"What is most amazing to me is that the usual defenders of liberal bias and the like are squarely aligned with the this-is-out-and-out-fraud crowd."
Don't be amazed; they are irate with Rather for impeaching their greatest tool of demogoguery, the network news organizations. They know that without the Ba'athist wing of the media to back up their lies, they're sunk; and they fear that with Rather they have a gaping hole in the hull.
A parallel can be drawn to the reaction to the Clinton's looting the White House on their way out: as the New York Slimes may have said, "its fine to perjure, rape, murder and commit treason, but when you steal the White House silver you make US look bad you lowlife trailer trash!"
Don't worry...they'll get over it.
Great post.