Fox News Lies About Cronkite

|  By Cliff Kincaid  |  July 22, 2009

Fox News star Bill O'Reilly, who once worked for CBS News, went beyond Obama's deceptions.

I have not found one person in the major media-and that includes on the "conservative" Fox News Channel-who has dared to tell the ugly truth about Walter Cronkite's disastrous record in favor of defeat in Vietnam, unilateral disarmament in the face of the Soviet threat, and one-world government. His press has been as good as that of Barack Obama. 
However, many people are aware of Cronkite's real record, primarily because of the work of AIM founder and long-time AIM Report editor Reed Irvine. Here are just a few of the messages I received in response to my column, "The Terrible Truth About Walter Cronkite," which was picked up by many different outlets. It examined how Irvine had exposed Cronkite's atrocious record on the Vietnam War and national defense issues, as well as his disingenuous explanations concerning a Soviet magazine interview in which Cronkite pooh-poohed the Soviet threat:

• I enjoyed reading your article: "The Terrible Truth about Walter Cronkite" on FSM [Family Security Matters]. I'm sure that you will be despised and criticized in many circles for writing it, but you should receive only kudos and thanks for telling the truth, and for not being afraid to pointout that the "Emperor" was indeed, naked, and for having the courage to showanotherside (still unknown to many people) of the man that theyrespected, trusted andadored.
• I despised the man.I place most of the blame for the loss in Vietnam on his shoulders.Thanks for telling it like it is.
• Finally, an article on Cronkite that mirrors my views.The sycophantic ramblings I have been hearing, and yes, Fox has been as sickening as the rest.
• The bottom line is that the man the liberal media told us was "the most trusted voice in America" turned out to be a man that was deceitful and did not deserve any of our trust, ever.And he ended up getting Americans killed by his actions and led the world to the killing fields in Asia.Truly disgusting how there are now those who choose to rewrite history and make this traitor a hero.
• Thanks for the wonderful article on Cronkite, a left-wing liberal and useful idiot for the Soviets who sabotaged our military effort in Vietnam, as you eloquently observe. You said everything I have been shouting at the TV these last few days.
• Great Article on Cronkite. Cronkite put the final nail in the coffin for the Vietnam conflict.
• Very proud of you-article on Walter-that's the way it is.
• Your article on "The Terrible Truth about Walter Cronkite" printed by GOPUSA was such an eye opener.It always appeared as if "old Walt" was really on the side of news and the American people.But as you so adroitly noted, he was wrong...on so many counts.
• Cliff, thanks for setting the record straight about Cronkite.So far you're the only one I've seen do it.
• Your piece on Cronkite was powerful and fabulous !!!!!! You said what NEEDED to be said.My mother just forwarded it to me, and I loved it.She always said what a leftist Cronkite was, but I had no idea of the extent until I read your fine article.I hope multitudes get to read it.

Not surprisingly, President Obama joined the media chorus in praise of Cronkite. "For decades," he said in a statement, "Walter Cronkite was the most trusted voice in America. His rich baritone reached millions of living rooms every night, and in an industry of icons, Walter set the standard by which all others have been judged. He was there through wars and riots, marches and milestones, calmly telling us what we needed to know. And through it all, he never lost the integrity he gained growing up in the heartland. But Walter was always more than just an anchor. He was someone we could trust to guide us through the most important issues of the day; a voice of certainty in an uncertain world. He was family. He invited us to believe in him, and he never let us down. This country has lost an icon and a dear friend, and he will be truly missed."
There are several deceptions in this statement, including that Cronkite "set the standard," he "never lost" his integrity, was "someone we could trust," and "never let us down."
Fox News star Bill O'Reilly, who once worked for CBS News, went beyond Obama's deceptions, however, by declaring in his "Talking Points Memo" that Cronkite "did the country a great service by telling the truth about Vietnam, as well as other major stories."
In fact, Cronkite falsely reported the Tet military offensive in the Vietnam War as an enemy victory. This was a turning point in the war. The false reporting by Cronkite and others meant that 58,000 Americans ultimately died in vain to stop the communist assault on South Vietnam.
In addition to this atrocity, Cronkite and his CBS News team deliberately and savagely attacked President Reagan's military build-up after the disastrous Jimmy Carter years. 
Appearing on the O'Reilly Factor, after the comment about Cronkite "telling the truth" about Vietnam, former CBS News employee Bernard Goldberg declared that O'Reilly's commentary was a "very, very sharp analysis, Bill, and I wouldn't say that if I didn't believe it." How's that for brown-nosing?
Ignoring the facts, including Dr. Ernest Lefever's monumental study on how CBS News slanted its broadcasts on national defense, Goldberg, who worked with Cronkite, declared that the late CBS Evening News anchorman did not "sprinkle" his left-wing views into his newscasts. On his website, Goldberg went further in the tank, declaring that "after he left CBS Cronkite was playing deep left field. Yet virtually none of the leftie stuff made it on the air."
The comment about "deep left field' was apparently a reference to Cronkite's advocacy of world government. But nobody wanted to discuss that, either.
Since leaving CBS, Goldberg has made a good living by appearing as a critic of liberal bias in the news and writing some good books on the subject. Now the official Fox News media critic, one of these books described Goldberg as a "CBS insider." But the "insider" won't tell the truth about Cronkite's bias, which was reflected in his newscasts and led to the U.S. military defeat in Vietnam.
Fox News has been as "fair and balanced" on the matter of Cronkite's record as the liberal media. What a shame that a "conservative" cable news network has damaged its own credibility by paying homage to a notorious liberal anchorman.  Mr. Bill: your "No Spin Zone" is officially out of business. Don't pretend otherwise.