The night after President Bush's State of the Union address, Dan Rather told viewers that one of Bush's proposals had been a disaster and a "major miscalculation." At the top of the broadcast he began, "Bush prescription drug plan runs into immediate trouble." As Rather spoke, the text on screen wondered if the plan was "DOA."

Introducing a story by Joie Chen, Rather reported that the "possibility is growing that President Bush may have made a major miscalculation on a key domestic policy." The plan for seniors "would switch some of them out of Medicare and into HMOs,” a plan that “has run into a blast of criticism and not just from Democrats. CBS's Joie Chen is covering the effort at damage control on Capitol Hill."

After talking about a disaster in the making, Chen began her report with, "Dan, the idea of tying prescription drug coverage to some sort of privatized, HMO-style Medicare ran into stiff and immediate resistance on Capitol Hill."

Nowhere in the report did Chen quote or paraphrase anyone from the White House, in order to find out what the administration thought of such a "major miscalculation."

In fact, though, that same day press secretary Ari Fleischer responded to a reporter's question about Bush's Medicare drug plan, and contradicted what Rather and Chen claimed about the nature of the proposal. Perhaps CBS's White House correspondents were at lunch:

"I'd recommend to all of you, take a look at that plan. Some argue -- some partisans argue -- and I do have to say I've seen some news reports that simply assert as a matter of fact, not as an issue of allegation, that under the Bush plan, the only way to get prescription drugs is to join an HMO. Familiarize yourselves with the FEHBP. That is categorically a wrong assertion. And I just urge all reporters to use independent judgment before just saying that under the Bush plan, the only way to get it is to join an HMO."

Fleischer claimed that reporters like those at CBS had asserted "as a matter of fact, not an issue of allegation,” and wanted to “urge all reporters to use independent judgment.”

DAN RATHER: The possibility is growing that President Bush may have made a major miscalculation on a key domestic policy. It is the president's version of a prescription drug plan for seniors that would switch some of them out of Medicare and into HMOs. This has run into a blast of criticism and not just from Democrats. CBS' Joie Chen is covering the effort at damage control on Capitol Hill. Joie.
JOIE CHEN: Dan, the idea of tying prescription drug coverage to some sort of privatized, HMO-style Medicare ran into stiff and immediate resistance on Capitol Hill.
Last night, the president offered only a broad outline of a $400 billion prescription drug benefit in his State of the Union address, but more surprisingly, today, at an event in Michigan designed to unveil the plan, before an audience of health-care professionals, even the backdrop suggested details would be forthcoming, but they just weren't there.
Back on Capitol Hill, Republican leaders downplayed expectations and said they had nothing from the White House either.
Rep. TOM DeLAY (R-Texas, Majority Leader): You're way ahead of us. We're not even close to understanding what the president's going to propose.
CHEN: And the new majority leader took to the Senate floor to reassure seniors that the president wouldn't take away the Medicare coverage they now depend on.
Sen. BILL FRIST (R-Tenn., Majority Leader): that they will, in this vision that he paints, have the option for not changing anything, for keeping it just the way it is.
CHEN: What happened here is that members of Mr. Bush's own party, including the chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, made it clear they couldn't back this plan. So now it's back to the drawing board and a--yet another delay for seniors in need of prescription drug care. Dan.
RATHER: Joie Chen reporting live at the Capitol.
--Dan Rather and Joie Chen on the CBS Evening News, January 29, 2003.