Kranz Watch

Last week, David Kranz, the dean of South Dakota political reporters, reported in a piece headlined "'Fahrenheit 9/11' not flattering portrayal of Daschle" that Senator Tom Daschle, who was personally invited by Michael Moore to the movie's premiere, "left early." Excerpt from the Kranz piece:

[A]rea residents who saw the film say there may be a reason why Daschle left the movie early.

As DVT rightly points out, Daschle didn't leave early, as reported in the cover story of Time magazine this week. Instead, Daschle stayed until the end of the movie, hugged Michael Moore, and told Moore how bad he felt about supporting the war. Relevant excerpt from the Time cover story:

Moore does not spare the Democrats entirely in his film. Most Democratic Senators, including Kerry, not only voted for the Iraq war but until recently refused to criticize the President's decision to invade. Among the clips in Fahrenheit 9/11 is one of minority leader Tom Daschle last year urging other Senators to follow his lead and vote for Bush's Iraq war.

Two weeks ago, at the Washington premiere, Moore sat a few rows behind Daschle. Afterward, says Moore, "he gave me a hug and said he felt bad and that we were all gonna fight from now on. I thanked him for being a good sport."

Will Kranz report on this development in his Wednesday column? Answer: no way. There's absolutely no way to spin this without damaging Daschle, so Kranz will conveniently ignore it. Typical.