On the August 18 edition of Fox News' Hannity & Colmes, pollster Frank Luntz falsely claimed that Sen. John McCain had “never really talked about” his decision to refuse an offer of early release from a North Vietnamese prison camp prior to mentioning it during his August 16 appearance at Pastor Rick Warren's Saddleback Church. In fact, McCain has repeatedly cited his refusal to accept an early release in a book, interviews, speeches, and campaign ads since 1999, as Media Matters for America has documented.

Luntz's false assertion that McCain has only recently “talked about” his refusal to accept an early release follows a pattern in the media, including others on Fox News, promoting the notion that McCain has been reluctant to discuss his time as a prisoner of war, despite his frequent references to it.

From the August 18 edition of Fox News' Hannity & Colmes:

ALAN COLMES (co-host): Obama, though, shows up in clearly what could be considered hostile territory to some extent. He's not the home team there. He doesn't get to go last, doesn't get the final word. And I -- and certainly had the -- certainly had the crowd -- was appreciating many of the things he said. But I think he's being undervalued in terms of his performance.

LUNTZ: He did -- he did well. When I -- after the first hour, if we were dial-testing it, you would have said that Barack Obama exceeded expectations, but John McCain delivered. And we've got a couple segments to show you.

There's one where McCain was asked a question about a tough decision that he made, and he talked about Vietnam and the decision not to go home early. First person in has to be the first person to leave. McCain decided to stay, and he talked about the consequences. Let's listen.

McCAIN [video clip]: I said no, and I'll never forget sitting, in my last answer, and the high-ranking officer offered to slam the door, and the interrogator said, “Go back to your cell. It's going to be very tough on you now.” And it was, but I -- not only the toughest decision I ever made, but I'm most happy about that decision than any decision I ever made in my life.

LUNTZ: And you know what? They broke him. They physically broke him. And when he -- cannot leave -- raise his arm above his head, and he doesn't walk without a limp. Physically, he paid the price, but that was a decision, and he's never really talked about it until this forum.

SEAN HANNITY (co-host): Hey, Frank, by the way, just one observation. He looked like he's 50 years old in this thing. Did he -- did you notice the vibrancy? He looked young. He looked healthy. I love not -- seeing him not having a tie.