Thanks, but no thanks to NPR reporting

National Public Radio (and others) continues to misstate its conclusion on the "Bridge to Nowhere." Starting to remind me of 2004 when MSM outlets continually misstated that the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth claims had been "discredited."

THE ANTI-PALIN CRUSADE CONTINUES AT NPR
National Public Radio (NPR) is continuing its crusade against Sarah Palin over her statement that as Governor of Alaska she told Congress "thanks, but no thanks" for the Bridge to Nowhere. Today, NPR again suggested that Palin's claim inaccurate and lamented the fact that Palin continues to assert it even after journalists have "cried foul" (NPR seems to think that Republican campaign rhetoric requires the MSM's seal of approval). And it trotted out a retired newsman, Jack Nelson formerly of the LA Times, to call Palin's claim "a lie."

It's true that when Palin uses her "thanks, but no thanks" line she omits certain information -- her initial support for the project, the fact that Congress revoked the earmark, and the fact that Bridge had become an embarrassment by the time Palin nixed it. But the fact remains that nothing Congress did would have prevented Alaska from using federal money to build the bridge. It was Palin who stopped this from happening.

Thus, while Palin's statement might cause an audience to overrate her when it comes to the bridge (as some of Obama's statements would cause an audience to overrate significantly his legislative achievements), her statement is not inaccurate, and certainly is not a lie. By contrast, NPR has claimed that Congress killed the Bridge to Nowhere. As noted, that claim is inaccurate.

This is very simple. She killed the project. That's the way the news media reported it at the time. If you don't believe it, go to Alaska and look for the bridge. It's not there.

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2008 election, Barack Obama, journalism, liberals, Sarah Palin