Rush: Crowley act, 'journalistic terror'

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WASHINGTON, Oct. 17 (UPI) -- Right-wing talk radio host Rush Limbaugh said Wednesday moderator Candy Crowley "committed an act of journalistic terror" at Tuesday's U.S. presidential debate.

Crowley -- the host of CNN's "State of the Union" -- has come under fire from conservatives, particularly for a moment during the debate when she corrected Republican nominee Mitt Romney and said President Barack Obama had called the Sept. 11 attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya, an act of terror.

"He -- he did call it an act of terror," Crowley told Romney during the televised town hall-style debate at Hofstra University in Hempstead, N.Y.

Speaking at the White House the day after the attack, in which U.S. Ambassador to Libya Christopher Stevens and three other Americans were killed, Obama said: "No acts of terror will ever shake the resolve of this great nation, alter that character, or eclipse the light of the values that we stand for. Today we mourn four more Americans who represent the very best of the United States of America."

Fox News correspondent John Roberts said Wednesday it was "unclear" whether Obama was referring to the Benghazi attack.

"He said, 'No act of terror -- acts of terror will ever shake the resolve of this great nation,'" Roberts said. "But that came at the end of his remarks, and it's unclear, at least in many people's minds, whether that was a direct reference to the attack on the Benghazi consulate."

Limbaugh said on his syndicated show Wednesday "in the media world where I grew up, [Crowley's] career would be finished," Politico reported.

"She committed an act of journalistic terror or malpractice last night," Limbaugh said. "If there were any journalist standards, what she did last night would have been the equivalent of blowing up her career like a suicide bomber."

Limbaugh said there "aren't any journalist standards anymore" so Crowley will be "praised and celebrated, probably even get a raise, give her another half hour on that show she hosts."