What Alter fails to recognize (surprise surprise!) is that the conservatives (I guess it is the Vast Right Wing Conspiracy although it was interesting to see all those elements kick into action so quickly and with absolutely no coordination) did CBS and all the stupid liberals a BIG FAVOR by telegraphing what otherwise would have been the biggest catastrophe in CBS's fabled 75 year history. This kind of revisionist cr*p would have resulted in sponsor boycotts, castigation by even the most "sympathetic" TV critics, and a mass audience walk-away from CBS programming.
But one thing you have to grant to Alter: he knows all about being "Gutless".