In an appearance on the PBS program The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer, New York Times columnist and regular NewsHour contributor David Brooks misrepresented the contents of Senator John Kerry's speech at the Democratic National Convention.

From the July 30 edition of The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer:

BROOKS: First of all, one of the most annoying tropes of the convention was we're uniting, we're not divisive, and then they said something incredibly nasty about the Republicans. Kerry said that they don't care, the people who talk about family values don't value their families, so Republicans don't value their families. But that's not divisive.

During his speech, Kerry never claimed “Republicans don't value their families.” What he did was offer a definition of family “values” that he said includes putting the needs of families over those of big corporations and the wealthy, something he suggested the Republicans do not do.

From the speech Kerry gave July 29 at the Democratic National Convention:

KERRY: For four years, we've heard a lot of talk about values. But values spoken without actions taken are just slogans. Values are not just words. They're what we live by. They're about the causes we champion and the people we fight for. And it is time for those who talk about family values to start valuing families. ... You don't value families by kicking kids out of after school programs and taking cops off our streets, so that Enron can get another tax break. ... You don't value families by denying real prescription drug coverage to seniors, so big drug companies can get another windfall. ... You don't value families if you force them to take up a collection to buy body armor for a son or daughter in the service, if you deny veterans health care, or if you tell middle class families to wait for a tax cut, so that the wealthiest among us can get even more."