyone be shocked at Gibson’s actions? By now, reasonably intelligent people with even a smidgeon of common sense knows those networks’ news programs are overwhelmingly liberal, overwhelmingly pro-Obama and overwhelmingly anti-conservative. The liberal bias has been shown in several scientific studies and in recent months many reporters and anchors feel safe enough to let the pretense of journalistic ethics drop.
Carl,
As I think you may be able to infer *cough* from the label I’ve consistently given what others innacurately call the “Mainstream Media” I think your comments are a bit weak. *heh* The Mass Media Podpeople Hivemind does not simply lie about putative conservatives (most of whom are not, BTW–conservatives, that is), it routinely lies about just about everything in order to project a worldview that distorts reality to match their “reality-based fantasy” world. In everything from the weather (“The sky is falling! The Sky is falling! Oh Algore save us!”) to recipes and beyond! the Hivemind dishes up a daily fare of non-calorie sweetened, low-fat poison. It can’t help itself. It’s what it is.
BTW#2: I was surprised at how weakly Palin defended herself against Gibson’s lies. All she needed to say was, “No, CHarlie, I did not say that. What I did say was… ” quote herself and then add, “And frankly, your inablity to understand what I said puzzles me. Haven’t you ever prayed for a family member to get well from an illness or some such prayer? “God, make Aunt Sally well” is the same kind of prayer as “God, make our plans your plans,” and if you can’t see the difference, I’ll pray for you, Charlie, that you can.”
*heh* That would’ve put his knickers in a twist.
I’ll take LIAR for 500 Alex.
Actually, the “either or” is a false dihotomy, since I really do believe Gibson has adequately demonstrated that he is BOTH a liar AND a fool.
I’m wondering why McCain’s camp chose Charlie Gibson for the first interview? Perhaps because he is the most moderate of the MSM? At least that’s what they thought, that he would be fair. I don’t even think his friend Britt Hume expected Gibson to be as condescending and judgmental as he was.