The Raleigh News & Observer and the levee story

Everyone knows by now that the Associated Press' recent report claiming President Bush was warned before Katrina hit land that the levee's in New Orleans could be breeched was false. The AP was forced to issue "a clarification."

And it's no surprise to anyone familiar with The Raleigh News & Observer that it handled the correction rather badly.

You get an idea of that from Public Editor Ted Vaden's explanation to readers. Here's part of it :

Okay. The story incorrectly used breach instead of overrun. The N&O should have corrected that as soon as it got the AP clarification, instead of waiting another five days. An editor here said the clarification "fell through the cracks," which is not acceptable.

But the difference in semantics does not take away from the importance of the story that justified its front-page display. "I think what the story said was that Bush was warned that the levees could fail, and indeed they did," said N&O Managing Editor John Drescher.

I hope Dresher didn't say what Vaden says he said.

The AP story claimed that while Bush had said after Katrina that he had not been warned before Katrina the levees could be breeched, he had in fact been warned of breeching. So Bush had lied; and the AP had the videotape proving that.

That was the point of the story.

How can anyone who edited or read the AP story claim otherwise?

I plan to follow up on what Dresher said and Vaden's comments when I return Sunday from England.