Blitzer Fires Back at Lynne Cheney

Responding to an earlier interview in which the vice president’s wife ludicrously attacked his patriotism, Wolf Blitzer defiantly defended himself in the form of a rare, first-person statement to the viewing public.

Wolf Blitzer, via Crooks and Liars:

BLITZER: On Friday in the Situation Room on CNN, I interviewed the wife of the Vice President, Lynne Cheney. The interview generated quite a bit of commotion and we are going to replay the unedited version. First, some history. I have been covering the Cheneys for many years, including on a day-to-day basis when he was the defense secretary during the first Gulf War and I was CNN’s Pentagon correspondent. This — Mrs. Cheney has been a frequent guest on my programs. In recent years I’ve often invited her to discuss her new children’s books, but she’s always open to discussing the news of the day.

In this most recent interview, she, of course, knew we would be speaking about politics. That was reaffirmed to her staff only hours before the interview. As a former co-host of CNN’s Crossfire during the 1990s, she knows her way around the media. She was never shy in sparring with Democratic strategist Bob Beckel and co-host.

I was surprised when she came out swinging on Friday, surprised by what she said about CNN’s “Broken Government” series and the excellent one-hour report by our chief national correspondent John King. One of the most precise and respected journalists in Washington. At CNN’s decision to air sniper video provided to our intrepid Baghdad correspondent Michael Ware by insurgents in Iraq which Anderson Cooper specifically branded, I’m quoting now, “a single propaganda tape.” Surprised at her sniping at my patriotism.

Link