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2004-09-15 Home Front: Politix

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Posted by AzCat 2004-09-15 12:00:00 AM|| || Front Page|| [1 views since 2007-05-07] Top

#1 "...intended to unfairly damage his reputation and influence the outcome of the 2004 presidential election."

An excellent definition of modern politics. I don't think Congress will be moving on this one anytime soon.

Posted by Mister Write 2004-09-15 12:21:42 AM|| 2004-09-15 12:21:42 AM|| Front Page Top

#2 Oh, but we have to have congressional hearings! It sort of a tradition. How can we punish the innocent without public floggings? I mean, PlameGate got hearings...

Not that I think CBS is innocent in all this - they deserve a very public flogging and a few heads rolling about underfoot for their blatant covering up for the guilty party or parties.

Dan Rather? Off with his head. Mapes? Boil her in oil. CBS? Penny-ante advertising hell for the whole goddam board. NO CASH FLOW FOR YOU!

Posted by mojo 2004-09-15 12:32:49 AM|| 2004-09-15 12:32:49 AM|| Front Page Top

#3 Also a likely FEC violation. Not something the congress needs to get involved in.

Posted by Sock Puppet of Doom 2004-09-15 12:57:52 AM|| 2004-09-15 12:57:52 AM|| Front Page Top

#4 Bad idea

Normally I'd agree and your logic is spot-on but without serious external pressure, CBS and their allies in the MSM will stonewall while this story dies on the vine. E.g., rumor has it that bright and early tomorrow CBS will issue a press release stating that the memos are genuine and that they completely support Rather in his witch hunt (this is alleged to come "right from the top"). See also this wonderful headline from tomorrow's NY Times, "Memos on Bush Are Fake but Accurate, Typist Says". Also be certain to check the wire service stories on Bush's speech to members of the NG in CO today, prominently featured is the idea that Bush ducked addressing the content of the memos. The LA Times also has a new piece that chastises CBS for getting caught & not helping the Kerry campaign while asserting that no one needs any evidence to know that Bush received special treatment and didn't fulfill his commitment (despite ZERO evidence to support either assertion). Etc., etc., etc.

There are at least 2 issues here that outweigh the entertainment value of watching CBS & Rather twist in the wind: 1) allowing the use of forged documents by a large MSM organization attempting to influence a Presidential campaign to go unpunished will spell disaster for future campaigns; and 2) we need to know who passed the docs along to CBS and that will not happen until CBS is forced to admit that their memos are forgeries, until then they'll hide behind the facade of protecting their sources and/or confidentiality agreements with sources.

Clearly a large swath of the MSM is already attempting to circle the wagons and without some adult supervision (even the sort of irresponsible and politically charged adult supervision Congress can provide) they'll probably get away with it.

Posted by AzCat 2004-09-15 1:02:22 AM|| 2004-09-15 1:02:22 AM|| Front Page Top

#5 I disagree AzCat. The Washington Post, and ABC news are all over this. And for good reason. News organizations are businesses, and the only thing this business has to sell is its credibility. CBS shot its credibility all over the wall. The rest of the MSM know that if they don't take Rather down, then thei will look complicent in perpetrating a fraud on the American people.

They know that either CBS goes down, or they all go down, and have to find new jobs. Possilby forced to do their work in pajamas. This is twice now this summer the MSM has been beaten up by the blogs. First they try to ignore the SwiftVets, now this.

MSM will do the hatchet job, because they know that otherwise, they will be next to get hatcheted. They are watching Fox News eat their lunch, and getting smacked around by blogs, this is hurting their credibility and their bottom line.

Posted by Ben 2004-09-15 5:36:58 AM|| 2004-09-15 5:36:58 AM|| Front Page Top

#6 "smacked around by blogs"??

The only people who read weblogs are people who write them. The rest of us don't care.

Posted by gromky 2004-09-15 6:29:30 AM|| 2004-09-15 6:29:30 AM|| Front Page Top

#7 actually the blogs have been beating the MSM to the punch quite a bit. Drudge is considered a "blog" by the MSM by the way. Problems with inflated circulation numbers by major print media has left them with a black eye in a market that is driven by eyeballs. Fox News is creaming it's competition in the TV ratings. The MSM is going to devour Rather and CBS regardless.

Posted by Sock Puppet of Doom 2004-09-15 6:35:16 AM|| 2004-09-15 6:35:16 AM|| Front Page Top

#8 Me too Gromky, I used to read blogs but they got too crowded.

Posted by Shipman 2004-09-15 8:02:39 AM|| 2004-09-15 8:02:39 AM|| Front Page Top

#9 #6& #8 you two forgot to put the 'smiley' at the end of your comments. ;-) After all blogging is what Rantburg does best and right now there 203 people signed on to this Web blog.

Posted by GK 2004-09-15 9:14:48 AM|| 2004-09-15 9:14:48 AM|| Front Page Top

#10 Good idea to call for them, bad idea to hold them. The WH press operation should shun CBS in the second term. Never recognize them. Not one question. Not one interview. The Leper Colony

Posted by Mrs. Davis 2004-09-15 9:25:21 AM|| 2004-09-15 9:25:21 AM|| Front Page Top

#11 gromsky: "The only people who read weblogs are people who write them. The rest of us don't care."

This is SO not true. Since introducing my 70 year old Mother to blogs, she has become addicted.

