Print media report that Lieberman attacked Obama at RNC without noting he had pledged not to

Summary: Print media outlets reported Sen. Joe Lieberman's attack on Sen. Barack Obama at the Republican National Convention, including Lieberman's deceptive claim that Obama "vot[ed] to cut off funding for our troops on the ground," but did not report that the attack violated a pledge Lieberman had made not to "spend [his] time attacking Barack Obama" at the convention.

The Washington Post, The New York Times, McClatchy Newspapers, and the Associated Press all quoted Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-CT) attacking Sen. Barack Obama in a September 2 speech at the Republican National Convention but did not report that the attack violated a pledge Lieberman had made not to "spend [his] time attacking Barack Obama" at the convention. Moreover, each of those reports quoted one of Lieberman's specific attacks on Obama -- that Obama "vot[ed] to cut off funding for our troops on the ground" -- without noting that Sen. John McCain himself has voted against legislation to fund the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, or that Obama has voted in the past to provide funds for troops stationed there. As Washington Post media critic Howard Kurtz wrote: "Obama has frequently voted to finance the war but was one of 14 Senate Democrats to oppose a war-funding bill last year -- after Republicans removed troop withdrawal deadlines -- saying he did not want to be 'validating the same failed policy in Iraq.' "

All of the above media outlets quoted Lieberman saying:

"When others were silent, John McCain had the judgment to sound the alarm about the mistakes we were making in Iraq. When others wanted to retreat in defeat from the field of battle, when Barack Obama was voting to cut off funding for our troops on the ground, John McCain had the courage to stand against the tide of public opinion and support the surge, and because of that, today, our troops are at last beginning to come home, not in failure, but in honor."

Yet, as Greg Sargent documented on Talking Points Memo, on the August 3 edition of NBC's Meet the Press, Lieberman told host Tom Brokaw: "If Senator McCain feels that I can help his candidacy, which I think it's so important to elect him our next president, I will do it. But I assure you this, Tom, I'm not going to go to that convention, the Republican convention, and spend my time attacking Barack Obama. I'm going to go there really talking about why I support John McCain and why I hope a lot of other independents and Democrats will do that."

—L.K.A.