This is why neo-con men need fact checking

I just read this from Marc Ambinder's blog over at The Atlantic Monthly: Bill Kristol, another conservative genius who obviously does lots of research before recurring bouts of political diarrhea that he spreads via print and broadcast appearances, has got one of his "facts" wrong in the Obama dust-up over Jeremiah Wright.

In his column this morning, Kristol claims:

But Ronald Kessler, a journalist who has written about Wright's ministry, claims that Obama was in fact in the pews at Trinity last July 22. That's when Wright blamed the "arrogance" of the "United States of White America" for much of the world's suffering, especially the oppression of blacks. In any case, given the apparent frequency of such statements in Wright's preaching and their centrality to his worldview, the pretense that over all these years Obama had no idea that Wright was saying such things is hard to sustain.

Oops. I guess Kristol doesn't know to fact check his sources. I would think that a graduate of Harvard would know the importance of doing just that, especially when it's a political smear. But, I guess since it's a Democrat, the truth takes a backseat to a good 'ole fashioned hit piece.

Oh, and Kressler? His original piece, Obama Attended Hate America Sermon, reads that Obama "nodded" his head while Wright preached these lines:

Addressing the Iraq war, Wright thundered, "Young African-American men" were "dying for nothing." The "illegal war," he shouted, was "based on Bush's lies" and is being "fought for oil money."

Both articles now have corrections. Here's Kristol's:

In this column, I cite a report that Sen. Obama had attended services at Trinity Church on July 22, 2007. The Obama campaign has provided information showing that Sen. Obama did not attend Trinity that day. I regret the error.

Yea, I bet you do, Bill.

As the saying goes, the damage is done. I wonder how many people will go right on believing that Obama was at that ceremony. It's a safe bet that more than a few Fox News viewers, will.