I've lost a measure of respect for Fox News for its handling of Geraldo Rivera. First off, let me say that when Geraldo comes on, I either change the channel, fast forward (if I'm watching a tape) or turn the TV off. He used to be a journalist, but he sold out and became and egomaniacal entertainer a long time ago.

From today's Washington Post:

Rivera's reporting surrounding a Dec. 5 incident in Kandahar where three Americans were accidentally killed by a U.S. bomb has been called into question.

The next day, Rivera reported that he had "walked over the spot where the friendly fire took so many of our men and the mujahadeen yesterday. It was just, the whole place, just fried, really, and bits of uniforms and tattered clothing everywhere. I said the Lord's Prayer and really choked up."

But The (Baltimore) Sun later reported that Rivera had filed his report from Tora Bora, hundreds of miles from Kandahar incident.

Rivera later said that he had witnessed the aftermath of a separate incident where two Afghans were killed in Tora Bora and that he had confused the two cases in his mind.

The problem, as far as anyone outside of Fox News is concerned, is that this "separate incident where two Afghans were killed in Tora Bora" occurred three days after he filed his report.

It would have been tough to confuse the two, seeing that the second incident hadn't occurred yet.

Fox News Channel said Wednesday that war correspondent Geraldo Rivera had made an "honest mistake" in his reporting of a friendly fire incident in Afghanistan.

The network said it had accepted Rivera's explanation and planned no further action.

This response is unacceptable. This won't be the last time something like this happens. Why? Well, because Geraldo didn't do anything wrong, in his mind.

Rivera told The Washington Post in Monday's edition that allegations that he had lied were "hideously absurd."

"The time has come to stop the Geraldo-bashing," he said.

See, Geraldo's the victim. It's not his fault. It's the media's.

I'd suggest that when you hear reporting from Geraldo, consider the source.