CNN's Acosta calls 16-year-old McCain questioner a "heckler"

This is frickin' ridiculous! I found this story through Media Matters, and it really shows just how much the mainstream press has fallen in love with GOP presidential candidate Senator John McCain. According to Media Matters:

During the April 5 edition of CNN's Ballot Bowl, host Jim Acosta reported on an April 1 appearance by Sen. John McCain at his former high school -- Episcopal High School in Alexandria, Virginia -- in which 16-year-old student Katelyn Halldorson asked McCain to clarify why he was visiting the school if not for political reasons. During his report, Acosta claimed that Halldorson "apparently ... started heckling the senator." Additionally, Acosta twice referred to the high school junior as a "heckler." In fact, as both The Wall Street Journal and the Politico noted, Halldorson's question came during a question-and-answer session. Indeed, according to a Federal News Service event transcript retrieved from the Nexis news database, McCain called on Halldorson during what the school's headmaster described at the time as a "question and answer session."

And you can see CNN's video of Acosta calling Halldorson a "heckler," and the actual video of Halldorson's question to McCain:



This is frickin' ridiculous. Looking at CNN's own video of the story, Halldorson is actually asking Senator McCain a simple, but tough, question of why is McCain speaking at his former high school--an even that the McCain campaign claims in not a political event. I went on to Webster's Online Dictionary to specifically look up the word heckler. Here is the Webster's definition:

Main Entry: heck·le
Pronunciation:
\ˈhe-kəl\
Function:
transitive verb
Inflected Form(s):
heck·led; heck·ling
Etymology:
Middle English hekelen to dress flax, scratch, from heckele hackle; akin to Old High German hāko hook — more at hook
Date:
circa 1825

: to harass and try to disconcert with questions, challenges, or gibes : badger
synonyms see bait
— heck·ler \-k(ə-)lər\ noun

To harass and try to disconcert with questions. Halldorson only asked one question for the senator, of why was he here at this political event that the McCain campaign said was not a political event? And this question was asked during a question-and-answer period. She did not ask multiple questions, nor did she attempt to harass the senator. And if Senator McCain is disconcerted with this one question, then maybe he shouldn't be running for as the GOP candidate in the first place since he can't seem to answer any tough political questions. Excuse me, Mr. Acosta, but this is the tough question YOU should have been asking the senator, rather than this high school student. Because that is what reporters are supposed to be paid to do--ask the tough questions to get into the story behind the regurgitated political bull that the political campaigns try to shove down the American voters' throats. I guess you can't seem to understand that, Mr. Acosta, since obviously you are shoving the same PR-campaign crap that the McCain campaign is giving you as news, and then attacking voters for doing your job. You are a disgrace.