Live Thread: Rather's Latest Apologia on CBS Evening News

CBS Evening News - Dan Rather

[governsleastgovernsbest]

According to the CBS News web site, tonight's CBS Evening News will address the latest developments in Rathergate.

Let's pile on.

[dawn53]

Yeah, sure, and CBS and Burkett would protect Rove, LOL!

[unsycophant]

How did CBS know to go to Burkett if the other orgs didn't? Why would they have to go to him if he was handing the docs out to every news outlet? Or, why only a few?

[bray]

Did Danosaur say that Burkett was a Commander in the Air National Guard? Isn't he from the Army National Guard???

Pray for W and Our Troops

[spectre]

This woman's eye says Rather and Burkett are as honest as Scott Peterson, Mark Hacking and Michael Jackson.

sw

[jimbo123]

Did Rather ask why JFKerrie didn't receive an honorable discharge from the Navy until 2001?

[Soul Seeker]

Legally it may lesson the consequences for Burkett, it only raises the stakes for CBS.

Does CBS have a planned response why they were tipped to Burkett? Who tipped them? Or are they still flying this story as events happen repsonding roughly 3-4 days behind current news cycle.

[mabelkitty]

His high-powered, Texas Supreme Court candidate attorney, Van Os, contradicts his own client and Dan Rather.
Wow - Troika of Tools.

[Bahbah]

"Mort Kondracke on Brit's show now raising question of how CB got the idea of going to Burkett, and also raises possibility Cleland and DNC involved."

Not denigrateing Mort's incisiveness, but does he have a screen in front of him with FR up?

[Lurking2Long]

Poor DU babies...can't take the truth!

[pt17]

I don't think it is very professional to "pile on."

Governsleastgovernsbest - proudly piling on liberal media hacks since 2002.

LOL, one might get the idea you took that first statement seriously.

[rolling_stone]

threw this theory out here a few days ago, it still seems plausible to me:

Using the time line with Burkett, his INTERNET posts, Cleland, Mapes in Texas, sending of the faxes on 9/2 receipt on 9/3 and the broadcast on 9/8

Wouldn't it be funny if Burkett gave the Kerry campaign the info(as in his internet post) they made the docs (he thinking they could get a real forger to do it better than he could and he could deny he forged them) and Dems sent them back to him, then DNC contacts CBS getting them (CBS and Burkett) together and then Burkett faxes them to CBS after he first gets them from Dems...

It fits with all the mistakes and using a word processor instead of a typewriter, maybe a 30 year old flunky or novice forger..Burkett would have known better the forms and abbreviations etc by the way I wonder if a dem did forge it and used one of Kerry's letters as a format-center justified signature-like this one at their site.(below link) Also look at the letterhead, the date year is 4 numbers unlike Air Force 2 numbers, and billet is a term used in the Navy, possibly not in the Air Force.

It is plausible Burkett got the docs from the dems and noticed errors but CBS was pushing him for time(why didn't he give them to Mapes and Rather the first meeting if he had them all the time?) so he faxed them anyway due to time constaints.


Compare this document from Kerry's site to the two posted at WP, one real and one forged and notice the mentioned differences, which makes me think someone from Kerry's camp had a hand in the forgery.

thttp://www.johnkerry.com/pdf/jkmilservice/National_Defense_Service_Medal.pdf

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/nation/daily/graphics/guard_091404.html

[searchandrecovery]

BTW, my wife and I are celebrating our 1st anniversary tonight

Well, just dang! Congrats all around. You get to know alot about a person in a year (good and bad). Sounds like it's working to me. Good luck and God bless you and your family.

[Grig]

How it could have gone down:

'Someone' creates the memos, uses Clealand to get them to Burkett and also arranges for the information to get to CBS that Burkett has a 'smoking gun'.

Mapes goes to Burkett, gets the memos, ID's Clealand as his source. CBS calls Clealand, confirms, and runs with the story.

Story falls apart, CBS asks Burkett to change his story about who gave them to him (or just agree to say he changed his story), Burkett agrees.

CBS ditches the memos on the chain of custody excuse rather than the forgery excuse, and avoids revealing either chain of custody beyond Burkett, thus covering for the 'someone' who started it all.

[LibertarianInExile]

And has a great personality, I'm sure.

[suppressing an evil laugh]

Yeah, my karma is really in trouble today.

[meyer]

I was wrong - Dan-o said the right things. He's still a raging liberal Bush-hater, but at least he said he was sorry and made mistakes. That's all I can expect. All hail BuckHead. Now, who's gonna win in November? I think the debates are the only hurdles left, and Bush looked pretty good last time. Let the games begin. Game on.

That wasn't a mistake. It was a deliberate, orchestrated operation involving the DNC, CBS, and Rather. They thought that they could pull the wool over the public's eyes (again), but got caught in short order by some very observant and intelligent folks in PJ's.

Operation "Fortunate Son" has fallen apart, and the left's biggest media mouthpiece has been discredited in the process. All that is left is to finish making the connections and to itemize and reiterate Bush's real guard record.

[WoofDog123]

the phone records are available from the kinkos fax, burkett's phone(s), others, to actually figure out who talked to whom, who faxed to whom, etc., if a criminal investigation actually took place. I am not betting on it, though.

that isn't to say the fbi or pentagon hasn't already viewed this data clandestinely.

[governsleastgovernsbest]

Sorry about that!

[BobS]

You said in so many words what my impression was in several seconds- Burkette is a cut-out.

[Grig]

One thing this does is it gives the FBI ground to start their invistigation with Burkett and leave CBS alone. No accusations of trying to strong arm the press, just a forgery investigation.

[Cosmo]

Thanks Much. It's been a great year!