CNN Shoots First, Asks Questions Later

I, like Ed Morrissey, find today a strange day as we both agree with White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs.  As Politico notes:

White House press secretary Robert Gibbs today criticized CNN – not the Coast Guard – over the panic caused by the agency’s training exercise on the Sept. 11 anniversary, saying that the alarm could have been avoided if the network had checked its facts. 

As he questioned later:

She also asked why Gibbs didn’t think the Coast Guard incident was comparable to an Air Force One flyover in New York for a photo shoot in April that set off a panic there. The head of the White House military office, Louis Caldera, resigned in the wake of that incident. 

"If we set aside the media coverage, would you be asking this question?" Gibbs said.

So, in other words, had CNN not "jumped the gun", we wouldn't have even had a story to talk about.  Just having a relatively unknown Coast Guard drill going on in the Potomac River.  As they all should be.

-Colonel Steve