Did Cronkite Hate America?

On yesterday’s Reliable Sources Paul Krugman discussed the media’s views of the Iraq War and how the situation has changed since Walter Cronkite famously declared that we were losing the war in Vietnam:

“We are not Walter Cronkite’s country anymore. We are a much more polarized nation. There is no political center. People get their news from opposing sources.

“You look at the polls, people who voted for Bush in the last election just live in a different reality from people who voted for Kerry. And, you know, we’ve seen repeatedly not so much media figures, but policy figures. If you turn against Bush on the war, it doesn’t matter who you are, it doesn’t matter what were your record is. All of a sudden you’re just another Michael Moore.

“So, no, I don’t think we have a Walter Cronkite moment….

“If Walter Cronkite were on the news today, if a Walter Cronkite equivalent were on the news, he would — immediately after that broadcast we just saw, he would have been called a traitor.”

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