On August 22, print editions of The Denver Post and the Rocky Mountain News failed to cover President Bush's statement -- made during an August 21 press conference -- that he was committed to staying in Iraq for the remainder of his presidency. In contrast, The Gazette of Colorado Springs published an August 22 McClatchy Newspapers article about the press conference that quoted President Bush as saying, “We're not leaving [Iraq], so long as I'm the president.” The Post's electronic edition also published the McClatchy Newspapers article.

The only mention of Bush's comments regarding Iraq in the News' print edition was embedded in an information graphic that accompanied an Associated Press article about the start of Saddam Hussein's second trial. The graphic read: “President Bush said Monday that the Iraq war is 'straining the psyche of our country' but that leaving now would be a disaster.” But it did not inform readers that Bush said the United States would remain in Iraq for the remainder of his presidency.

In an article by M.E. Sprengelmeyer posted on the News' website on August 21, the News reported, “At one point, Bush said: 'We're not leaving so long as I'm president,' which signals U.S. troops could be in Iraq at least another 2 1/2 years.” However, Sprengelmeyer's article did not appear in the print edition of the News.

The Denver Post reprinted a Washington Post article about Bush's press conference in its August 22 edition and on its website. As Media Matters for America has noted, the Washington Post article reported that “Bush said that withdrawing U.S. troops before the nation is stabilized would be disastrous” but did not state that Bush said American troops would remain in Iraq as long as he is president.

By contrast, the McClatchy Newspapers article published in The Gazette on August 22 reported Bush's pledge to remain in Iraq “so long as I'm the president”:

In a news conference dominated by foreign policy, Bush also acknowledged the war in Iraq is “straining the psyche of our country,” but he rejected calls for withdrawal.

“We're not leaving, so long as I'm the president. That would be a huge mistake,” he said. “If you think it's bad now, imagine what Iraq would look like if the United States leaves before this (Iraqi) government can defend itself and sustain itself.”

The McClatchy article reporting Bush's statement that the United States would not leave Iraq during his presidency also appeared in the “Electronic Edition” of The Denver Post -- apparently in place of the Washington Post article published in the print edition. According to the Denver Post's website, “The Denver Post Electronic Edition looks just like the Denver Post because it is the Denver Post-with interactive and searchable articles from all your favorite sections, plus photos, columnists, comics, graphics and ads.”