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Shades of LBJ’s Cronkite Nightmare: Biden Loses CBS

Posted on Friday, May 26, 2023
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by Shane Harris
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AMAC Exclusive – By Shane Harris

In a stunning reversal from their prior blackout of the story, CBS News released an exclusive interview this week with an IRS whistleblower who is alleging that the Department of Justice intentionally stymied an investigation into potential tax law violations by Hunter Biden. The moment recalls memories of another famous incident of CBS suddenly turning on a Democrat president, when anchor Walter Cronkite broke with Lyndon B. Johnson’s stance on the Vietnam War, an incident that reportedly caused Johnson to remark, “If I’ve lost Cronkite, I’ve lost America.”

That watershed moment came on February 27, 1968, in the midst of the Tet Offensive. As American troops saw heavy casualties, Cronkite broke with the by then well-established media position of toeing the Democrat line and offered a devastating analysis of the U.S. position in Vietnam.

“It seems now more certain than ever that the bloody experience of Vietnam is to end in a stalemate,” Cronkite told his millions of viewers. “To say that we are closer to victory today is to believe, in the face of the evidence, the optimists who have been wrong in the past.”

Such comments may seem mild by today’s standards of bombastic and sensational media coverage, but they were shocking for a 1960s audience that was used to at least the veneer of objectivity.

For Johnson, it was a watershed moment. One by one, other media outlets also began breaking with the White House and criticizing the war. After Johnson “lost Cronkite,” he made a major rhetorical shift in his portrayal of the war effort, beginning to talk about moving toward “peace” rather than “victory.”

Just a few weeks after Cronkite’s famous dissection of the war, Johnson announced he would not seek re-election amid quickly evaporating public support. Media observers ever since have credited Cronkite with playing a large role in forcing Johnson out of the race.

Now, the country could be witnessing a similar watershed moment as CBS signals its willingness to treat the Biden family’s corruption with the scrutiny it deserves.

In the CBS report, 14-year IRS veteran Gary Shapley, who supervised the probe into the president’s son, said he felt duty-bound to sound the alarm about federal law enforcement’s mishandling of the investigation.

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“There were multiple steps that were slow-walked — were just completely not done — at the direction of the Department of Justice,” Shapley said. “When I took control of this particular investigation, I immediately saw deviations from the normal process. It was way outside the norm of what I’ve experienced in the past.”

More details of the story could be uncovered soon as Shapley is scheduled to testify before the House Ways and Means Committee on Friday. Although the testimony will not be open to the public, it could provide more evidence to aid in House Republicans’ ongoing investigation of the Biden family’s shady business dealings.

CBS’s coverage of the story signals the liberal media’s willful ignorance of the president’s corruption scandals could be coming to an end. That’s bad news for Biden, who has relied on the silence of the media to hide the growing mound of evidence pointing to his involvement in Hunter’s schemes.

After then-candidate Biden angrily claimed in 2019 that he had “never spoken to my son about his overseas business dealings,” a series of revelations showed Hunter’s top staffers made more than 100 visits to the Obama White House to meet with the elder Biden.

As the narrative that he “never” spoke with his son about business began to implode, Joe Biden went on CNN last October in a feeble attempt to distract from the damning truths coming to light in spite of the White House’s attempted cover-up. In an interview with Jake Tapper that many slammed as “soft” and “weak,” the CNN host asked Biden how he responded “politically and personally” to the investigation into his son, then allowed the president to drone on about how “proud” he was of Hunter for “overcoming” his drug addiction.

Tapper failed to ask any follow-up questions, even though the Washington Post had reported just days earlier that federal agents alleged they had “sufficient evidence” to charge Hunter with tax and gun crimes.

But Biden’s personal baggage may now be more than even his media allies can ignore. CBS’s reversal could be the first sign that corporate newsrooms – and many in the Deep State who helped shield the Bidens from scrutiny – are getting nervous about potentially being implicated in the deepening scandal.

The media may also be concluding that the momentum building against Biden – evidenced in his increasingly dour poll numbers – will be too much to overcome in his bid for a second term. Rather than continuing to try and prop up the floundering president, the media might fully embrace the story in an attempt to drive Biden out of the race and replace him with someone who stands a better chance of winning in 2024.

Biden, for his part, may, like Johnson, come to the conclusion that if he’s lost CBS, he has indeed lost America.

