One of the revelations here in the middle of the story is that Rather has known Ben Barnes for 30 years. Many of us suspected Barnes and he were acquaintenances, if not more. And he never revealed this during the program.
The 30-year timeframe also means that they became acquainted in the immediate wake of the Sharpstown Scandal -- which cost Barnes his political career.
Rather thus befriended a known corruptor and corruptee...
Rather's daughter worked for Barnes a couple years back, and Dan showed up to one of his Dem events to give a speech at his daughter's request. He caught some flak for it at the time.
That whole paragraph is very revealing. Look at the timing, the long-standing relationship and where it says Mapes was trying to convince Barnes to come forward and tell his story, like he'd never told it before when he has:
During the Republican National Convention in New York, Rather got a call from Ben Barnes, a onetime Texas lieutenant governor and veteran Democrat who has known the anchor, a former Houston TV reporter, for 30 years. Barnes said he was ready to say before the cameras that he had pulled strings to get Bush a coveted slot in the Texas Guard in 1968. Mapes had long been urging Barnes to tell his story.
~snip~