Posted on 09/17/2004 11:42:41 PM PDT by GAGOPSWEEPTOVICTORY
In a new blow to CBS anchor Dan Rather's credibility, the man who has supposedly exerted pressure to "sugarcoat" President Bush's National Guard record has spoken out and says the story is dead wrong. "I never pressured anybody about George Bush because I had no reason to," retired Brigadier Gen. Walter Staudt, who headed Bush's unit in the Texas Air National Guard, told ABC News.
The dubious documents that Rather used in a "60 Minutes" report last week that accused Bush of shirking his National Guard duty include a supposed Aug. 18, 1973, memo that claims Staudt was "pushing to sugar coat" Bush's ratings.
More than a dozen document experts including two hired by CBS say the memos are computer-generated fakes. Skeptics also note anomalies like the use of Army rather than Air Force terms and the fact that Staudt had retired 18 months before.
~snip~
CBS spokeswoman Sandy Genelius brushed off Staudt's statements: "In a debate this heated, one can hardly expect Gen. Staudt to endorse the point of view that he exerted undue influence."
(Excerpt) Read more at nypost.com ...
Mary Mapes said that they believed the old lady typed the memos! But Knox said she didn't.....???
If GW were so incompetent, why would GHWB exert pressure to have him fly F-102's. All the undue influence in the world cannot keep an uncapable pilot from buying the farm his first solo flight out.
It's not as though he were assigned a body guard to keep him out of trouble in rear-echelon duty somewhere.
I'm sure they did not because he was already on record praising George W. Bush to the skies and saying he'd like to kick the press's asses.
CBS has been on record (repeatedly now) that if one is a Bush supporter they are considered "biased".
But they think the Mrs. Knoxes (Bush was "selected not elected) are acceptable to present to the viewing public.
They come very close to saying Bush supporters and Bush himself are persona non grata.
Then go with what it looks like. They haven't investigated the story for four years. That's the cover story to make it look like they dug it up instead of being approached by high-level democrats in recent days.
Yes she said it to John Carlson...she also said MORE would be comng out!! Guess they are being forged as we speak!
Why did Rather use fraudulent documents in an effort to prove something that is true? If it is the only evidence that he has then he cannot conclude that it is true. If he has better evidence then why doesn't he trot out the better evidence instead of destroying his "credibility" by participating in fraud and forgery.
A $100 doesn't cease to be a forgery because I have $100 in my bank account somewhere.
Actually, the heat is turning on the Kerry Kamp, too...I mean, CBS did get the documents from someone...
So, who are you going to believe, Rather and an 86 year old Democratic secretary, or a retired Brigadier who had to be coaxed to make a statement?
I hope you and others see the implications of their behavior.
Lemme get this straight... it's a problem when Bush doesn't deny the (bogus) charges, because it "shows he has something to hide", but when Staudt does deny the allegations, it's a problem because he denial is supposedly self-serving.
In other words, dammed if you don't, damned if you do. CBS assumes that the original allegation, regardless of the fact that there's no evidence for it, must be correct and that any response -- no matter how supported it is -- simply reinforces their original "truth".
LOL!!
Dan Rather is the Ed Wood of journalism!!
"Plan 9 from CBS"
"Night of the Fools"
"Orgy of the Deadwood Journalists"
"Dan or Dana" (after Dan goes into the witness protection program!)
Yes, larry, she is. In her first interviews she said she did not know Lt. Bush, then her story changed. Other witnesses---many others---contradict her charge the content was essentially corrrect (actually, the content was in fact no big deal--the forgers made it spinnable, not explicitly incriminating).
So, to sum up, we one one Mrs. Knox with a changing story who says Bush was selected not elected against several men who actually knew the men involved and completely dispute the allegations. Because she is anti-Bush she's deemed credible by CBS and evidently you. Because the others are pro-Bush they're deemed biased.
That is outrageous and ridiculous. I expect you'll stand by it.
Get over yourself.
For the opposition party, yes. For the media, it is quite legitimate to report the facts - not harm the President.
That you believe the media has a legitimate role in harming the President is telling.
It isn't surprising to you that CBS continues to stick with their original story, even after their fraud has been long-exposed?
And more to come out!!
Except that it is abudantly clear that they didn't try to exercise due diligence. CBS ignored the warnings of multiple experts who claimed that the documents could not be authenticated. They went out of their way to dismiss any point of view that could have been favorable to the President. They failed to interview Staudt and Knox.
Considering that they had supposedly been working on this story for five years, that's an awful lot of things they simply "forgot" to do...
What a bunch of CBS, loser. You couldn't begin to tell anyone here about nested glyphs.
The documents are forgeries.
Burkett has connected himself to the Kerry campaign.
Cleland has connected Burkett to the Kerry campaign.
Four more years for Bush.
Four years in jail for the forger.
Now let me tell you what you are. Just another DUmmie in a long parade of Trotskyites who like to wander in here in the middle of the night, not because you think you have anything useful to say, but because you're bored or sad or full of gin or whatever. And then you'll retreat a couple of wasted hours later to the DUmbderground or cesspool of your choice and post about how brave and clever you were to go to FR and fritter away 500 words of Blatheresque sophistry. (You couldn't even get your lame tautology straight. Pathetic.) Just another road stain MorOn.org McGovernick with nothing to say.
I pity you.
This is what you'd expect from Pravda or Isvestia!
Totally bizzaro... so retro... but yet soooo entertaining!!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.