Shane Harris is a writer and political consultant from Southwest Ohio.

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Morris
Morris
1 year ago

It is about time that a liberal media station woke up. No pun intended. Think about this. The same justice department that decided to cover up the Hunter Biden laptop story and was a major cause of Trump loosing the 2020 election is investigating Trump for falsely claiming that the election was stolen by the democrats. If that ain’t a travesty of justice I don’t know what is.

Lee
Lee
1 year ago

Don’t hold your breath on the lamestream media finally latching onto the Biden crime family story. They are so deep in the Democratic/Marxist tank, they cannot see any light.

spitfire?1940
spitfire?1940
1 year ago

Encouraging story but don’t hold your breath. The average American Democrat voters will not believe the truth if it bites them in the rear end..I know Democrat morons who blame gas prices on “greedy oil companie”,even when shown Bidens speeches.

Stephen Russell
Stephen Russell
1 year ago

Hooray awesome Reap what U sow

Barrett Smith
Barrett Smith
1 year ago

The ignorant people who still support biden do not care. They are blinded by TDS and blindly support joe no matter what he does.

Viking 8674
Viking 8674
1 year ago

More than losing CBS, Biden lost his mind years ago!

Krell51
Krell51
1 year ago

Biden didn’t win the first time, he was installed by communist democrat vote fraud! What makes anyone think they care about what the public thinks? They will just cheat again, like they always do! This will never change until a lot of communist democrats go to prison!

Liz
Liz
1 year ago

CBS DIDN’T grow some integrity…it’s JUST TIME to “throw” Joe under the bus for a candidate that has better polling so the Dems can WIN!!It’s ALL about the party— NOT POLICY!!

Honey
Honey
1 year ago

Cromkite is praised too much. He was just as left wing as many in the media today. We won the Tet Offensive. And would have won the war if Cronkite had not spoken.
I don’t know why everyone gives Cronkite kudos because he was so sober. He was no more a friend of this country than most of the main stream media.

Terry
Terry
1 year ago

It’s about time these people came forward and exposed this miserable criminal in OUR WHITEHOUSE! Biden should be impeached, brought up on charges of treason and duffer the consequences of that judgement. A firing squad! As long as we’re at it, include this worthless VP!

Liz
Liz
1 year ago

CBSDID NOT JUST grow some integrity…it’s JUST TIME to “throw” Joe under the bus for a candidate that has better polling so the Dems can WIN!!It’s ALL about the party— NOT POLICY!!

Ann S
Ann S
1 year ago

Ain’t gonna happen. CBS was the one appointed by Brandon to break this story, I am convinced of that. This whistleblower had no proof just conjecture.
It is not the 1960’s anymore. They are 100 times worse in their power play. Don’t fall for this.

DDS
DDS
1 year ago

Bravo to CBS! May the rest of the cowardly press crawl out from under the rocks.

Timothy Michael
Timothy Michael
1 year ago

It is becoming crystal clear the corruption of the Biden family needs to be investigated and should they be found to have peddled influence, prosecuted to the limits of the law as would every other citizen. However, the DOJ under the leadership of Atty. Gen. Garland is not just slow walking an investigation but working feverishly to block and to thwart any investigation by Congress. Aiding the hindrance is C.Ray’s FBI. The entire rat’s nest of the DOJ needs to go!

John Riley
John Riley
1 year ago

I don’t know if this is it or not but what we need is for one major network to open flood gate that will start a rush of follow-on of CYA and I told you so from the others.

jocko
jocko
1 year ago

DEPORT ALL liberals, illegals AND THE ONCE HONORABLE, fbi, STAT, TO MAGA

jocko
jocko
1 year ago

SEND ALL OF THE liberal PRESS 2 THE NEW AUSCHWITZ………………………..

Kdesq
Kdesq
1 year ago

They want Biden out at this point because they’re going to draft. Michelle Obama. And then they can claim anyone that votes against her is a racist. Even though she hates her country except when her husband allegedly won the presidency. One coup after another.

Elena Tellez
Elena Tellez
1 year ago

BIDEN lost America (and his rational mind) long time ago. Any network who backs the criminal idiot and his family will lose viewership. It’s that simple.

Kyle Buy you some guns,and learn how to shoot
Kyle Buy you some guns,and learn how to shoot
1 year ago

Why is these committe meetings blacked out. ??? Its our tax dimes being spent. Every american has a rite to see whats goin on. In the long run itbwill be the U.S. citizen whoi will be the loosers. Why cant they know whats going on.???? Kyle L.

