When was Cronkite one of the most trusted men in America? Perhaps when he returned from South Vietnam in 1968 and said that the communists were the victors of the Tet Offensive? Even though no one in the military agreed. Bill Moyers, a former aide to LBJ, gives much of the credit to Cronkite for persuading Johnson to begin softening America's stance toward the communists in Vietnam.
Here is what Cronkite said on the CBS Evening News in late February, 1968:
To say that we are closer to victory today is to believe, in the face of the evidence, the optimists who have been wrong in the past. To suggest that we are on the edge of defeat is to yield to unreasonable pessimism. To say that we are mired in stalemate seems the only realistic, yet unsatisfactory conclusion. . . . It is increasingly clear to this reporter that the only rational way out, then, will be to negotiate, not as victors, but as honorable people who lived up to their pledge to defend democracy, and did the best they could.
At the White House, President Lyndon Johnson watched the special report with some of his staff, including News Secretary George Christian and his assistant, Bill Moyers. According to Moyers, when the program was over, "The President flipped off the set and said 'If I've lost Cronkite, I've lost Middle America.'" Five weeks later, on March 31, Johnson announced that he would not seek reelection, this in the context of a unilateral bombing pause of North Vietnam.
Walter Cronkite shares a good portion of the responsibility for eroding public trust in our military. He gave credence to folks like John Kerry, Jane Fonda and the Clintons.
I'm not saying there was a reason to trust Walter Cronkite -- like most of the rest of the MSM, he is and always was a biased liberal. But he reportedly held that title while he was anchoring the CBS Evening News, at least after 1974, according to
Ask Mr. Pop History:
From Alaine T - I've heard for so long, that Walter Cronkite was/is the most trusted man in America. When did this begin?
Mr. Pop History - We began hearing Walter Cronkite and "the most trusted man" in 1974, just before Richard M. Nixon resigned from office in August. It had to do with his Watergate reporting on the CBS evening news. More important, Walter Cronkite kept the trust of Americans, well after he left the CBS Evening news anchor desk. From July of 1974:
"Walter Cronkite of CBS was rated the most trusted and objective newscaster on television in a national public opinion survey. NBC's John Chancellor rated second in the Phillips-Sindlinger Survey and ABC's Howard K. Smith was third.
A year ago, Smith was first, Chancellor second, Harry Reasoner of ABC third and Cronkite fourth."hitlerly looks like she has twice the amount of male testosterone of anyone in that picture