They’d Rather Not Tell You
First the big statement was coming at 12:00 p.m. EDT. That time came and went. Maybe they meant 12:00 PDT? Nope, that time passed, too. Then we’re told the story is realy coming at 5:00 p.m. EDT. That deadline passes, too. Finally, through Drudge, we get this tell-all statement by the President of CBS News, Andrew Heyward:
We established to our satisfaction that the memos were accurate or we would not have put them on television. There was a great deal of coroborating [sic] evidence from people in a position to know.
Or, as Chris Lawrence succintly put it, the memos were real before they were fake.
Having said that, given all the questions about them, we believe we should redouble our efforts to answer those questions, so that’s what we are doing.
Then, he didn’t. Watch for Columbia B.S. to investigate its own past fraud at least as vigorously as Governor Girlyman has investigated the groping charges against him. I mean, who better to investigate you than you? No one else knows you better.
I’m sorry, but these calls to fire Dan Rather are not going far enough. If Dan Rather is CBS’s answer to Jayson Blair, Andrew Heyward is Howell Raines. Both must go.
UPDATE: Another head that needs to roll is that of Sea of B.S. spokeswoman Sandra Genelius, the genelius who had this to say about Marian Carr Knox’s attempted save:
It is notable that she confirms the content of the documents, which was the primary focus of our story in the first place. After all, no one minds when the cops lie on the stand or plant evidence on a suspect, as long as they only do that to suspects they’re pretty sure are guilty anyway.
OK, maybe she didn’t say that last bit. She meant it, though.
September 15th, 2004 at 4:44 pm
Speaking of they’d rather not tell you.
September 15th, 2004 at 5:32 pm
That’s a lovely little summary of CBS’s attitude. It’s OK to plant evidence if you’re pretty sure they’re guilty.
I hope that idea catches on.
September 15th, 2004 at 7:19 pm
I vote for quote of the day
September 15th, 2004 at 7:44 pm
cbs: “cold blooded slanderers”
September 15th, 2004 at 7:50 pm
Wayward Heyward
I’m with Xlrq: I’m sorry, but these calls to fire Dan Rather are not going far enough. If Dan Rather is CBS’s answer to Jayson Blair, Andrew Heyward is Howell Raines. Both must go. Yes, the upstream firings must at least include CBS News President…
September 15th, 2004 at 8:06 pm
The Media: Fake but Accurate?
Should we expect anything else from the industry that brought us exploding pickup trucks, the Hitler diaries, Janet Cooke, Stephen Glass and Jayson Blair? UPDATE: I forgot about Dan Rather and The Wall Within. Feel free to leave other examples…
September 15th, 2004 at 8:18 pm
Am I the only one who is starting to question Watergate?
September 15th, 2004 at 8:27 pm
L.A. Times Whiffs the Forged Documents Story
The lesson of the CBS forged documents scandal for the mainstream media is simple and straightforward: Don’t hide the truth. Because if you try, your deception will be discovered, and your reputation will be irreparably damaged. John Carroll, the edit…
September 16th, 2004 at 1:57 am
Yeah, that’s the ticket. After all, the LAPD planting evidence sure got O.J. convicted…
Right?
September 16th, 2004 at 6:02 am
In an news era of re-enactments, docu-dramas, computerized animation and actor-portrayals, should we really be surprised CBS tried to get away with presenting forgeries as props for a story based on a couple of partisans’ “feelings”? Having Kitty Kelly hawking her trash at the same time is revealing because, rather than demonstrating two ends of the journalistic spectrum, it’s becoming obvious the difference between Kelly and Rather is more one of style than “substance”.
September 16th, 2004 at 11:38 pm
Weekend prayer
Dear God, may CBS and Dan Rather finally give up on this memo farce so we can return to regular (pyjama) blogging (sans Rather) and get on with our lives. Please. The horse is dead. And there are far more important things going on….
