Burkett also told a long story to a Boston Glober reporter, and mentioned another person's name, Conn, claiming that Conn could corraborate Burkett's story, because he was there too. Conn not only didn't corraborate Burkett's story, but flat out said none of it was true, as "zip, nada" (quoting Conn, I think was they guy's name)
The Boston Globe reporter was on Hannity & C. the other day.
He also said this was in February. ALL the news media knew that Burkett was totally unreliable and phony.
Yet CBS was "duped". Sure, they were. I think CBS is fully complicit, they KNEW the memos were phony, but figured, it won't come out at all or if it does, it will be after the elections, and with President Kerry, who is going to push the issue. Bush will be forgotten.
What they didn't count on is all those bloggers in their pajamas! LOL
You got it absolutely right!
There are far too many folks, here and elsewhere, willing to say that Burkett put one over on CBS. Or worse yet, willing to buy Burkett's story that he was duped and is protecting the original source.
The logic just isn't there to buy this "pass off of responsibility"!
1)Burkett had tried to shop the same story months ago to the Boston Globe - sans documents.
2) Mary Mapes, CBS producer has been working for 5 years on this story by her own admission. Does anyone think that she would let 5 yrs of effort slide by until after the election if she could find a chance of making it stick.
3) CBS staff was high-fiving each other in the studio after Rather ran the story - Mapes and Rather included.
4) CBS literally had to run roughshod over their "document authenticators" to get this on the air. The ones that they cited as verifying authenticity, were less positive, or did a less through job than CBS indicated they did. The ones they ignored were all highly skeptical of the document's authenticity and expressed reservations to CBS, prior to Rathers broadcast.
There are about 20 or 30 other reasons that I'm too lazy to type. The important thing is to not to let CBS off the hook.
CBS and Burkett are both protecting a source that will likely turn out to have ties to the Kerry campaign. That's why they are playing this so close to the vest.