Not only that, but recall in the Rathergate report that Mapes wanted to run this story a week before the election. I would bet that the pressure the Swifties were putting on the Kerry campaign drove CBS to put out the story much earlier, to try and focus the spotlight on Bush instead. It instead blew up in their faces, and kept Kerry out of the spotlight for at least two more weeks.
Was it this story or the story about the ammo dump that CeeBS planning on running right before the election but the NYSlimes beat them to it in their paper?