September 19th, 2004 at 8:26 am
“Sandra Genelius, the genelius…”
I know, it’s cheap to poke fun at a person’s name… but in this case, with outrageous fibbing and jiving from CBS, it is justified :mrgreen:… and I can’t stop grinning.
September 20th, 2004 at 8:32 pm
Below is a RatherGate ABCNEWS.com story that says Guard Officer Denies Seeking Help for Bush.
( http://abcnews.go.com/sections/Politics/Vote2004/staudt_bush_040917-1.html )
Air National Guard Col. Walter Staudt, far right, is pictured with George H.W. Bush, George W. Bush and an unidentified woman in this photo from the younger Bush’s time in the Guard. Staudt denies he received preferential treatment.
(ABC News)
Air National Guard Colonel Denies Bush Got Preferential Treatment
Sept. 17, 2004 — The man cited in media reports as having allegedly pressured others in the Texas Air National Guard to help George W. Bush is speaking out, telling ABC News in an exclusive interview that he never sought special treatment for Bush.
Retired Col. Walter Staudt, who was brigadier general of Bush’s unit in Texas, interviewed Bush for the Guard position and retired in March 1972. He was mentioned in one of the memos allegedly written by Lt. Col. Jerry Killian as having pressured Killian to assist Bush, though Bush supposedly was not meeting Guard standards.
“I never pressured anybody about George Bush because I had no reason to,” Staudt told ABC News in his first interview since the documents were made public.
The memo stated that “Staudt is pushing to sugar coat” a review of Bush’s performance.
Staudt said he decided to come forward because he saw erroneous reports on television. CBS News first reported on the memos, which have come under scrutiny by document experts who question whether they are authentic. Killian, the purported author of the documents, died in 1984.
Staudt insisted Bush did not use connections to avoid being sent to Vietnam.
“He didn’t use political influence to get into the Air National Guard,” Staudt said, adding, “I don’t know how they would know that, because I was the one who did it and I was the one who was there and I didn’t talk to any of them.”
During his time in charge of the unit, Staudt decided whether to accept those who applied for pilot training. He recalled Bush as a standout candidate.
“He was highly qualified,” he said. “He passed all the scrutiny and tests he was given.”
Staudt said he never tried to influence Killian or other Guardsmen, and added that he never came under any pressure himself to accept Bush. “No one called me about taking George Bush into the Air National Guard,” he said. “It was my decision. I swore him in. I never heard anything from anybody.”
When he interviewed for the job, Bush was eager to join the pilot program, which Staudt said often was a hard sell. “I asked him, ‘Why do you want to be a fighter pilot?’ ” Staudt recalled. “He said, ‘Because my daddy was one.’ He was a well-educated, bright-eyed young man, just the kind of guy we were looking for.”
He added that Bush more than met the requirements for pilot training. “He presented himself well. I’d say he was in the upper 10 percent or 5 percent or whatever we ever talked to about going to pilot training. We were pretty particular because when he came back [from training], we had to fly with him.”
Bush has repeatedly said he completed all of his Guard commitments. Critics of the president say he got special treatment because his father was a congressman and U.N. ambassador. There also have been questions about why the young Bush skipped a required medical exam in 1972 and apparently failed to show up for Guard activities for six months.
Records show Bush stopped flying F-102As in April 1972. He has said he moved to Alabama to work on the Senate campaign of a family friend. Staudt retired from the Guard in March of that year and said he was never contacted about Bush’s performance.
“There was no contact between me and George Bush … he certainly never asked for help,” Staudt said. “He didn’t need any help as far as I knew.”
He added that after retiring he was not involved in Air National Guard affairs. “I didn’t check in with anybody — I had no reason to,” he said. “I was busy with my civilian endeavors, and they were busy with their military options. I had no reason to talk to them, and I didn’t.”
Staudt said he continues to support Bush now that he is president. “My politics now are that I’m an American, and that’s about all I can tell you,” he said. “And I’m going to vote for George Bush.”
ABC News’ Ariane DeVogue contributed to this report.