ABC: tries, I mean does, deliver a political cheapshot

I know news organizatins try to be fair and balanced, but this is a little extreme. Powerline received notice that ABC news was looking for any military funerals from soldiers who died in Iraq that were going to be held on inauguration day. here's portions from ABC News:

Jan. 19, 2005 — For a possible Inauguration Day story on ABC News, we are trying to find out if there any military funerals for Iraq war casualties scheduled for Thursday, Jan. 20. If you know of a funeral and whether the family might be willing to talk to ABC News, please fill out the form below.

Powerline writes: Note that only the families of Iraqi war dead need apply. If a soldier died in Afghanistan, or aiding tsunami victims in Indonesia or Sri Lanka, or in a training exercise, never mind. That isn't the "balance" ABC is looking for.

I can just picture how it would have aired. Promplty after the inauguration they would have cut to a military funeral with some voiceover saying "while the festivities are just beginning in the nation's capital, the Jones family in town X are just beginning to Mourn. Mourning the loss of their son who died in Iraq as a direct result of President Bush's aggressive policies."

I have the deepest respect for our military men and women, but by airing such a story, ABC is solely attempting to manipulate a tragic event into a political propaganda piece.

ABC has tried to cover its tracks and has since deleted the post, but Captian Ed took a screen shot of the page and archived it.

UPDATE: Turns out that ABC decided to run with the funeral story anyway. Here's excerpts form an Archived version.

PETER JENNINGS: And in Rockport, Texas, today – just about the time the president was speaking – there was a funeral for a young Marine reservist. Twenty-one-year-old Matthew Holloway was killed in Iraq last week by a roadside bomb.
His brother told a local paper that as much as Matthew wanted to be home, he was very proud of what he was doing in Iraq. And it is something you hear from so many people in the services, including the 10,000 who have already been wounded.