Biased Cutting

I gather that it is not at all unusual for publications to edit some of the stories they get from wire services. And insofar as this is done for space, efficiency, or any other relatively neutral reason, it is probably entirely unnewsworthy. But this effort by FOXNews is just so transparently biased that it is silly. They have cut several paragraphs out of the middle of the story on this year's presidential debates, thus rendering later lines nonsensical:

Presidential debates are traditionally preceded by delicate negotiations and attempts by both campaigns to manage expectations. By accepting the commission's recommendation, Kerry has opened the bidding for this year's debates.

Bush's staff could not be reached immediately.

[CUT]

Cahiment [sic] continues another debate tradition: campaign aides setting the bar high for their opponents.

So not only does this last line have an egregious typo, it is entirely unsupported by the story (which is how I noticed something was wrong). That's because the statement in question was cut. The cut paragraphs look like this:

Cahill accused the Bush campaign of waiting until the last minute to agree to three presidential debates in 2000, which she said was a tactic designed to “lower expectations about Bush’s debate skills and performance. In the end, Bush was declared the winner of each of the three debates against Vice President Al Gore.”

There was no formal winner declared after the 2000 debates, though most strategists from both parties believe Gore hurt his prospects.

Cahill’s statement continues another debate tradition: campaign aides setting the bar high for their opponents.

Thus the reference to "Cahill's statement" rather than "Cahiment"... and thus the blatant attempt by FOXNews to ensure that President Bush is able to repeat his low-expectations effort without being caught playing the same card twice.