[The Great Yazoo]

Rather damning, I'd say.

[Pharmboy]

Professor Sowell nails it as usual. I love this guy...

[7thson]

I forgot about that children starving bs. Sowell is right and presents a powerful argument. People tend to confuse bias and zeal. Others also defend Rather's actions by saying there is no liberal bias but a cultural one - same schools, same neighborhoods, same parties, same jobs, etc. But if the cultural is liberal than the bias becomes liberal also. Guys like Rather and Brokaw seem proud to come from ordinary roots but looking close you see the first chance they get, they run away from their roots. We all have our Dan Rather stories and anyone who checks closely can see he should have been fired long, long ago.

[Luigi Vasellini]

What about Dans TV special where he interviewed "real live nam vets" that claimed they saw our boys skinning people alive, raping, killin babies etc. It later turned out that none of those interviewed were ever in Nam. What a great propagandist of anti-Americanism!!!

[IPWGOP]

Damning, indeed. And I take special note of this portion:

If it was just a matter of Dan Rather's zeal for a story letting him get carried away -- another popular spin -- then why was this zeal for digging into what George W. Bush did or didn't do three decades earlier in the Texas National Guard not matched by an equal zeal to dig into John Kerry's military record?

It was gutless of Dan Rather and umpteen other journalists of his so-called stature to blatantly stonewall this. John Kerry spent just over 4 months and got 3 Purple Hearts. One of which was by Kerry's own admission accidentally self-inflicted. Another one only required a bandaide.

Truly, when I listened to Dan Rather's parting words, exhorting victims of all kinds of tragedies to have 'courage', well, I could only think of what a gutless, biased wonder he was as a journalist. Hence, my portrayal:

[G.Mason]

"This was a crock --(one out of 8 kids going hungry) but it was a fashionable crock on the left at that time and Dan Rather not only echoed but amplified a ridiculous "study" done by leftist activists. He probably didn't set out to tell a lie then any more than he did when he relied on forged documents to try to "get" President Bush on the eve of last year's election."

Here is where Mr. Sowell and I are at odds.

Of course Rather set out to tell a lie. This was a premeditated attempt to get the president.

Just as premeditated as was the non investigation into Kerry's honorable discharge, issued many years after his service ended, by Carter.

[Bahbah]

One popular spin is that it is a shame that a long and distinguished career should be judged by one unfortunate error....

Every time I hear this "long and distinguished career" nonsense, it makes me want to scream. The only correct part of the statement is that his career was long, way too long. There is nothing distinguished about perpetrating the kinds of lies he did. The TANG documents were not an "unfortunate error." They were a deliberate attempt to take down a president by proving that the man sending our military to war was insubordinate and shirked his duty. Thank God for Howlin, Buckhead, Tanker KC and all those who picked up the ball and ran with it. And thank God for Jim Robinson and FR.

[Waco]

CBS and Rather conspired to commit a crime against this nation by using phoney "documents" to throw the election. Throw it to a commie front group at that.

[chainsaw]

When is Kerry going to sign and release his form 180??

He said he would on Tim Russert's show but hasn't done so yet.

[Zacs Mom]

He probably didn't set out to tell a lie then any more than he did when he relied on forged documents to try to "get" President Bush on the eve of last year's election.

"I think you can be an honest person and lie about any number of things."
Dan Rather, May 15, 2001

[Unknown Freeper]

Dr. Sowell bump
Don't you just love him!

[Hatteras]

"He probably didn't set out to tell a lie then any more than he did when he relied on forged documents to try to "get" President Bush on the eve of last year's election."

This is where conservative pundits blow it. Of course Dan Rather set out to tell a lie. Dan Rather did set out to get George Bush. If you believe otherwise, you've been taken for a fool. As always, Sowell, like most conservative pundits, is trying to throw Rather and the Leftists a little bone here. A sure sign of a crack in the armor that the Leftists will always take advantage of.

[Old Grumpy]

Excellent article.

[arasina]

Well said, Thomas Sowell. (as usual) Dan Rather's descent from his anchor throne is much like Bill Clinton's downward slide in the presidency. Both were 'contrived' persona; both were caught lying to the American people; both got to 'stay in office' thanks to friends in the DNC; both will have their biggest lies as their legacy no matter how they try to rewrite their history of 'working so hard for so many years'.

[Tax-chick]

Thomas Sowell is America's greatest living intellectual!

[Tom Bombadil]

Thanks for the post, I really enjoy Sowell.

The way Dan Rather and CBS News tried to stonewall and brazen out the forged document scandal suggests that they didn't realize the extent to which their monopoly was gone.

Still setting up ambushes, but now they don't own the turf and don't realize it. There was no good exit from the Forged document ambush site.

George Custer was another arrogant slob who didn't own the turf and hadn't realized his position.

Adding token conservatives does tell us that they are starting to look over their shoulder.

[No Truce With Kings]

"Zeal is not bias and bias is not zeal, regardless of what spin is being put out in the media about Dan Rather."

Best line in the whole thing.

[BibChr]

Rat awn.

[Ditto]

There was also the "Wall Within" CBS Special where Dan interviewed 5 "Vietnam vets" who told him they were all screwed up because of what the government made them do in Vietnam. Dan never bothered to check their records and when shown evidence that none of these guys ever served in combat, he chose to ignore the evidence and "stand by his story".

It was nothing but a shot at all Vets, painting them as druggies, losers and crazed killers. It fit the left wing anti-military line and Dan was more than glad to spread the lies for them.

[sport]

I agree with Thomas.

[Tallguy]

With the honorable discharge on Kerry's own web site dated during the Carter administration, years after his service ended, why no zeal to find out if this was one of the less than honorable discharges retroactively raised to the status of "honorable" under Jimmy Carter's amnesty programs? Wouldn't that be quite a story?

Not holding my breath on that one...