[Howlin]

What was Dan Rather doing during the Vietnam War?

[rocklobster11]

Here's a link to the CBS story:

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2004/09/06/politics/main641481.shtml

...The first memo is a direct order to take "an annual physical examination" – a requirement for all pilots

...Another memo refers to a phone call from the lieutenant in which he and his commander "discussed options of how Bush can get out of coming to drill from now through November." And that due to other commitments "he may not have time."...

...Killian's memo, titled 'CYA' reads he is being pressured by higher-ups to give the young pilot a favorable yearly evaluation; to, in effect, sugarcoat his review. He refuses, saying, "I'm having trouble running interference and doing my job." ...

...More difficult to brush off are two official memos that seem to contradict previous White House statements.

One "orders" the president to report for a physical. The White House has said the physical was "not necessary" because the president stopped flying.

And where the White House says the president's flying status was revoked simply for missing that physical, the memo points to both the missed physical and "failure to perform to (USAF/TexANG) standards...

[txrangerette]

Covering it in the field, whipping up the anti-war protests against Nixon - I believe it was, by then. Came home, became CBS White House correspondent to bedevil Nixon in the WH press room.

[mass55th]

I know Barnes was 27 in 1966 when my brother was in Vietnam. He was at Law School according to a brief bio. Before that he had attended college at Univ. of Texas. So how many deferments did he have? At 30, he had been elected Lt. Governor of Texas.

[Victoria]

Barbara Bush: "George was scheduled to have an interview with Dan Rather before the President's speech (1988). It was billed as a political profile, which they had done on all the other candidates and which had been benign stories devoid of controversy. However, CBS opened with a six-minute 'exposé' on George's alleged role in Iran-contra that was filled with false assumptions. It was just plain ugly. Then came nine minutes of Dan grilling George. There were raised voices on both sides. At one point George sad: 'You have impugned my integrity...if this is a political profile for an election, I have a very different opinion as to what it should be.' George rarely gets angry, but Dan kept on about Iran-contra with the most vicious slander, never listening to an answer. At one time George interrupted Dan and said: 'It is not fair to judge my whole career by a rehash on Iran. How would you like it if I judged your whole career by those seven minutes you walked off the set in New York.' (He was referring to an incident several years earlier when Dan had done just that, resulting in dead air.)

"After the interview each side accused the other of an ambush. Our campaign felt CBS purposely misled them on the content of the interview; CBS said that the Bush campaign deliberately planned an attack. I do believe we came out the winner: CBS reported getting complaint calls; ours were of support.

"I was there and, believe me, there was no plot or plan to attack. But you can just take so much. I really do feel that CBS news programs often start an interview with an unflattering opener, and in this case, an untrue one. This puts many interviewees on the defensive. George often has to remind me of that when I see an interview featuring a political opponent and I'm taking some comfort in their unease. George forgives to a fault, but he will never trust Dan Rather again." --Barbara Bush in her 1994 book, Barbara Bush: A Memoir.

[Mad_Tom_Rackham]

What was Dan Rather doing during the Vietnam War?

Writing love letters to Fidel?