Newsweek has issued a correction to a Monday-morning story in which Nancy Pelosi appeared to offer a rather harsh critique of what the magazine called President Obama’s recent “populist makeover.” The piece, which focuses on the White House’s 2012 messaging strategy, initially featured Pelosi telling author Howard Kurtz, “I think you need to talk about how poorly they [the White House] do on message. They can’t see around corners; they anticipate nothing.” Unsurprisingly, the comment drew the attention of Republican observers, prompting Newsweek to say the statement had been “erroneously attributed” to Pelosi.
The mistake has since been blamed on a “miscommunication” between Kurtz and co-writer Lois Romano, who apparently lent Kurtz some notes from an interview she conducted with Pelosi in September. Supposedly, the quote was part of Romano’s framing of the conversation, as opposed to a part of the interview’s transcript. As a spokesperson told the Huffington Post, “Leader Pelosi nor anyone on her staff said the words attributed to Leader Pelosi either on background or off-the-record.”
Erroneous Nancy Pelosi Quote Spawns RNC Attacks, Kurtz Correction [HuffPo]
