Originally posted by BP: it seems that some of you would rather focus on the authenticity of the doc rather than the authenticity of the story. at least a few of you can admit there was some preferential treatment going on.
Yes, some of us are really pissed that a journalist of Dan Rather's stature would pull a ruse like this.
The media is given great protection in this country. With that comes the ethical standard to TELL THE TRUTH. Label opinion as such, but NEWS is based on HARD FACTS. If you can't verify it, if it is a nameless source, you MUST state so. This is expected of a small town paper, never mind one of the largest news org's in the world.
Who doesn't admit Bush did what he could to get in the Guard? A lot of guys tried to do this, or joined the Air Force or Navy before they could be drafted into the Army and wind up in Infantry. The important thing is that he met his obligation. Bush "blew his service"?
CBS should focus on this. But CBS has claimed that Bush did NOT fulfill his service. Does someone have an axe to grind, or an agenda to promote? The fact is, both canidates served, good enough. Instead, CBS has attempted to influence opinion before an election with something they knew was BS. And now they are trying to excuse their unethical behavior. If they were so sure of the content of the story, then why didn't they just run with it? They could have dug up the old lady beforehand if they couldn't find any "documents".
