Here’s the original video of MSNBC’s David Shuster subbing in for Tucker Carlson the other night and putting this question to Tennessee Rep. Marsha Blackburn: “What was the name of the last soldier from your district who was killed in Iraq?” Blackburn couldn’t answer the question. She should have been able to, but I have little doubt that before this interview aired, a good portion of her colleagues likewise would have failed this test. Shuster’s gotcha interview backfired though when he tried to show-up Blackburn by providing the name himself: “His name was Jeremy Bohannon. He was killed August the ninth, 2007. How come you didn’t know the name?” Except it wasn’t. An enterprising blogger, did some research and discovered that Bohannon hailed from a neighboring district. Shuster appeared on air tonight to apologize for his sloppy attack. Newsbusters has the video, which they describe as having “all the spontaneity of a hostage video.” And here’s the text:
That’s a pretty pathetic apology. If you’re going to take a big gamble like that and try to humiliate an elected official on national television (it’s usually easier to let them humiliate themselves, right?), you have to have your own facts in order. The stunt backfired, Shuster looks like a big-time jerk, and, for a prepared statement, this apology reads an awful lot like he’s sorry the kid didn’t come from Blackburn’s district.
