CNN’s Michael Ware has been providing excellent reports on the war in Iraq for four years, but now that he’s taken on far-right talking points directly, the far-right community has decided to take him on directly.
It started last week. John McCain made a series of ridiculous claims about conditions in Baghdad, including the notion that he could walk around parts of the city safely and Gen. Petraeus travels Baghdad “almost every day in a non-armed Humvee.” Wolf Blitzer asked Ware about McCain’s assessment, and Ware, to his credit, didn’t hold back.
“To suggest that there’s any neighborhood in this city where an American can walk freely is beyond ludicrous,” Ware said. “I’d love Senator McCain to tell me where that neighborhood is and he and I can go for a stroll. And to think that General David Petraeus travels this city in an unarmed Humvee? I mean, in the hour since Senator McCain has said this, I’ve spoken to some military sources and there was laughter down the line.”
Yesterday, the right decided it was time to smear Ware.
Yesterday, right-wing Internet gossip Matt Drudge posted an “exclusive” report — based on an anonymous, unnamed source — claiming that Ware had acted inappropriately during a weekend press conference and implying that Ware is an alcoholic:
“During a live press conference in Bagdad [sic], Senators McCain and Graham were heckled by CNN reporter Michael Ware. An official at the press conference called Ware’s conduct ‘outrageous,’ saying, ‘here you have two United States Senators in Bagdad [sic] giving first-hand reports while Ware is laughing and mocking their comments. I’ve never witnessed such disrespect. This guy is an activist not a reporter.'”
Not surprisingly, far-right blogs pounced, trumpeting Drudge’s report about Ware having “heckled” the senators during yesterday’s press conference. Echoing an implication from Drudge’s report, Power Line went so far as to suggest Ware may have been “drunk,” because that is “how he spends his time in Baghdad.”
Like practically every other right-wing scoop, all of this is wrong.
First, there was no heckling.
This morning on CNN, Ware said the attack was a fabrication: “I did not heckle the senator. Indeed, I didn’t say a word. I didn’t even ask a question. In fact, when I raised my hand to ask a question, the press conference abruptly ended.”
If a CNN correspondent was actually “laughing and mocking” senators during a press conference, at which there were multiple cameras, I suspect the footage would be widely available by now. It’s not.
Second, the notion that Ware “spends his time” getting drunk in Baghdad is foolish.
Drudge’s “exclusive” also implies that Ware is an alcoholic, quoting an appearance last year on Bill Maher’s HBO comedy show:
“Michael Ware has also publicly expressed his views on the war last year in an interview with Bill Maher, saying, ‘I’ve been given a front-row ticket to watch this slow-motion train wreck … I try to stay as drunk for as long as possible while I’m here … In fact, I’m drinking now.'”
It’s clear from the video…that Ware was joking when he talked about his drinking habits.
And lastly, Power Line concludes that Ware is “unfit to cover the war,” because he accused McCain “of bad faith and intellectual dishonesty.”
That may sound like a legitimate point, here’s the counter: what should a reporter do when there’s obvious evidence that a senator has acted in bad faith and engaged in intellectual dishonesty?
Ware is one of a small group of reporters who’s been covering the war for four years. It’s one of the most dangerous journalistic assignments on earth right now, and Ware’s life has literally been in danger several times. After a while, one suspects that bogus, dishonest talking points from shameless politicians back in the States become rather tiresome for those who see, first hand, who wrong they are.
So Ware called it like he saw it — McCain’s absurd claims are just wrong, and Ware thought it important to let viewers know that. What’s more, this wasn’t just his opinion, he asked military officials for a response to McCain’s comments and they literally laughed at the senator’s nonsense.
For this, he’s the latest target of the right-wing smear machine. It’s a shame; he’s doing the public a real service. Then again, that never stopped conservatives before.