On September 20, the Senate passed a nonbinding amendment sponsored by Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX), which, in the words of that amendment, “repudiate[s] the unwarranted personal attack on General [David] Petraeus by the liberal activist group Moveon.org” -- referring to MoveOn's advertisement in the September 10 New York Times titled "General Petraeus or General Betray Us?" -- and “condemn[s] any effort to attack the honor and integrity of General Petraeus and all the members of the United States Armed Forces.” The Los Angeles Times subsequently devoted a full article to the amendment's passage and mentioned it in four separate articles. However, in none of the five articles did the Times report that Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA) offered an amendment to “strongly condemn all attacks on the honor, integrity, and patriotism of any individual who is serving or has served honorably in the United States Armed Forces, by any person or organization.” In addition to citing the MoveOn ad, Boxer's amendment also cited Republican-backed attacks against the military service of Sen. John Kerry (D-MA) and former Sen. Max Cleland (D-GA). The articles also did not mention that 46 Republicans, all of whom voted for the Cornyn amendment, voted against the Boxer amendment -- thus refusing to support legislation criticizing attacks on Democrats as well as on Petraeus.

Boxer's amendment was voted on just prior to the Cornyn amendment on September 20, and received 50 votes, but fell short of the 60-vote threshold both parties had agreed to. Cornyn's passed by a 72-25 margin.

While the Times highlighted, in its coverage of the Cornyn amendment, several senators who voted against the Cornyn amendment, including Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY), Chris Dodd (D-CT), John F. Kerry (D-MA), and Boxer herself, as well as noting that Barack Obama (D-IL) did not vote on the amendment, it did not mention the Boxer amendment. Only Republican Sens. Chuck Hagel (NE) and Arlen Specter (PA) voted for the Boxer amendment. Sen. Russ Feingold (D-WI) voted against both amendments.

For example, a September 21 Times article - headlined “Senate Squares Off with MoveOn” -- reported that “two Republican senators running for president -- Sam Brownback of Kansas and John McCain of Arizona -- voted for” the Cornyn amendment and that Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) said before the vote on the Cornyn amendment: “The [MoveOn] ad was, by any standard, abhorrent. ... It accused a four-star general who has the trust and respect of 160,000 men and women in Iraq of betraying that mission and those troops, of lying to them and to us. Who would have ever expected anybody to go after a general in the field at a time of war, launch a smear campaign against a man we've entrusted with our mission in Iraq?” The Times further reported that several Democrats voted against the Cornyn amendment - including Boxer. However, the article, as Media Matters for America has previously noted, made no mention of Boxer's amendment, or the fact that Brownback, McCain, and McConnell voted against it.

Additionally, a September 24 Times article reported: “Clinton also would not directly criticize the liberal group MoveOn.org for its recent full-page ad in the New York Times referring to Army Gen. David H. Petraeus, the U.S. commander in Iraq, as 'General Betray Us.' Republicans condemned the ad, and [President] Bush said Democrats were afraid to criticize the group because of its liberal clout. 'I don't condone attacks by anyone on the patriotism and service of our military,' Clinton said on CNN's 'Late Edition.' 'But let's be clear here. This debate should not be about an ad. This debate should be about the president's failed policies.' ” Again, the Times failed to mention Boxer's alternative amendment and did not report that Clinton voted for it -- this despite the fact that Clinton highlighted her support of the Boxer amendment during the CNN interview the Times referenced. From the September 23 edition of CNN's Late Edition with Wolf Blitzer:

CLINTON: Well, I thought it was pretty sorry when his [Bush's] campaign attacked Senator Kerry's record of service, and I thought it was pretty sorry when the Republicans attacked Senator Cleland. I don't condone attacks by anyone on the patriotism and service of our military. I am an admirer of General Petraeus, as I've said on numerous occasions. I don't condone it, and I joined in voting for a resolution that condemned such attacks.

But let's be clear here: This debate should not be about an ad. This debate should be about the president's failed policies. The Republicans are very good at coming up with political strategies, but unfortunately, they don't seem to have a very adequate grasp of military or geopolitical strategies that will forward America's standing, position, values, and interests in the world.

So I think that we ought to stay focused on what's important -- the war in Iraq -- and not allow this debate to go off track. And I look forward to continuing to debate what we should be doing in Iraq, and I would invite the Republicans to join in that debate.

WOLF BLITZER (host): But quickly, do you want to disassociate yourself from that MoveOn.org ad?

CLINTON: I have voted against it. I mean, I've voted for Senator Boxer's resolution, which condemned that attack, and also condemned the attacks on Senator Cleland and Senator Kerry. I don't condone it. I voted to condemn it.

But again, I would underscore -- let's be clear what's going on here. This is an effort to focus on an ad that I condemned and don't condone in order to avoid having to deal with the tough questions about our policy in Iraq.

The policy has failed. The president is able to hang on to it because he has enough Republican support. It's going to be an issue in the '08 election, and I hope that we will be electing more Democrats, because that is the way to really change direction in our country.

Other Times coverage of the Cornyn amendment that failed to mention the Boxer amendment includes:

The September 22 article headlined “Democrats' bill on troops fails in Senate”:

Most Democrats joined with Republicans on Thursday for a resolution condemning an ad in the New York Times by the antiwar group MoveOn.org that referred to Petraeus as “General Betray Us.” The Senate vote was 72 to 25.

The September 21 article headlined “Democrats fail to gain ground on Iraq”:

The Democratic leaders remain tied to an antiwar movement that repulses many moderate Republicans, lawmakers who most recently recoiled at the newspaper ad by MoveOn.org attacking Army Gen. David H. Petraeus, the U.S. commander in Iraq, ahead of his congressional testimony last week.

The September 21 article headlined “MoveOn ad shakes some up”:

On Thursday, President Bush got involved, calling MoveOn's ad against Petraeus “disgusting.” Also, the U.S. Senate voted 72 to 25 to condemn the “personal attacks on the honor and integrity” of Petraeus. Those voting against the measure included Democrats Hillary Rodham Clinton, John F. Kerry and Chris Dodd. (Barack Obama was recorded as not voting.)