Fox News omitted applause during Obama speech to military cadets

Liberal blogs and media watchdogs are harping about a new clip circulated by progressive filmmaker Michael Moore which they say demonstrates yet another example of Fox News' anti-Obama bias.

The clip, broadcast May 22 as President Barack Obama delivered a speech to military cadets at West Point, appears to omit applause Obama received during the speech.

Michael Moore tweeted about the Fox coverage in a little-noticed posting Sunday. Liberal media watchdog Media Matters picked up the clip on Monday, adding its own analysis and a copy of the White House's official video, which clearly shows Obama receiving applause. On Tuesday, the brouhaha was written up at The Huffington Post.

In Fox's version, after Obama delivers a line in which he promises to end active Iraq combat operations by this summer, Obama appears to look around the room in silence.

In the White House version, however, Obama's line, "We are poised to end our combat mission in Iraq this summer," is met with substantive applause.

Media Matters remarks: "Now, maybe Fox didn’t intentionally remove the audience applause. Maybe Fox’s video used a direct feed from Obama’s microphone, and it simply didn’t pick up audience noise. But if Fox didn’t intentionally try to make Obama look silly, why did it choose a 2-minute clip -- out of a 32-minute speech -- that portrayed Obama looking silently around the room, seemingly for no reason?"

Fox News' original story, with the clip, is available here.

Fox News' clip of the speech:

The official video from the White House website (the omitted applause can be heard at the 10:28 mark):