# Russert's role in the lead up to the war

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russerts-role-in-the-lead-up-to-the-war/453209>\
**Category:** Great Debates\
**Created:** [June 17, 2008, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russerts-role-in-the-lead-up-to-the-war/453209 "2008-06-17T14:38:27Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 4

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\
**Post date:** [June 18, 2008, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russerts-role-in-the-lead-up-to-the-war/453209/61 "2008-06-18T00:00:31Z")

</div>

[QUOTE=John Mace]  
…No one shut down those newspapers for being “unpatriotic”…  
[/QUOTE]

[Snotty, pointless nitpick] Tim R didn’t work for a newspaper… [/S,PN]

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![jshore](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/b5e925/32.png) [@jshore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jshore)\
**Post date:** [June 18, 2008, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russerts-role-in-the-lead-up-to-the-war/453209/62 "2008-06-18T01:03:36Z")

</div>

[QUOTE=John Mace]  
They were afraid to refrence their own articles? Something anyone could look up in an archive on the internet? Sounds very dubious to me.  
[/quote]

Well, it is your guess as much as mine why they chose to report it the way they did. However, the fact that they did this speaks for itself.

> [@](#):
>
> I dunno. That link looked more like a complaint that the newspapers weren’t reporting things the way that organization wanted them to. Hey, I wish the newspapers would report things exactly the way I want, too! I don’t buy into the idea that just because a paper reported a story a certain way 3 years ago, they are obligated to reference that report every time new developments occur.

So, you think that it is perfectly good media practice for the media to report the seemingly wild allegations of someone who does not have much credibility merely as allegations when they know that these allegations are not actually just allegations but are statements of fact?

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Zoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a4c791/32.png) [@Zoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zoe)\
**Post date:** [June 18, 2008, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russerts-role-in-the-lead-up-to-the-war/453209/63 "2008-06-18T01:05:02Z")

</div>

How quickly some people fault others with a “lie” when it can be understood as an uncorrected error much more easily. Does it strike many of you that Tim Russert was one to knowingly perpetuate lies about such a serious situation? For what purpose?

He didn’t hesitate to hold Cheney’s feet to the fire later for misleading the country.

[Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russerts-role-in-the-lead-up-to-the-war/453209.md?page=3)