I used to like watching PBS' NewsHour years ago, because it was head and shoulders above the other networks when it came to presenting real news.

But somewhere about the time George W. Bush first announced his candidacy for president, they changed - and became more like FAUX.

Over at the Columbia Journal Review, NewsHour chair [I refuse to call such a partisan 'anchor'] Jim Lehrer is being excoriated for Parroting the Party Line [by Paul McLeary Aug. 10, 2006]

The author says of Lehrer's remarks made during in an interview with CJR Daily's Liz Cox Barrett that Lehrer believes "that he is an 'objective' journalist, concerned with the facts and the quotes, but not, presumably, with figuring out which party (political or otherwise) might actually be telling the truth, and which is just practicing spin."

Lehrer himself says in that interview, "I think all kinds of discourse is good for our democratic society -- civil discourse, uncivil discourse, screaming, hollering, poetry, however you want to have a discussion is fine with me."

Male Bovine Excrement.

All anyone needs to remember is how he talked with wrong-wing 'analysts' while major Democrats were giving talks at their convention, while during the GOP convention he announced 'he wanted to hear' certain speeches, stopping any discussion he was having with 'experts' - in effect, slanting the news coverage by allowing the GOP convention speakers to have direct access to the public.

The focus shifts at that point away from Jim Lehrer - and on to other 'journalists' spinning wildly for the GOP