Posted on 09/20/2004 5:32:23 PM PDT by Dont Mention the War
Posted on Mon, Sep. 20, 2004
NEW YORK - At the behest of CBS, an adviser to John Kerry said he talked to a central figure in the controversy over President Bush's National Guard service shortly before disputed documents were released.
Joe Lockhart denied any connection between the presidential campaign and the papers. Lockhart, the second Kerry ally to confirm contact with retired Texas National Guard officer Bill Burkett, said he made the call at the suggestion of CBS producer Mary Mapes.
"He had some advice on how to deal with the Vietnam issue and the Swift boat" allegations, Lockhart said Monday, referring to GOP-fueled accusations that Kerry exaggerated his Vietnam War record. "He said these guys play tough and we have to put the Vietnam experience into context and have Kerry talk about it more."
Lockhart said he thanked Burkett for his advice after a three to four minute call.
Lockhart said he does not recall talking to Burkett about Bush's Guard records. "It's baseless to say the Kerry campaign had anything to do with this," he said.
CBS News apologized Monday for a "mistake in judgment" in its story questioning Bush's Guard service, claiming it was misled by the source of documents that several experts have dismissed as fakes.
Burkett admitted this weekend to CBS that he lied about obtaining the documents from another former National Guard member, the network said. CBS hasn't been able to conclusively tell how he got them, or even whether they're fakes or not.
Kerry ally Max Cleland, a former Georgia senator, also said he had a brief conversation last month with Burkett, who told him he had information about Bush to counter charges against Kerry's Vietnam War service. Cleland said he gave Burkett's name and phone number to the campaign's research department.
Kerry spokesman David Ginsberg said nobody in the campaign's research department followed up on Burkett's offer of information.
Lockhart said Mapes asked him the weekend before the story broke to call Burkett. "She basically said there's a guy who is being helpful on the story who wants to talk to you," Lockhart said, adding that it was common knowledge that CBS was working on a story raising questions about Bush's Guard service. Mapes told him there were some records "that might move the story forward. She didn't tell me what they said."
keep in mind the are the same people who said it would be unethical to tell US soldiers of an ambush if they found out in advance. (the have to be neutral observers they claim)
If Mapes called lockart to advise him of a "silver bullet" it will be impossible for CBS to recover or even participate in the presidential coverage.
Hey, the DU was not the original PROTEST-ants, Martin Luther was, pinning his 95 thesis to The Wittenberg Door. So our precedent is not DU; it's Luther. To "protest" literally means to publicly declare your negative testimony ("test" from Latin "testis", which is where we get words like "attest" and "testimony" & even "testicle"). So whose got the balls to shine a light on dark corners?
Note: I didn't say harass Ms. Mapes.
"A Kennedy vs Clinton fight?"
There was a skirmish between them about the DEM Convention, Boston vs NYC. Fats won that one, but yes there is a real power struggle, which I suspected could get bloody when the 'Noids started to board the USS Kerry in fake uniforms.
I think it is a subtext of the whole greater fiasco but a vital one which will prevent an effective stonewall by DNC/Kerry.
The rats & media have been so entertaining my 50 lb bag of popcorn kernels is empty and the aluminum whirlipopper is almost thin enough to see through. At this rate I'll need two more bags before inaugeration day.
Right AFTER he announces his resignation ...advising that he needs the time to prepare for his legal defense to avoid doing serious time in the pen.
I totally agree with you.
Thanks for filling in the blanks.
Re: "So then, all that is needed is to subpoena call records for ALL of those involved and follow the time line of who called who first. Could take a little bit of work, but shouldn't be too hard to figure out. Or is it more complicated than that?"
The GOP head of the House subcommittee that has jurisdiction has already refused to hold hearings, saying the scandal was best handled by the press itself.
I don't know who you could get to investigate this. Probably no one by the election.
But this was a illegal (because of forged docs) conspiracy aimed at swinging the election to the DEMS IMHO.
I agree, and that's one of the big problems with Kerry: he can't stay on the same message for longer than one daily news cycle. No wonder people think that he's not steady enough in a crisis. How he reacts to this may be the final determinant in peoples' minds about his performance under pressure.
And the advent of the blogoshpere hasn't helped him, as every syllable that he utters is immediately propagated and pored over for the latest flip-flop. So, good luck, 'cause I don't think he's going to pull through this one.
simple enough to check phone records.
Kerry has no plan, other than criticizing Bush, which he has done to every president who has been involved in a war since he was in college.
His plan it to bring the troops home, i.e., admit defeat and turn tail; the American public will not sit still for that.
I just can't feature that Hillary would forsake her best shot (in '08) at the presidency and hasn't somehow helped push this thing along. After all, she wins either way.
So Burkett writes on the Internet that Bush's records are "reassembled", Burkett admits he called Cleland, who admits he referred him directly to campaign officials, who admit that Burkett called them.
Then suddenly Burkett and the memos are in CBS's hands...
The missing piece was a conversation between Kerry people and CBS people and now Lockhart admits that he and Mapes talked about Burkett.
Case closed.
Looks more and more that the Kerry campaign AND CBS were duped!
Where there's smoke...there's Hillary conducting the orchestra!
This thing may be blowing wide open ..Tony Coelho has just said on hardball that the DNC had the Memo's before Burkett gave them to CBS!
Good lawd......like I said, they're all turning upon each other. And Coelho has his own axe to grind from way back to the Gore campaign in '00. Long knives, indeed.....
it is very notable that clinton is NOT out campaigning for kerry, nor has he been prior to his surgery.
it is of course possible that kerry's ego will not let clinton get involved in this, but maybe bill hasn't offered.
Hard to figure if clinton's tremendous need for public attention would outway any fig he may care for HRC's 08 prospects.
The problem for kerry is that the modern news cycle is hourly not daily.
His four points for a plan in iraq was discted before the spin doctors had a chance to say boo.
By the time albright appears on the talk shows, she is already citing out dated talking points.
Well Dan's report was on the Wed the 8th .. and I know the media knew about this ad on Monday the 13th because Terry was asked about it on my local talk radio
So if you include the weekend .. that would give the DNC 4 days to think up, gather the info, clips, and put together that video ad .. and it was a long ad.
Like I said .. this thing was planned ahead of time .. or they are just REALLY REALLY fast
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