If this is the best that Dem MSM hacks can come up with to defend Tim Walz's claim that he carried weapons "in war," Kamala Harris's VP pick could be in some real trouble.

On CNN This Morning, host Kasie Hunt put it to former Hillary spokesperson Karen Finney, now a CNN commentator:

"So, Karen, Walz did say that I carried in war. And we do know that doesn't seem to be the case. But he did, would have trained extensively in preparation for it, with these types of weapons."

Finney latched like a drowning woman onto Hunt's mention of training:

"Exactly. And so, my reading of it is, you know, he was, I think, talking about the training."

Riight. This, from the people who urged each other to use the L-word -- "lie" -- when Donald Trump exaggerates his life story.

If Walz had been an astronaut, and had trained for a lunar mission but never went on one, would Finney be okay with him saying: "When I carried an American flag on the Moon?"

Finney promptly tried to switch the subject to Trump evading military service in Vietnam -- no shame from the Clinton backers there -- and his criticism of veterans and POWs like John McCain. Somewhere, you could hear Carville the Ragin' Cajun cackling: "Look over he-ah: a squirrel!"

Fellow CNN commentator Doug Heye, a former aide to Republican House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, gave Walz a "welcome to the major leagues." Heye also noted the reverential, criticism-free treatment that the MSM has accorded Kamala Harris, and the fact that she has not sat down for an interview to field tough questions. But Heye ended with a more CNN-friendly tone by saying, "We're in a political campaign here. We know that Donald Trump fights dirty. If you want to say this is a dirty fight, fine: bring it."

Is it fighting dirty to call out Walz's inflating his military record by stating that he was "in war," whereas he was never in a combat zone?

CNN This Morning
8/8/24
6:06 am EDT

KAREN FINNEY: The other thing that J.D. Vance has taken issue with is a comment that Tim Walz made -- it was actually about gun safety -- and he was talking about carrying weapons of war in war. He didn't say he was in combat. He was talking, you know, and he actually was a munitions expert, if I'm not mistaken.

KASIE HUNT:  Let me, let me play those comments that he made, and then we'll play what Vance said just so that we can read our viewers in here. Let's start with Walz here, talking about weapons of war and gun control. Watch.

TIM WALZ: I'll take my kick in the butt for the NRA. I spent 25 years in the Army and I hunt, and I gave the money back. And I'll tell you what I have been doing. I've been voting for commonsense legislation that protects the Second Amendment, but we can do background checks, we can do CDC research, we can make sure we don't have reciprocal carry among states, and we can make sure that those weapons of war that I carried in war is the only place where those weapons are at.

HUNT: And then this is how Vance  characterized what we heard there from Tim Walz. Watch.

JD VANCE: He was making a point about gun control. He said we shouldn't allow weapons that I used in war to be on America's streets. 

Well, I wonder, Tim Walz, when were you ever "in war?" When was this, what was this weapon that you carried into war, given that you abandoned your unit right before they went to Iraq. And he has not spent a day in a combat zone. What bothers me about Tim Waltz is the stolen valor garbage.

HUNT: So Karen, I mean, Walz did say that I carried in war, and we do know that that doesn't seem to be the case. But he did, would have trained extensively in preparation for it with these types of weapons.

FINNEY: Exactly. And so, my read of it is, you know, he was, I think, talking about the training. Now he did deploy in support of, I suppose, my understanding is they could have been deployed further the into the war zone. 

But more importantly I think, again, two things. Number one, the top of the Republican ticket not only didn't get out of, got himself out of Vietnam, got himself out of any kind of service, never wore the uniform of the United States, called John McCain a loser. Has a pretty wretched record when it comes to treatment of veterans and our men and women in uniform, particularly those who've been captured or injured.

. . . 

DOUG HEYE: Tim Walz, welcome to the major leagues. You know, you're no longer a governor of Minnesota who nobody's really ever heard of. You are in the spotlight right now. And after three weeks of nothing but the most positive coverage of, oh my God, Kamala Harris is the greatest person ever to walk the Earth, has never done anything wrong, and should be celebrated and honored, and won't get one word of critical, any critic, criticism. And by the way, won't sit down for an interview to get tough questions. 

We're now in the major leagues. And what's JD Vance's role here on this campaign? Is to throw sand in the campaign's eyes. And that's what he's done. And they're reacting to this.

We'll find out exactly what's true, what's not. I don't love questioning people's service. I want to honor those who've served. I think we want to encourage people for military service, for any kind of public service. 

But we're in a political campaign right here. We know that Donald Trump fights dirty. If you want to say this is a dirty fight, fine, bring it. Here's where we are.