Zahn to Biden: "Your party is getting creamed as the party of cut-and-runners, the wobbly, the weak"

Summary: CNN's Paula Zahn told Sen. Joe Biden that the Democratic Party is "getting creamed as the party of cut-and-runners, the wobbly, the weak," adding: "[D]o you understand why that divisiveness compromises the credibility of your party?"

During an interview with Sen. Joseph R. Biden Jr. (D-DE) on the June 20 edition of CNN's Paula Zahn Now, Zahn claimed that the Democratic Party is "getting creamed as the party of cut-and-runners, the wobbly, the weak." Noting that Senate Democrats have offered different proposals for withdrawing troops from Iraq, Zahn then asked Biden: "[D]o you understand why that divisiveness compromises the credibility of your party?"

As Media Matters for America has noted, Zahn has previously stated that there are many people who are "out there saying ... if you vote for a Democrat, that basically you want to be bombed."

Zahn offered no support for her assertion that the Democrats are "getting creamed" as a result of the debate within the party, or that their "credibility" is compromised. As Media Matters has noted, in fact, the backers of the two Democratic proposals are united in their belief that the U.S. should withdraw from Iraq, and their belief is shared by a majority of Americans.

From the June 20 edition of CNN's Paula Zahn Now:

ZAHN: Your party is getting creamed as the party of cut-and- runners, the wobbly, the weak. Some Democrats want the immediate withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq. Some think they should be out a year from now. And some think setting a timetable, period, is irresponsible. So, do you understand why that divisiveness compromises the credibility of your party?

BIDEN: Well, I don't think it does compromise the credibility. I understand the divisiveness, because they look at a united Republican Party in a failed policy.

—B.F.