Liberty's Blog

CBS Misses the Boat.

The missed the boat. They appologized for running the story, and falling for the forgerys. They don't apologize for they dismissed the critisism, and their silence for so long once it became so obvious. It was proven beyond any reasonable doubt. That the papers were forgerys yet CBS's responded with defiance and arrogance. They offer no apology to Bush whom they originally trashed , no apology to Kerry who probably will look back and see that this event cost him precious time and the election, and no apology to those whom CBS spoke so condecending of, when the exposed CBS's fraud.

STATEMENT FROM DAN RATHER:

Last week, amid increasing questions about the authenticity of documents used in support of a 60 MINUTES WEDNESDAY story about President Bush's time in the Texas Air National Guard, CBS News vowed to re-examine the documents in question—and their source—vigorously. And we promised that we would let the American public know what this examination turned up, whatever theoutcome.

At the time they said all this it was abundantly clear the documents were fake. Why did it take a week later, to admit it. Why were hiding?

Now, after extensive additional interviews, I no longer have the confidence in these documents that would allow us to continue vouching for them journalistically. I find we have been misled on the key question of how our source for the documents came into possession of these papers. That, combined with some of the questions that have been raised in public and in the press, leads me to a point where—if I knew then what I know now—I would not have gone ahead with the story as it was aired, and I certainly would not have used the documents in question.

But we did use the documents. We made a mistake in judgment, and for that I am sorry. It was an error that was made, however, in good faith and in the spirit of trying to carry on a CBS News tradition of investigative reporting without fear or favoritism.

Please know that nothing is more important to us than people's trust in our ability and our commitment to report fairly and truthfully.

Notice that Rather hasn't clarified or expounded on anything. He hasn't told us anything that we haven't known for days.

posted by Liberty @ 7:37 PM