CBS Early Show Uses Obama Volunteer to Promote Health Care Reform

While reporting on President Obama's efforts to pass health care reform legislation on Wednesday's CBS Early Show, co-host Maggie Rodriguez cited one person who would benefit from the plan: "Debby Smith from Virginia...lost her job back in 2006, and lost her health care benefits, and says that she can't afford the $700 a month that it would cost take to pay for her own insurance."

What Rodriguez failed to mention was that Smith was an Obama volunteer. During a July 1 health care town hall meeting, the President singled out Smith, giving her a hug as she tearfully told her story of lacking health insurance for cancer treatments. That night, CBS Evening News anchor Katie Couric reported: "Debby Smith is a volunteer for Mr. Obama's political operation Organizing for America. The White House invited her to attend. The President called her exhibit A in a system that's too expensive and too complicated."

On Wednesday, Rodriguez took no note of Smith's activism on behalf of Obama but did describe her as "the prototypical person that this [health care] proposal would help." CBS News MoneyWatch.com editor at large Jill Schlesinger joined Rodriguez for the segment and observed: "I think Debby really ends up benefitting quite beautifully from the new health care plan."

-Kyle Drennen is a news analyst at the Media Research Center.