[plushaye]

I love 'the Prowler'. It has the political lowdown on so much, and it's usually bang on. This whole document scandal is unreal. Like watching the Watergate scandal unfold in a 24 hour timeframe.

[kidkosmic1]

I'm soooo loving this. Makes the Colts loss tonight sting a bit less (though I love Brady and the Pats!).

[Ronzo]

Now, the producer says, there is growing concern inside the building on 57th Street that they may have been suckered by the Kerry campaign. "There is a school of thought here that the Kerry people dumped this in our laps, figuring we'd do the heavy lifting on the story. That maybe they had doubts about these documents but hoped we'd get more information," says the producer. "If that's the case, then we're bigger fools than we already appear to be judging by all the chatter about how these documents could be forgeries."

Let the FINGER POINTING BEGIN!!!!

Actually, it would be fun to have these traced back to the Kerry campaign and the DNC...

[isthisnickcool]

Local ABC news in Houston is leading with the fake document story. Trashing CBS. The story they are telling on the local news sounds like they came to FR for the details.

They are promoting Nightline now.

[Leroy S. Mort]

The oppo researcher claimed the source was "a retired military officer."

Wesley Clark, perhaps.....

[madison46]

Hugh Hewitt wondered how long they would take to blame Rove

[Cboldt]

More than six weeks ago, an opposition research staffer for the Democratic National Committee received documents purportedly written by President George W. Bush's Texas Air National Guard squadron commander, the late Col. Jerry Killian.

The oppo researcher claimed the source was "a retired military officer."

More than 6 weeks ago -- opposition research staffer inside the DNC (not inside Kerry campaign) -- memos from a retired military officer.

Has the makings of a great whodunnit. That opposition research staffer, middleman, is the one I want to know first. Could have made up the story about getting docs from a retired military officer. So many cockroaches, watch 'em scatter.

[John Jorsett]

but a smaller segment believe that both the DNC and the Kerry campaign were duped by Karl Rove, who would have engineered the flap to embarrass the opposition

Karl Rove, the Zelig of political conspiracy.

[Anti-Bubba182]

It will be very bad for Kerry if they trace this back to his campaign and I bet CBS is going to be really angry over this.

I can see them outting whoever gave them the documents, or if they don't, they will see that it leaks out.

[Boundless]

> ... an opposition research staffer for the Democratic
> National Committee received documents ...

Nice trace-back so far.

> ... oppo researcher claimed the source was
> "a retired military officer."

As if a DNC staffer would know how to be sure.
Anyway, they had to assume that most ex-mil people
had no love for the DNC.
Warning klaxon #1.

> "... they ended up with the Kerry campaign, for
> them to decide to how to proceed, .."

Plenty of faces for all the egg, it would seem.

> "It wasn't clear that our source for the documents
> would have had access to them. Our person couldn't
> confirm from what file, from what original source
> they came from."

Warning klaxon #2.

> "I think people here weren't sure what to make of it,
> because provenance of these documents was uncertain."

I guess nobody actually LOOKED at them.

> A CBS producer ... says that despite seeking
> professional assurances that the documents were
> legitimate ...

What an odd sentence. Did they GET the assurance?
Warning klaxon #3.

> "The problem was we had one set of documents from
> Bush's file that had Killian calling Bush 'an
> exceptionally fine young officer and pilot.' And
> someone who Killian said 'performed in an outstanding
> manner.' Then you have these new documents and the
> tone and content are so different."

Warning klaxon #4.

> ... the signatures and initials of Killian on the
> documents in hand did not match up ...

Warning klaxon #5.

> "This was too hot not to push. ...

Ding. We have a winner.

> ... a smaller segment believe that both the DNC and
> the Kerry campaign were duped by Karl Rove, who would
> have engineered the flap to embarrass the opposition.

B.S. Even Rove would not think so many people could be
so stupid as to ignore the obvious problems with these
documents.

Folks, the DNC and the Kerry campaign are going to push
this phoney baloney "victim of hoax" and "entrapped by
dirty trick" line. Push back. They walked into this
with more than ample warning, eyes wide shut.

[swheats]

Rove must be a freaking genius. /sarcasm

I guess CBS never heard of something being to good to be true.

[Grim]

The CBS producer said that some alarms bells went off last week when the signatures and initials of Killian on the documents in hand did not match up with other documents available on the public record, but producers chose to move ahead with the story.

So the signatures don't match but they went ahead anyway. And they admit it. That makes them guilty of libel. If nothing else, this will be the last we hear of the Bush National Guard nonsense.

[JulieRNR21]

According to one ABC News employee, some reporters believe that the Kerry campaign as well as the DNC were parties in duping CBS, but a smaller segment believe that both the DNC and the Kerry campaign were duped by Karl Rove, who would have engineered the flap to embarrass the opposition.

---

LOL.....When our scheme to smear Bush fails and it looks like we (CBS) got caught with our fingers in the (DemonRATs') cookie jar of dirty tricks.....we can blame that 'mastermind of political intrigue' Karl Rove!

[Uncle Miltie]

The Kerry campaign issued suspected forgeries with no more providence than a staffer's say so?

Kerry's dead. Deader than yesterday.

[woofie]

Karl was at my house a month ago working on this ...

[Freee-dame]

"If that's the case, then we're bigger fools than we already appear to be judging by all the chatter about how these documents could be forgeries."

old media bump

[DaughterOfAnIwoJimaVet]

Check it, dog. West side.

[farmfriend]

Personal list.

[Doctor Stochastic]

It really doesn't matter who produced the document. CBS as the Media-Who-Published should have checked it out better.

Howard Hughes Will
The Salamander Letter
Hitler Diaries
Report From Iron Mountain
Killian Memos

[Yaelle]

Man, Karl is soooooo clever! He knew the DNC would suspect the fake Bush docs he typed up, but he also knew that Kerry would push them onto a media source. He knew, of course, that the MSM souce would question the authenticity of the docs, but he knew that they were too juicy for them not to make a prime time special out of. Are we talking strategery or what???