Blogoland

It's going to be interesting to see how this turns out. Seems the brightest lights in right-blogistan are getting exercised over CNN reporter Michael Ware, who was described by that estimable chronicler of facts, Matt Drudge, as "laughing and mocking" Sens. Lindsey Graham and John McCain as the two held a press conference in Baghdad.

Unhelpfully, Drudge provides neither transcript nor a video to this really terrible act, so all we have to rely on is the second-hand, anonymous telling of the incident by what I'm sure is a disinterested "official" at the press conference. I guess the official was so steamed that he couldn't even conjure a quote or two to show us just how reprehensible Ware was.

Such sketchy reporting, however, has not stopped several brilliant individuals from tutting their tuts and actually embroidering the alleged incident [read here to see how InstaPundit's emailer characterizes an incident he's apparently never witnessed as "screaming"]. Or suggesting -- in a very professional way -- that Ware was drunk at the time.

Of course, what many of the critics of right-wingistan fail to realize -- Ware's "an activist, not a reporter!" they, ahem, shriek -- is that Ware had no problem lambasting Dems for wanting to set an arbitrary date for withdrawl.

And here's the best, "let's smear em all" from those beacons of credibilty, the Power Line:

Having publicly committed himself to the proposition that everything that happens in Iraq is a disaster, having publicly ridiculed those who pointed to optimistic developments, how can anyone trust that Ware's future reporting is giving us anything like the straight story from Iraq? And what does his conduct say about his employer, CNN? How much confidence can we have in their reporting from Baghdad, or anywhere else?

Hilarious. To that, I would only add: the memo was not a fake, so why don't we try to keep that "How can we ever trust them again" stuff in check, eh?

Also, here's CNN's version of the press conference.

UPDATE: To make it clear, it's entirely possible that Ware acted like a buffoon. But what struck me is how eagerly righty blogs lapped up Drudge's incredibly thin (and as Tbogg notes, extremely bogus-sounding) reportage.

ADDED: I can't believe an actual news organization picked up the Drudge crap. Here is KUTV in Salt Lake. Read it to believe. And I love this line:

As of Sunday night, KUTV.com was unaware of a response from the Cable News
Network regarding the report.

Alert to geniuses at KUTV: Call CNN if you're going to run an unsubtantiated smear by Drudge. Pick up a phone. You are a news organization. You try to ascertain a reasonable facsimile of the truth. You are not Drudge's press agent. "Unaware of a response...?!!!" Pathetic.