Kukinich Suckered in Syria

Syrian media made up stuff the congressman never said.
 From  Commentary Magazine: 
"Syria’s state-run media (portray) our silliest Congressman as a mouthpiece for the dictatorship."  


"President al-Assad is highly loved and appreciated by the Syrians.    ...    President Bashar al-Assad cares so much about what is taking place in Syria, which is evident in his effort towards a new Syria and everybody who meets him can be certain of this."
         ( Does this sound like mistranslation?)


And from Michael Totten:
"Kucinich may be embarrassingly naïve and a goofball, but he isn’t a fascist. He confirmed, as I figured he would, that he did not say what the Syrian Arab News Agency reported him saying.  Yet he insists on not understanding what happened to him after he met with Assad."   
Also: "Syrian journalists .. invent quotes as a matter of course".