So how does that work? When this entire affair began, it was obvious that CBS was going to end up looking like (a) a dupe; (b) a shill; or (c) a partisan attack outfit. Not for the first time, I'm proven wrong by events.
Here's Dan Rather's new problem: He's admitting the documents are fake. He now has to tell us where he got them.
This line of questioning leads down a dark path for CBS News. The best case scenario is that they were taken in by a high-level political operative. That would mean that they were merely being shills for a political party.
What would be worse, is if it turns out that these documents were given to them by a low-level nut. Combine that with testimony we've heard from the experts CBS consulted who said they couldn't authenticate the documents. And then recall CBS's claim, on September 11, that the documents came from an "unimpeachable source." That would mean that CBS was on a partisan witch-hunt, during which they abandoned every last vestige of journalistic ethics.
By coming clean, CBS has started an unraveling which they can no longer control.
11 hours ago
1 comment:
Unless there was another apology somewhere that I don't know about, I don't think Rather actually admitted that the documents are forgeries... although he came right up to the edge of saying that.
He admits that he no longer has "confidence" in the documents, claims that he was misled by their source, and concedes that it was a mistake to vouch for them... but that's as far as he's willing to take the carefully chosen language of his lame apology.
Best regards,
The Watcher
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