The Occasional Observer

CNN can't be trusted, episode #983.

Just saw this over at Race 4 2008 from the classy Kavon, who is a big Rudy supporter and also happens to run the best '08 GOP blog around:

And speaking of CNN… Let me give you reason #478,399 to reevaluate whatever stock or faith that you may place in their reporting.

At the Dubuque “Ask Mitt Anything” Q&A, Anne Romney took a rather violent fall as the part of the stage that she was standing on collapsed as she concluded her remarks.

Mrs. Romney regained her composure almost immediately and assured the shocked audience that she was OK. She calmly returned to her seat and beamed at her husband as he continued his speech.

She mingled with the crowd afterwards and singed every autograph, answered every question, and posed for every picture showing absolutely no signs that the fall had caused her the slightest injury.

So imagine me and Dr. Fuller’s surprise as we read a CNN report that was filed shortly after the event which described the accident as Anne Romney misjudging the edge of the stage leading to her fall; then going on in great detail about her diagnosis and struggle with MS. The implication of course, was that her MS was somehow the cause of the fall.

Now that version of the story has since been pulled and replaced with a new one. Here’s the new version filed by CNN’s “American Morning” anchor John Roberts:

DUBUQUE, Iowa (CNN)–At an “Ask Mitt anything” event at the Best Western in Dubuque, Iowa on Saturday, Ann Romney fell to the floor as she stepped off a small stage she was sharing with her husband. She recovered quickly, quipping that she was bucked off a horse earlier in the week and that this fall didn’t compare to that. The stage was only a few inches high.

She later made light of the tumble, joking to me “I fell on da butt in Dubuque”.

The campaign said that she fell because of “stage failure”. One of the legs of the riser folded up as she stepped toward the edge.

Ann Romney suffers from multiple sclerosis, which is in remission.

Now let me ask you this: what on Earth does Mrs. Romney having a stage collapse under her have to do with her suffering from MS? It is bad enough that CNN erroneously implied that her fall was somehow the result of her condition (and let me assure you, I was 5 yards from Anne Romney with a clear line of site when this happened. It was clear to everyone in the room that the stage collapsed from under her. Not that she misjudged, or somehow could not control the movement of her legs.)

So why is the fact that she has MS still in the corrected story?