ABC misled with coverage of Bush interview, repeated Bush myth: "I know you don't love polls"

A January 30 ABCNews.com article about ABC News business correspondent Betsy Stark's interview with President Bush reported only that Bush stated he "does not plan to invade" Iran, while leaving out Bush's denial during the interview that he had "ruled out military action in Iran." Additionally, the article uncritically reported that Bush "hopes he can use diplomacy to convince the Iranians to 'get rid of their nuclear weapons ambitions.' " The article did not note that less than two months before the interview, Bush rejected a recommendation by the bipartisan Iraq Study Group (ISG) that the United States should negotiate with Iran without preconditions.

Also, during her interview, Stark repeated a myth often promoted by the Bush administration by saying to Bush, "I know you don't love polls." As Media Matters for America has noted, there is ample evidence that polling data play a substantial part in his administration's political strategy and messaging.

Stark interviewed Bush on January 30, and portions of that interview aired on the January 30 broadcast of ABC's World News with Charles Gibson. ABCNews.com's article reported that, during the interview, Bush "clarified his stance on Iran, which he does not plan to invade." The article then quoted Bush saying, "Nobody's talking about that. ... [T]o say that defending ourselves in Iraq ... has some greater goal is just simply not the case." But the article left out Bush's response when Stark specifically asked Bush whether he has "ruled out military action in Iran." Bush replied, "No":

STARK: There's been a lot of tough talk by you, recently, on Iran's involvement in Iraq. If the evidence is there that they are indeed harming American troops, how will you deal with it?

BUSH: We'll deal with it by finding their supply chains and their agents and bringing them, you know -- arresting them. Getting them out of harm's way. Because we're gonna protect our troops. It's not tough talk to say that the commander in chief expects our troops to be protected. That's commonsensical talk, it seems like to me. Some are trying to take my words and say, "Well, what he's really trying to do is go invade Iran." Nobody's talking about that. I am, however --

STARK: You have ruled out military action in Iran?

BUSH: No. All options are on the table, of course, in anything. But to say that defending ourselves in Iraq means that, you know, has some greater goal is just simply not the case.

In addition, the ABCNews.com article uncritically reported that Bush "hopes" to "use diplomacy" to resolve the conflict over Iran's nuclear ambitions. However, the Bush administration has rejected one of the ISG's key recommendations: that the administration engage in direct talks without preconditions with Iran as a means to stabilize Iraq. The ISG recommended that the United States and its allies form an "Iraq International Support Group" and that the group "actively engage Iran and Syria in its diplomatic dialogue, without preconditions." On December 7, 2006, during a press conference with British Prime Minister Tony Blair, Bush rejected that course of action, citing the administration's opposition to any direct talks with Iran until it stops enriching uranium.

Furthermore, Iran reportedly made an offer in 2003 that was similar to what the Bush administration now says it wants. On January 18, the BBC reported on claims by Lawrence Wilkerson, an aide to Colin Powell when Powell was the secretary of state. Wilkerson said that shortly after the fall of Saddam Hussein's regime in 2003, Iranian officials sent an unsigned letter to the United States that "proposed ending support for Lebanese and Palestinian militant groups and helping to stabilise Iraq following the US-led invasion." The letter also said that Iran would make "its nuclear programme more transparent." In exchange, Iran asked the United States to end "its hostility" toward Iran, end sanctions, disband "the Iranian rebel group the Mujahedeen-e-Khalq," which is based in Iraq, "and repatriate its members." According to the BBC, Wilkerson stated that the State Department "thought it was a very propitious moment to do that. ... But as soon as it got to the White House, and as soon as it got to the Vice-President's office, the old mantra of 'We don't talk to evil'... reasserted itself." As Media Matters has documented, The American Prospect reported on June 6, 2006, that in 2003, the Iranians offered, among other things, "full transparency for security [assurance] that there are no Iranian endeavors to develop or possess WMD," along with talks on other matters such as Israel and Hezbollah.

From ABCNews.com's January 30 article "EXCLUSIVE: Bush Says Invading Iran 'Not the Plan' ":

President Bush believes he might have been misunderstood when he started speaking about the need to go after Iran for its involvement in aiding the insurgency in Iraq.

As he traveled to Illinois today to share good news on the economy, he said the subject has been overshadowed by the war in Iraq, and he clarified his stance on Iran, which he does not plan to invade.

"Nobody's talking about that," he told ABC News' Betsy Stark. "To say that defending ourselves in Iraq ... has some greater goal is just simply not the case."

[...]

Rather, Bush is going after those who may try to harm U.S. troops. "We'll deal with it by finding their supply chains and their agents and ... arresting them, getting them out of harm's way. In other words, we're going to protect our troops," Bush said. "It's not tough talk to say that the commander in chief expects our troops to be protected."

And he hopes he can use diplomacy to convince the Iranians to "get rid of their nuclear weapons ambitions."

"And the best way to do so is to continue rallying other nations to join us and expressing ourselves very clear to the Iranians that 'You will be isolated, that you won't be able to achieve your greatness, that you'll hurt your people economically if you continue to insist upon a nuclear weapon,'" he said.

From the January 30 edition of ABC's World News with Charles Gibson:

STARK: And I know you don't love polls, but I'm gonna tell you one we did recently that showed that 67 percent say you don't understand the problems of average Americans. Why do you think so many people feel that way?

BUSH: You know, I don't know. That's an interesting question. I think it's because of the war. Again, I think people are feeling pretty down about, kind of, things because of the war. On the other hand, I know if the government took their money in terms of higher taxes, they would feel even worse. People are getting more money in their pocket. Now, look, health care costs are eating up some of that, and I understand that. And that's why I've got a plan to do something about it.

[...]

STARK: There's been a lot of tough talk by you, recently, on Iran's involvement in Iraq. If the evidence is there that they are indeed harming American troops, how will you deal with it?

BUSH: We'll deal with it by finding their supply chains and their agents and bringing them, you know -- arresting them. Getting them out of harm's way. Because we're gonna protect our troops. It's not tough talk to say that the commander in chief expects our troops to be protected. That's commonsensical talk, it seems like to me. Some are trying to take my words and say, "Well, what he's really trying to do is go invade Iran." Nobody's talking about that. I am, however --

STARK: You have ruled out military action in Iran?

BUSH: No. All options are on the table, of course, in anything. But to say that defending ourselves in Iraq means that, you know, has some greater goal is just simply not the case.