ABC's Tapper cited immigration as example of McCain breaking with GOP, despite previously noting McCain's reversal

Summary: On ABC's World News, Jake Tapper cited immigration reform as an example of when "[Sen. John] McCain has broken with his party on controversial issues," omitting the fact, as Tapper himself has previously noted, that McCain said during a Republican presidential debate that he would no longer vote for the comprehensive reform bill he co-sponsored if it came to a vote on the Senate floor.

Despite having previously cited Sen. John McCain's statement during the January 30 Republican presidential debate that he would no longer vote for the comprehensive reform bill he co-sponsored with Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-MA) if it came to a vote on the Senate floor, ABC News senior national correspondent Jake Tapper cited immigration reform as an example of when "McCain has broken with his party on controversial issues."

During the August 12 edition of ABC's World News with Charles Gibson, Tapper played a video clip of McCain saying, "I just want to say that I have a record of reaching across the aisle ... and working with my friends, whether it be [Sen.] Joe Lieberman [I-CT] or Ted Kennedy" and cited "immigration reform" as an example of McCain breaking "with his party on controversial issues" without noting that under pressure from the Republican base, McCain reversed himself on a key component of immigration reform, now saying that "we've got to secure the borders first" -- a position at odds with his prior assertion that border security could not be disaggregated from other aspects of comprehensive immigration reform without being rendered ineffective. Nor did Tapper note, as he had previously reported, that McCain stated during a Republican primary debate that he would not vote for the immigration bill he co-sponsored.

From the August 12 edition of ABC's World News:

TAPPER: With so many voters seeking an end to partisan gridlock, both Obama and McCain have long been delivering a message of uniting the country. And they have remarkably equal appeal across the aisle. Thirteen percent of Democrats say they're likely to vote for McCain; 13 percent of Republicans prefer Obama.

OBAMA: They're called Obamacans. They're Obamacans. There's one right here.

McCAIN: I just want to say that I have a record of reaching across the aisle, of reaching across the aisle and working with my friends, whether it be Joe Lieberman or Ted Kennedy.

TAPPER: McCain has broken with his party on controversial issues such as campaign finance reform, global warming and, most recently, immigration reform, his support for which almost cost him the Republican nomination. In the Senate, Obama has teamed up with Republicans on important issues such as securing loose nukes and ethics reform, but nothing that has caused him any serious political trouble with voters.

Have you ever worked across the aisle in such a way that entailed a political risk for yourself?

OBAMA: Well, look, the -- when I was doing ethics reform legislation, for example, that wasn't popular with Democrats or Republicans. So, any time that you actually try to get something done -- something done in Washington, it entails some political risks.

—L.K.A.