Updated: Right-wing attack poodles try to take down another CNN reporter …

Posted by Joshua Holland at 7:15 AM on April 2, 2007.

In his post about St. John McCain's recent jaunt to Baghdad, below, Evan touched on the report that CNN's Michael Ware laughed at McCain during his Green Zone press conference. "Heckled" is how the right-wing noise machine characterized it.
(Last week, Warre ridiculed McCain's assertion that you could shoot Mentos commercials on the streets of Baghdad without any trouble.)

The report's difficult to believe on its face -- a seasoned pro like Ware being that disrespectful, that unprofessional in a public presser?

And it shouldn't be believed. The incident -- widely reported by the right-wing noise machine as one of "heckling" -- appears to be wholly fabricated. It started with Drudge, and it's working its way around the intertubes now. This diary at Kos has some of the lowlights of the story's development …

Drudge got the ball rolling with the usual third-party report by an un-named military source …

During a live press conference in Baghdad, Senators McCain and Graham were heckled by CNN reporter Michael Ware. An official at the press conference called Ware's conduct "outrageous," saying, "here you have two United States Senators in Bagdad giving first-hand reports while Ware is laughing and mocking their comments. I've never witnessed such disrespect. This guy is an activist not a reporter."

And the Echo Chamber leaped into action …

CNN Reporter Baghad Reporter's Continued Presence Singlehandedly … NewsBusters - 42 minutes ago
During a live press conference in Bagdad, Senators McCain and Graham were heckled by CNN reporter Michael Ware. An official at the press conference called …

Michael Ware heckles McCain at Baghdad press conference Hot Air, MD - 2 hours ago
Everyone's already linked Drudge's account of the presser so I'll give you CNN's version, which studiously avoids mentioning who it was who made McCain so …

"An Activist, Not a Reporter" Power Line, MN - 4 hours ago
Now, Ware has gone even farther overboard. Drudge reports that John McCain and Lindsay Graham gave a press conference in Baghdad, at which Ware heckled the …

Bias? What Bias?
Jawa Report, TX - 6 hours ago
CNN Reporter Michael Ware was caught heckling and mocking the official comments made at a press conference with John McCain and Lindsay Graham in Baghdad. …

Here's Warre's take --in response to question by Soledad O'Brien -- he basically calls them out as liars in no uncertain terms…

Ware: Well, let's bear in mind that this was a report that was linked by an unnamed official of some kind to a blog, somewhere on the internet. No one is going to put their name forward. We certainly haven't heard Senator McCain say anything about it, nor has any of his staff come forward to say anything about it.

I did not heckle the Senator, indeed I did not say a word. I didn't even ask a question. In fact, when I raised my hand to ask a question, the press conference abruptly ended. So what I would suggest is that everyone that has any queries about whether I heckled, watch the video tape of the press conference.

Of course, the right-wing's reality is already firm on this story -- just more "proof" for their liberal media conspiracy theories.

Update: Rawstory has the video

Tagged as: mccain, warre

Joshua Holland is an editor and senior writer at AlterNet.