The most stunning thing about tonight's AP report is this passage:
"Lockhart, the second Kerry ally to confirm contact with retired Texas National Guard officer Bill Burkett, said he made the call at the suggestion of CBS producer Mary Mapes. 'He had some advice on how to deal with the Vietnam issue and the Swift boat' allegations, Lockhart said, referring to GOP-fueled accusations that Kerry exaggerated his Vietnam War record."
So a CBS producer was calling a Kerry campaign worker, passing along information, making suggestions, and providing them with oppo research contacts?
As I said, earlier, CBS would have been much, much better off stonewalling and looking merely incompetent.
5 hours ago
3 comments:
Two things strike me as quite odd (I'm being generous here) about Lockhart's statements. First, he feigns ignorance of Bill Burkett's status as one of the more enduring Bush bashers. Second, apparently, Ms. Mapes did not hesitate to ask Mr. Lockhart for a favor in order to advance a story and Mr. Lockhart had no trouble granting it to her. Quite chummy.
Well, does this not confirm what we all 'knew' anyway? In addition, Lockhart surely did not act on his own, or keep this to himself. Other Kerryites and probably DNC McAuliffs had to have also been involved. And we still don't know if Burkett in fact personally faxed the forgeries to Mapes, or to someone else to give to Mapes. But clearly the Kerry campaign, possibly Kerry himself, vetted this thing before Rather went public. Is forgery with intent to harm or damage still a criminal offense?
Well, does this not confirm what we all 'knew' anyway? In addition, Lockhart surely did not act on his own, or keep this to himself. Other Kerryites and probably DNC McAuliffs had to have also been involved. And we still don't know if Burkett in fact personally faxed the forgeries to Mapes, or to someone else to give to Mapes. But clearly the Kerry campaign, possibly Kerry himself, vetted this thing before Rather went public. Is forgery with intent to harm or damage still a criminal offense?
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