Moos distorts Clinton's 60 Minutes comments, blames Obama's middle name -- which she was among first to highlight -- for false perception that he's Muslim

Summary: On The Situation Room, Jeanne Moos conducted a "quiz" of people on the street and asserted that Sen. Hillary Clinton "got the answer right when 60 Minutes asked, you don't believe Barack Obama is a Muslim?" But Moos went on to misrepresent Clinton's response by broadcasting only a portion of Clinton's answers on 60 Minutes.

During the March 17 edition of CNN's The Situation Room, national news correspondent Jeanne Moos conducted a "quiz" of people on the street and asserted that Sen. Hillary Clinton "got the answer right when 60 Minutes asked, you don't believe Barack Obama is a Muslim?" But Moos went on to misrepresent Clinton's response by broadcasting only a portion of Clinton's response to correspondent Steve Kroft's questions during the March 2 edition of CBS' 60 Minutes. Moos aired only one comment Clinton made in which she said: "No, there is nothing to base that on, as far as I know." Moos then showed a video clip in which Wall Street Journal columnist Peggy Noonan emphasized the latter portion of Clinton's response: "Oh, as far as I know." In fact, as Media Matters for America has repeatedly documented as a result of similar distortions by the media, Clinton's first three words in response to Kroft's initial question -- "You don't believe that Senator Obama is a Muslim?" -- was, "Of course not." Moreover, Clinton made clear that she equated the false rumor that Obama is a Muslim with "ridiculous rumors" that have circulated about her.

From the March 2 edition of CBS' 60 Minutes:

KROFT: You don't believe that Senator Obama is a Muslim?

CLINTON: Of course not. I mean, that's -- you know, there is no basis for that. You know, I take him on the basis of what he says. And, you know, there isn't any reason to doubt that.

KROFT: And you said you'd take Senator Obama at his word that he's not a Muslim.

CLINTON: Right. Right.

KROFT: You don't believe that he's a Muslim --

CLINTON: No. No. Why would I? There's no --

KROFT: -- or implying, right?

CLINTON: No, there is nothing to base that on, as far as I know.

KROFT: It's just scurrilous --

CLINTON: Look, I have been the target of so many ridiculous rumors. I have a great deal of sympathy for anybody who gets, you know, smeared with the kind of rumors that go on all the time.

During her report, Moos also noted that "in a recent NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll, 13 percent still thought Obama is a Muslim." When Moos later asked an unidentified man and woman to identify Obama's religion, the woman responded, "Muslim." Moos then asked, "Why do you think he's a Muslim?" The man responded: "Barack Hussein Obama." Moos then said, "Ah, that name." But as Media Matters documented, Moos was among the first national media figures to mention "that name." During the December 11, 2006, edition of CNN's The Situation Room, Moos said, "As if that similarity [between "Obama" and "Osama"] weren't enough. How about sharing the name of a former dictator? You know his middle name, Hussein."

From the March 17 edition of CNN's The Situation Room:

BLITZER: Like many Americans, Barack Obama takes his faith very seriously. But that's not stopping others from finding humor in the confusion over exactly what religion he practices.

Our Jeanne Moos finds all of this "Moost Unusual."

[begin video clip]

MOOS: You don't have to be a whiz kid to get through this quiz.

What religion is Barack Obama?

UNIDENTIFIED MAN: Muslim.

UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN: Muslim.

UNIDENTIFIED MAN: American.

UNIDENTIFIED MAN: Muslim. He's --

MOOS: The correct answer is --

UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN: He's a Christian.

UNIDENTIFIED MAN: A Christian.

UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN: He's a Christian from a Muslim father.

MOOS: But in a recent NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll, 13 percent still thought Obama is a Muslim.

UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN: A Muslim.

MOOS: Do you really think that?

UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN: Well, that's what I heard.

MOOS: Heard where, on a parody show?

STEPHEN COLBERT (host of Comedy Central's The Colbert Report): Barack Obama is a secret Muslim!

MOOS: Just in case anyone missed Stephen Colbert's joke --

BILL MAHER: Is Obama a Muslim?

No, he isn't.

MOOS: And yet, of the 65 or so folks we interviewed in Times Square --

What religion is Barack Obama?

UNIDENTIFIED MAN: Oh, jeeza whiz.

MOOS: No, "jeeza whiz" is not a religion.

UNIDENTIFIED MAN: "Jeeza whiz" is not a --

MOOS: Out of 65, 10 said --

UNIDENTIFIED MAN: Muslim.

MOOS: One couple was split.

UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN: Muslim.

UNIDENTIFIED MAN: Christian.

UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN: I think he's Muslim.

UNIDENTIFIED MAN: I know he's Christian.

MOOS: Why do you think he's Muslim?

UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN: Just that's what everybody says.

UNIDENTIFIED MAN: Barack Hussein Obama.

MOOS: Ah, that name.

But at least Hillary got the answer right when 60 Minutes asked, you don't believe Barack Obama is a Muslim?

CLINTON: No, there is nothing to base that on, as far as I know.

NOONAN: Oh, as far as I know.

MOOS: And on the street, some added a dollop of doubt.

UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN: He says he's a Christian.

UNIDENTIFIED MAN: He says he's a Catholic, but I think he's a Muslim.

—J.H.