Ron Claiborne/ABC, Peter Canellos/Boston Globe help John McCain mislead about immigration

Ron Claiborne of ABC News offers "McCain Still Dogged by Immigration Issue" (link). He discusses how no matter where McCain goes he's asked questions about immigration matters; unfortunately, Claiborne didn't do his job (or at least the job I'd do) and the only questions he asked McCain about this allowed him to present his side of the matter.

And, Claiborne also allowed McCain to mislead:

He said he was often asked questions at his town hall meetings by citizens citing alarmist and usually fictitious anecdotes... Earlier that day, a woman said she had heard that some Mexican-American children in American schools were refusing to put their hands over their hearts during the Pledge of the Allegiance and other Mexican immigrants were flying the Mexican flag above the American flag somewhere... McCain wondered if these tales that people are citing are coming from talk radio where immigration is a burning issue.

I don't know about the first, but the second has happened at least twice and there have probably been more incidents. In 2006, students from another nearby school raised the Mexican flag over an upside down American flag at Montebello High School near Los Angeles. Earlier this year, a U.S. vet cut down a Mexican flag that was flying over the U.S. flag in Reno (youtube.com/watch?v=Px1PTsEdC1Y). While ABC News doesn't appear to have covered either incident, surely some editor there must have heard of those or at least should have done some research. In fact, a google search for mexican flag flying over american flag brings up several hits, including ones with that very title.

Are Claiborne and his editors incompetent, are they lazy, or were they simply trying to deceive?

Also, Peter Canellos of the Boston Globe offers "Fear of foreigners roils Iowa/Angry rural voters voicing far-fetched theories" (link) which has a very similar formulation involving those flags.

Comments

Those reporters need to get themselves a computer!! Both those stories can be found on blogs...either Old Vet or Immigration watchdog...Whatever happened to good investigative repirting??? Oh Yeah they are all LIBERAL LOONS!! I know necause my brother is the sole conservative on the small town paper he write for in MA.....