See the post by Mountain Mama (number 130) about this guy. I know him. He's as solid as they get. If he saw an honest election and no Russian troops, that's what he would report--regardless of his biases.
Other agencies are reporting Russian troops today--another thread that is up now refers to two planeloads of Russian troops landing. The difference is, Schaffer is on scene and was reporting it yesterday.
The media is not reporting troops sneaking in from Russia - they are reporting that the opposition is saying that - the good news reports do - the tabloids of course will just report the rumor as fact.
That is how meda can be manipulated by powerful advocacy forces. Saw them do the exact same thing over Bosnia and Kosovo and Kuwait (remember the baby incubator nonesense?).