NewsNight

CNN, you have restored my faith.

Tonight, I'm told I saw a most magnificent handshake, as Palestinians and Israelis agreed today to start working toward peace between their two peoples again. Already, around the world, great leaders and citizens alike are expressing their hope this time will be different; that, this time, the words and gestures are more than empty promises and hands joined in betrayal.

Oh, CNN, how I wish it were so. Except you should have watched your B-roll a little closer before you chose it, because you only got 50% of the relevant leadership team in the shot. On the right, just as you'd expect, was Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon. Missing though, on the left, was Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas (AKA Abu Mazen). And who should we find in his place, apparently promising peace with a handshake, but long-time Egyptian leader Hosni Mubarak.

I found this amusing, since the last time I checked, following the Arab-Israeli War of the late 1940s, the Six-Day War of 1967, the War of Attrition between 1968-1970, and the Yom Kippur War in September 1973, Israel and Egypt signed the Arab-Israeli peace treaty -- the first Cape David Accord, organized by Jimmy Carter. In 1978.

So, kudos, CNN, and Aaron Brown. Great fact checking. And, you know... looking at the footage you broadcast.