Chicago Tribune Misleads Readers With Title

I'm going to quibble a bit over something I read this morning in the Chicago Tribune's online edition.  On the paper's homepage there is a headline that reads, "Senator:  Iraq Policy is Failing."  Following the link brings you to "The Swamp," which is the blog run by the Tribune's Washington Bureau.  The Senator in question is Richard Lugar and the blog entry includes recent comments he made on the Senate floor along with the poster's analysis of the comments. 

 

Nowhere in the post does Lugar state that the Iraqi policy is failing.  In deference to the poster, the actual title of the post is, "Key GOP Senator Urges New Iraq Strategy Now."  Lugar does call for a new strategy, but only because Lugar believes that the amount of time it will take for the surge to accomplish its goals exceeds the reality of the political timetable here in the United States.  In other words, he suggests that the surge just may work if given enough time, but time isn't an available commodity because of the tensions that exist on our domestic political front.  Lugar also believes that costs outweigh the benefits of continuing with the current policy -- a conclusion far different from declaring the policy a "failure." 

 

My guess is that the false statement or misleading summary, if you will, can be laid at the feet of the person responsible for coming up with the story titles on the homepage.  Again, it's a quibble, but if I were Richard Lugar I wouldn't want to have my position "summarized" for me using words that did not appear in his statement at all.  All the homepage link had to say was, "Senator:  New Strategy Needed In Iraq" or "Senator:   Domestic Politics Endanger Policy."