Mike
Mike
1 year ago

There are still a crazed few that believes that Biden is the ‘best president we ever had’. That lets you know how bad it really is.

Myrna
Myrna
1 year ago

No matter how hard we try to say that media coverage does not determine the public understanding of the facts, there are too many signs that the public does not carefully sort out fact from opinion. The media ignoring the Durham report and the treatment of the Hunter Laptop story before the 2020 election are examples. There was success in 2020. By shutting off the New York Post October 2020 facts, media shielded the Bidens and probably influenced the election which followed shortly.
This does seem like too much shielding over too long a time span not to fall apart. At least there are still mainstream media willing to report — not promote a political position just because the powerful want them to. There is (always) hope.

anna hubert
anna hubert
1 year ago

Biden was forced on America it was never his Scam of all scams

WRS
WRS
1 year ago

Cronkite was responsible for prolonging the Vietnam war with his incorrect reporting on the 1968 Tet offensive. It was a disaster for the NVA and Viet Cong but he reported it as a victory for them. He damaged troop morale and strengthened anti-war voices in the public and governmen.

Morbious
Morbious
1 year ago

If dem robot voters abandon sniffy it does not mean they’re abandoning their robot programming. All it means is that they want another standard bearer, likely someone even more loony. As well, dont count kamala out. She is attractive to the powers behind the scenes owing to her mindlessness and compliance. The commie billionaires financing dem causes will simply turn on the $ spigots and she will in months become the new poc savior. Btw, cronkites torpedoing of the vietnam war was just the beginning. As soon as nixon took over in 69 the media went into overdrive trying to prevent any sort of honorable withdrawal. This culminated in the dems cutting all funding to s vietnam after they took the house in 74. By reneging on our promise to resupply the south the dem media succeeded in destroying any chance nixons policy of vietnamization of the fighting being successful. Dem robots to this day believe nixon=vietnam=saigon 75.

Denise
Denise
1 year ago

Years ago, William Randolph Hearst, then the major ‘news’ tyrant made a statement that succinctly sums up the corrupt, bought and paid for “media”:
“If the American people knew how we choose to print what we do there would be rioting in the streets.” I was working at the Indianapolis Star News in advertising engraving and remember the ‘news cabal’s” being called “The Fourth Estate”. “News “media” from the get go was based on “opinion” or political leanings,….except maybe to breathlessly report that Mrs. O’Leary’s cow kicked over a lantern and set San Francisco on fire….

Denise
Denise
1 year ago

An interesting “quote” from long ago: “The press must grow day in and day out, it is our party’s sharpest and most powerful weapon.” Joseph Stalin 1879-1953 Communist leader of the USSR. Responsible for the deaths of millions of citizens.

David Coe
David Coe
1 year ago

ACCOUNTABILITY
It is on its Way…, Please continue to pray for America

David Millikan
David Millikan
1 year ago

The day that FAKE news (Communist News Network)cnn, abc, nbc, cbs, msnbc tell the truth at the same time about Dictator Beijing biden’s Corruption, Espionage, and High Treason will be the day I start watching them. But only after they admit to colluding to coverup for Dictator Beijing biden and his Communist Party with their lying and coverup of 2020, 2022 Election Fraud and that Dictator Beijing biden is an
Illegitimate and Unconstitutional President.
And they apologize to PRESIDENT TRUMP for their horrible treatment and lies against him.
And finally, they apologize to the American people for their lies and deceit.
Till then…REVOKE THEIR FCC LICENSE.

Garyk
Garyk
1 year ago

Just be careful, I don’t trust CBS anymore than joebama and the marxist democrat party!
ALL are dishonest and have ZERO credibility!
ALL would say ANYTHING to cover up their corruption, lies and anti American intents!

Don
Don
1 year ago

Cronkite was a traitor! The last comment he made every night before signing off was the body bag count for the day. He lost the Vietnam War almost singlehandedly.

Pete from St Pete
Pete from St Pete
1 year ago

There are many people (not all are Democrats) who want to do the same thing to the Ukraine today. After all, it worked for them in Afghanistan didn’t it?

