An alert reader spotted Suzanne Malveaux engaging in a little revisionist history on Tuesday’s edition of “Lou Dobbs Tonight” on CNN. In a report on Michael Chertoff, President Bush’s new choice to head homeland security, Malveaux said the following:
Bush aides say privately Chertoff is a compromise, considered by administration officials as the anti-Kerik, a reference to President Bush’s first pick, former New York police commissioner Bernie Kerik, who withdrew his nomination after the White House vetting process raised questions.
There are plenty of explanations for why Kerik withdrew himself from consideration — the illegal nanny, extramarital affairs, purported mob connections, conflicts of interest — but the White House vetting process was not among them.
Malveaux’s report may well reflect what the White House wishes had happened, but it doesn’t have much to do with reality.
–Brian Montopoli
Brian Montopoli is a writer at CJR Daily.