She no longer believes any of the crap coming out of the print/broadcast outlets. And, she has brought these sources of information to the attention of her friends and coworkers.

That has had the effect of energizing a long dead interest in politics and other issues. These people for so long have despaired at the bias rampant in the MSM.

Now, they are interested again, and the word is spreading. I'm talking about people 60 and up, conservative and excited about where blogging might take the political battlefield.

To summarize: you are wrong!

CiT

Posted by CiT 2004-09-15 9:59:09 AM|| 2004-09-15 9:59:09 AM|| Front Page Top

#12 At first I was not on board with this but now I am seeing the logic. The public airwaves are just that public and they (congress) should exercise some control over with respect to the public interest. If CBS knowingly ran a story that was factually wrong then the public has a right to know. If it doesnât matter what is broadcast over the public airwaves then they might as well give Al Jerzera, Playboy, and KKK their own public license. What does Dan know and when did he know it! I am betting the letter came from his twisted daughter and he is protecting her.

Posted by Cyber Sarge 2004-09-15 12:12:43 PM|| 2004-09-15 12:12:43 PM|| Front Page Top

#13 Agree we should focus on Dan's daughter. Has to be someone too young to remember IBM Selectrics.

I doubt Congress would hold hearings. This is a two-edged sword.

As to the demise of the MSM, doubt it-- I think they'll simply morph into openly partisan viewspapers and viewschannels, as Pinch Sulzberger's NYTimes has already done. That's a good marketing strategy--certainly better than trying to hang on to a core demographic that's of interest only to pharmaceutical company advertisers.

Posted by lex 2004-09-15 12:18:04 PM|| 2004-09-15 12:18:04 PM|| Front Page Top

#14 Yep, what Yogi said. But I can't wait to find out the who! CBS is screwed. I'll never believe anything they post until it's vetted by the blogs.

I wonder who will be the first to crack the code of silence?

Posted by Lucky 2004-09-15 12:30:17 PM|| 2004-09-15 12:30:17 PM|| Front Page Top

#15 Can you picture the person(s) who actually created the documents? They must have a real bad stomachache and an Excedrin headache (not to mention the night sweats) right about now...

Posted by Seafarious 2004-09-15 12:37:15 PM|| 2004-09-15 12:37:15 PM|| Front Page Top

#16 I don't think there is going to punishment from Congress on this. Rather, it will just be a good airing of a tremendous stink over at "the Tiffany Network".

The subcommittee on broadcasting has a form for reporting fraud. If using documents such as this and persisting in claiming they are real doesn't constitute fraud, I don't know what does. (LINK to subcommittee tipline)

Posted by eLarson 2004-09-15 12:38:13 PM|| [http://larsonian.blogspot.com] 2004-09-15 12:38:13 PM|| Front Page Top

#17 But the code will be cracked and those that attempt to keep the charade alive will be outed.

If this has Kerry's campaign finger prints on it and CBS coordinated this with other news orgs. (Remember gravitas). Then something needs to be addressed.

My local paper, the Tacoma News Tribune, had an article two days before the CBS hit piece aired, reopening Ws service. After the sad CBS affair broke they had an editorial labelling the Swiftvets charges as unsubstantiated and also calling CBS to task (how balanced, no). Punks need to look in the mirror, useful idiots, carrying Kerrys' bucket.

Posted by Lucky 2004-09-15 12:42:56 PM|| 2004-09-15 12:42:56 PM|| Front Page Top

#18 Wonder if it was one of the MoveOn or other leftist 527 idiots?

Posted by lex 2004-09-15 12:46:33 PM|| 2004-09-15 12:46:33 PM|| Front Page Top

#19 The trial lawyers are steamed, and making nasty noises off-stage. CBS better watch it's ass, or they're gonna find themselves up the proverbial creek, sans paddle.
http://beldar.blogs.com/beldarblog/2004/09/dan_rather_was_.html

Posted by mojo 2004-09-15 1:06:19 PM|| 2004-09-15 1:06:19 PM|| Front Page Top

#20 If you listened to the guy from Powerline last night on Brit Hume's show it (the forgery dirty trick) seems to have been telegraphed a few days ahead of time. He said that he read in the Boston Globe that Kerry's campaign was starting a new task force "Fortunate Son" that would start to ~~sling mud~~ focus on Bushes ANG service. Then you get Susan (Smokes to much)Estrich whining about the swifties and asking out loud if the Bush camp would like a taste of their own medince. Then low and behold 60II goes and drops the ball on the Memos. "Coordinated efficiency" as Lombardi use to call teamwork!

Posted by Jack is Back 2004-09-15 2:35:58 PM|| 2004-09-15 2:35:58 PM|| Front Page Top

#21 One thing that can be done right how is change the Presidential Debates. Right now, CBS is MCing one (all?) of them. Yank that and give it to Fox or ABC or someone else.

Posted by jackal 2004-09-15 3:10:23 PM|| [http://home.earthlink.net/~sleepyjackal/index.html] 2004-09-15 3:10:23 PM|| Front Page Top

#22 It is not the idea of hearings being bad on its own, but the scope of the hearings. Fraud, FCC, FEC issues are part of the law, and should be dealt with.

Witchhunts for all minor indiscretions by MSM should be out of bounds. BUT these 4 memos are germaine to any hearings.

Posted by BigEd 2004-09-15 3:36:34 PM|| 2004-09-15 3:36:34 PM|| Front Page Top

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