Here’s MSNBC reporting “STEEP CUTS IN MILITARY SPENDING”.
More specifically, they’re reporting “DEFENSE SECY. GATES ANNOUNCES STEEP CUTS IN MILITARY SPENDING”, when what Gates has announced is modest increase in military spending. In fact, as they reported this, their guest William Cohen, a Republican who served as Secretary of Defense under President Bill Clinton, was on the air trying to set the record straight–that the Gates proposal constitutes a four percent increase over last years budget. Watch:
I should say, I don’t think this tendency stems from an intentional malice–it’s more of an epiphenomenon rooted in years of being led to believe that the president is obligated to a). increase military spending, and b). do so in a way that preserves or expands all existing Pentagon programs, however wasteful. Anything else computes as a “spending cut”.
