Retired Officers, Still Doing The Pentagon's Work on TV?

Retired Gen. McCaffrey was among the TV analysts whose ties to contractors and closeness with the Pentagon were examined by the New York Times. (Nbc News Photo)

But others may have sipped it. Military pundits obviously come at their subject with a viewpoint sympathetic to their longtime profession. What has been obscured is the extent to which many are still part of the military's web and entangled with companies trying to milk the Pentagon for profit.

Sticking It to Obama

In last week's Democratic debate, ABC News presented Nash McCabe as a typical voter with a particular concern. She asked Barack Obama on a video "if you believe in the American flag," and if so, why he doesn't wear a flag pin.

But the Latrobe, Pa., woman was hardly neutral. ABC found her because she had been cited in the New York Times two weeks ago as a Democrat who maintained she could not vote for the Illinois senator, saying: "How can I vote for a president who won't wear a flag pin?"

Viewers had no way of knowing that McCabe had indicated in advance that she could not back Obama against Hillary Clinton. Her question, expanded upon by moderator Charlie Gibson, forced Obama to defend his patriotism during a 40-minute sequence in which Gibson and George Stephanopoulos directed most of the tough questions to Obama.

Asked about the use of McCabe, first noted by McClatchy Newspapers, ABC News spokesman Jeffrey Schneider says another questioner "made clear that Clinton had lost his vote over her explanation of her trip to Bosnia. . . . These questions were representative of what we heard again and again from voters regarding the importance of credibility and electability as central issues in this campaign."

Howard Kurtz holds CNN's weekly media program, "Reliable Sources."