Blogger Andrew Breitbart has accused Apple (AAPL) of playing politics in a promotional clip for its new iPhone.
The clip in question, viewable on the Apple Web site, depicts the iPhone screen displaying the front page of The New York Times Web site, dated Jan. 4, 2007.
That day's issue featured stories about the Democratic takeover of Congress and Harriet Miers stepping down from her position as White House counsel; both headlines are clearly visible in the promotional clip.
The iPhone browser goes on to visit the Web sites of the movie-ticket retailer Fandango, Google and the online encyclopedia Wikipedia.
• Click here for the report on Breitbart.tv.
• Click here to see the iPhone clip.
The clip has been posted on the Apple site since Jan. 9, the day Apple CEO Steve Jobs confirmed the iPhone's long-rumored existence.
A TV ad that began running last week also shows the iPhone surfing to the New York Times homepage, but to the issue of Oct. 6, 2006. The browser zooms into non-political stories on that day's front page.
Former Vice President Al Gore is on the Apple board of directors, the only board member without a business background.
Jobs himself unabashedly eats no red meat, usually avoids leather and embraces the remnants of the 1960s counterculture.
His only political pronouncement in recent years has been to tell Time magazine he tried, and failed, to convince Gore to run for president in 2008.
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