EL Banco
EL Banco
1 year ago

Don’t know if you know this but…..CBS is watched by NOBODY so the country will not know about this until ALL NETWORKS TELL THE TRUTH ABOUT ALL DemocRATS and this administration.

Jerry
Jerry
1 year ago

The DemonRats know how to cheat, that’s how they “won” in 2020.

Cheng
Cheng
1 year ago

Cronkite was fake news. We actually won the Test Offensive, but the media was against the Vietnam War and wouldn’t acknowledge our successes.

Andrew P
Andrew P
1 year ago

The Media should never have had the kind of power they exercised then and now. We need to have as many nakedly partisan right wing media as there are left wing ones, but right now we don’t. All broadcast TV are left wing.

Kim
Kim
1 year ago

Now, wouldn’t that be a reversal of trend! Nevertheless, I doubt the mainstream media will do anything serious enough to taint the biden administration. We’ll hear hints of ” after looking into this more deeply, we see another approach to this issue”. It won’t be the stinging indictment the bidens clearly deserve.

Sharon Ormsby
Sharon Ormsby
1 year ago

Not at all surprising. If the news wants to have ethics, they will have to turn against Biden who is an obvious criminal. They will also soon turn against that woman who is obviously fabricating a false rape charge against President Trump as well and turn towards Trump in his bid to the White House, even though CBS is a liberal news station. They will have to, if they want to be seen as a credible news source, again.

Donald W Ryan
Donald W Ryan
1 year ago

I was watching the night Walter Cronkite made that statement. No one in todays news has the respect that Cronkite had.

Steven
Steven
1 year ago

Why is it that these news agencies don’t have an inkling about these things before it gets too late ! They’re news agencies snd have reporters who are suppose to get at the truth? What the hell ? If they were honest and truthful they wouldn’t have to prop up a lousy representative like Biden to begin with ! Are they ignorant or what?

Judi Rock
Judi Rock
1 year ago

Really good writing. As a kid in the 60’s
I remember the soothing voice of Walter Cronkite…as he spoke to a broken generation. We had just watched our President die, now we were watching our friends die. Johnson was awful…Biden wants to end America. Force him into retirement!

Douglas Proudfoot
Douglas Proudfoot
1 year ago

Today’s coverup coverage is a classic prisoners’ delema. If they all see and say nothing, Democrats benefit but the individual outlets lose crdibility. The first to break ranks gain back some credibility by breaking the true news. However, if they all report the truth, they discredit themselves and lose the benefits of individual truth telling.

John
John
1 year ago

Amazing how much power and standing the DNC gave to the progressives/Leftists and communist portion that now run their corporation.

Gloria Snockers
Gloria Snockers
1 year ago

an incident that reportedly caused Johnson to remark, “If I’ve lost Cronkite, I’ve lost America.”

except LBJ was at a fund-raising dinner for John Connolly at the time,.,not watching TV, there’s no record if his ever saying that

Rick Wyrwas
Rick Wyrwas
1 year ago

Sad to say cronkite Was wrong and didn’t know what he was talking. We destroyed the VC killing over a hundred thousand of them they were finished and the north was about to throw in the towel. Check the history Cronkite was full of bullsh*t

Roland
Roland
1 year ago

I was in the military during the Viet Nam war but was never in combat and I remember when LBJ chose not to run again. Additionally I will never forget being scorned in public by the same Leftists who are running our government today, much to this nation’s detriment.

They hated America back then, and they continue to do so today and are actively trying to destroy this nation, the last great hope for freedom.

Repairguy
Repairguy
1 year ago

With the FBI and the DOJ in Bidens camp what can we do ?

Ken Rizzo
Ken Rizzo
1 year ago

The difference between Johnson and Joe is LBJ,for all his lack of character was a sane and practical thinker. A senile shell of a criminal will likely become angry and obstinate refusing to relinquish his position. English teacher Jill will not permit her schemes to be exposed and pay the price.
I believe he will hang on until the dems fully turn on him

Nessie509
Nessie509
1 year ago

Eventually, Democrats will have to ask Biden to resign. It’s just not okay to take a bribe.
Undoubtably, Congress has a copy of the incriminating form. I cannot imagine a whistleblower not making a copy.
Secretary Wray could be in plenty of trouble if he is obstructing the investigation.

CMS
CMS
1 year ago

Dems are just gathering the evidence to force his withdrawal at the last minute with a substitution of someone like Newsom. Then they can avoid all the debates, etc.

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