The NY Post Rewrites AP Story to Hit Dems

The NY Post is famously anti-democrat. But today even I was surprised to read on Horse's Mouth, by Greg Sargent, that the editors there actually rewrote an AP story to smear Dems. The wire service story had this headline and lead:

Democrats Challenge Bush on Iraq Bill

A historic veto showdown assured, Democratic leaders agreed Monday on legislation that requires the first U.S. combat troops to be withdrawn from Iraq by Oct. 1 with a goal of a complete pullout six months later.

Here is how the POst rewrote the headline and lead:

'WHITE FLAG' HARRY FUROR
WHITE HOUSE: PULLOUT PLAN A DEATH SENTENCE

The White House warned yesterday that Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid's new legislation requiring the first U.S. troops to be withdrawn from Iraq by Oct. 1 is a "death sentence" for millions of freedom-loving Iraqis.

The author of the original story, David Espo, had this to say. "I didn't write anything remotely like that. My name was on the story and I didn't write it anything like the way it was printed."