In an April 12 article on Sen. John McCain's (R-AZ) April 11 speech at the Virginia Military Institute, The Washington Post reported that “McCain's pro-war rhetoric is largely matched by his chief rivals for the GOP [presidential] nomination,” former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani.The article then quoted from Romney's April 10 speech in which he called House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's (D-CA) recent trip to Syria " 'one of the most partisan, divisive and ill-considered' decisions by a public official in the past 10 years." But in reporting Romney's characterization of Pelosi's trip to Syria as “partisan,” the Post failed to note that a Republican -- Rep. David Hobson (OH) -- was part of Pelosi's delegation. Nor did the article report that a Republican-led delegation met with Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad three days before Pelosi's visit and that Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA) met with him a day after.

As Media Matters for America documented, several print outlets uncritically reported Romney's selective criticism of Pelosi in his April 10 speech. Further, media figures have repeatedly reported on Pelosi's trip -- and Republican criticism of it -- while ignoring the Republicans who also traveled to Syria and met with Assad.

From the April 12 Washington Post article:

McCain's pro-war rhetoric is largely matched by his chief rivals for the GOP nomination, Giuliani and Romney.

In a similar speech Tuesday night, Romney pledged his support for the effort in Iraq and blasted House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) for her recent unsanctioned trip to Syria, calling it “one of the most partisan, divisive and ill-considered” decisions by a public official in the past 10 years.

“The troop surge has a real chance of working, and early signs are encouraging,” Romney said, echoing McCain's theme. “It is time for Congress to follow the lead of the commanders in the field and the commander in chief.”