CNN Is Accused of 'Attack Journalism'

Now some fresh pickings from the Political Grapevine:

Inside Job

CNN contributor Bill Bennett is slamming the channel for what he calls "attack journalism."

The former education secretary and drug czar was interviewed by Wolf Blitzer Monday, immed iately after a report on the pregnancy of Sarah Palin's daughter. The story said that the Republican vice presidential candidate supports abstinence instead of contraception. It cited a left wing group which claims abstinence does not work.

Bennett took CNN to task, saying, "That was really out and out outrageous. That should not happen on CNN... that bit of advocacy has no place on CNN."

Smear Campaign?

It seems the selection of Sarah Palin has enraged some on the left. Congressman Robert Wexler, who is co-chairman of Barack Obama's Florida campaign, accused Governor Palin of supporting Pat Buchanan in the 2000 Alaska primary.

The Politico newspaper reports that Wexler then asserted that Palin had "aligned herself with a leading anti-Israel voice in American politics." He also invoked the name of Adolf Hitler and the phrase "Nazi sympathizer."

But a statement on John McCain's Web site says Palin actually worked for the Steve Forbes campaign in 2000.

Meanwhile, a female columnist for the Baltimore Sun is lashing out at the selection of Palin, writing, "This is what being pandered to feels like."

Susan Reimer suggests Palin's youngest child Trig, who suffers from Down syndrome, is a boon for the Republican Party. "You want to look good to the evangelicals? Choose a running mate with a Down syndrome child," Reimer said.

Race Relations

A Philadelphia Daily News columnist is warning that if Republican John McCain wins the November election "look for a full-fledged race and class war, fueled by a deflated and depressed country, soaring crime, homelessness and hopelessness!"

Fatimah Ali's piece, headlined, "We need Obama, not 4 more years of George Bush," says that Republicans have overstayed their welcome and the country may be headed for chaos. "Plenty of Americans would rather stay in their dream state than recognize the poverty sweeping across the country — right here — right now," Ali writes.

Numbers Game

The Iranian regime is considering lopping off three or four zeros from its currency in an effort to fight out of control inflation. In June, Iran's government put the inflation rate at a whopping 26 percent. But independent economists say the number is closer to 30 percent.

The governor of the Central Bank of Iran tells state-run radio that monetary experts are considering the following three options: Cutting three zeros off the Iranian currency known as the rial, cutting four zeros or boosting the value of each rial to one-hundredth of a gram of gold.

That is about 2,500 rials at current rates. Iranian currency is now traded at 9,600 rials to one U.S. dollar. When the Islamic revolution toppled the pro-Western shah in 1979, the rate was 70 rials to one dollar.

— FOX News Channel's Zachary Kenworthy contributed to this report.