Wed Aug 27, 10:53 AM Pacific • posted by Jed Lewison
Even the AP thinks McCain's new smear ad is a lie
When the Associated Press calls John McCain's new smear ad "misleading" you know that it has got to be a pretty hard ad to defend.
Nonetheless, some of the media isn't getting it. CNN's Political Ticker blog initially accepted the ad's claims uncritically and even calls the ad "tough." Fortunately, CNN provided an update stating Obama "does not say that Iran does not pose a serious threat." Unfortunately, they tacked the update on the end of their post, so anyone reading just the headline and first few graphs won't get the full story.
Meanwhile, the rest of the media is coming to the conclusion that McCain's smear ad is false. For example, Politico's Ben Smith says McCain's ad takes Obama's words "fairly badly out of context." Greg Sargent of TPM says the ad "rips Obama's words out of context." Politico's Jonathan Martin is a bit weaker, but still says the ad "takes some liberties with the quote they attribute to Obama." And ABC's Jake Tapper had previously called the ad "dishonest."