OUCH! Rather Looked Pretty Weak...

Off Topic Politics & World Issues
41

Hmmm. Seems Burkett gave the docs to CBS, but he’s claiming he got them elsewhere. Where did they originate?

Key excerpt:

[Begin excerpt] CBS said Burkett, a retired National Guard lieutenant colonel, had provided the documents. In a press release accompanying Heyward’s statement, CBS said that Burkett “also admits that he deliberately misled the CBS News producer working on the report, giving her a false account of the documents’ origins to protect a promise of confidentiality to the actual source.” [End excerpt]

So Burkett misled CBS as to the actual source. One thinks the media might be interested in uncovering that actual source.

42

Lumpy, wasn’t all of Bush’s vietaman creadibity attack during Al Gore’s campaign?

So, why are the democrate trying to dig up old dirt on Bush. Maybe its because they can’t find anything new.

My fustration on this whole campaign is why can’t either candidates campaign on just the issues and not praganda politics.

At least we know where Bush stands on a alot of issues. Kerry on the other hand. Just seem like he’s flipping a coin.

43

What’s with CBS trying to arrange a meeting between the Kerry campaign and Lockhart, the source of the forged memos? Unbiased media indeed.

http://www.usatoday.com/news/politicselections/nation/president/2004-09-20-cbs-documents_x.htm

44

BB:

Certain media outlets are already calling this “Rathergate.”

The big question is,will this lead directly to a high level Kerry staffer?

What do you think BB?

45

Zeb:

It looks as if the Kerry people met with Burkett, and had his documents, but nothing indicates they were the ones who created them. These were such bad forgeries, and Burkett has such a bad history, that they seem to have originated with him, irrespective of his claims of some imaginary woman who provided them to him.

It does seem strange that Burkett would meet with Max Cleland and Joe Lockhart, but it was likely more them evaluating his stuff.

Overall, this seems to be CBS’s fault – especially Dan Rather and Mary Mapes – Mapes has been trying to put this story together for at least 5 years. Their original denials and defenses don’t make sense in light of their current apology (relying on “unimpeachable source” - HA! - saying they had talked to someone who had seen originals produced – Who was that?). Dan Rather, Mary Mapes and the producer should all be fired.

46

Here’s an interesting NYT article on the whole thing:

47

Here’s USA Today’s round-up story on CBS’s coming clean:

http://www.usatoday.com/news/politicselections/nation/president/2004-09-21-cover-guard_x.htm

48

Zeb:

The editorial board of the WSJ thinks there may be more to the story than I am seeing:

Modified Limited Hangout
September 21, 2004; Page A22

The big news in yesterday’s mea culpa by CBS News isn’t that the network was “misled” about “documents whose authenticity is in doubt,” as it was finally forced to concede. The story is the admission that the source Dan Rather trusted with CBS’s reputation was none other than Bill Burkett, a noted antagonist of President Bush.

Journalists – including us – use all manner of sources, of course, and many of them are partisans of one kind or another. But as much as possible we owe readers an indication of where those sources are coming from. And if those sources turn out to be wrong, as they sometimes are, then our obligation is to own up to the error as soon as possible.

The problem in this case is that before yesterday CBS never gave its viewers even a hint that its entire controversial story hinged on the word of someone who has made it one of his main goals in life to defeat Mr. Bush. Even after the documents on Mr. Bush’s National Guard service were called into question, CBS refused to let viewers in on the secret of its source’s motives.

This is the real scandal here, and it makes us wonder if Mr. Burkett is the end of this story. It isn’t as if Mr. Burkett’s motives were hard to discover. On August 25, addressing Mr. Bush in the second person, Mr. Burkett wrote in a Web posting, “I know from your files that we have now reassembled, the fact that you did not fulfill your oath, taken when you were commissioned to ‘obey the orders of the officers appointed over you.’”

More intriguing, in an August 21 posting, Mr. Burkett said he had spoken with Max Cleland, the former Georgia Senator and fierce John Kerry advocate, about how to respond to Republican campaign tactics. “I asked if they wanted to counterattack or ride this to ground and outlast it, not spending any money. He said counterattack. So I gave them the information to do it with. But none of them have called me back.”

This, believe it or not, is the source Mr. Rather described as “unimpeachable.” The kindest interpretation is that the famous anchor and CBS were gullible. But perhaps they will forgive their audience for also now suspecting some partisan bias – especially in light of an interview with Mr. Rather that the trade publication Broadcasting & Cable published August 30.

Asked if the media were paying too much attention to the Swift Boat Veterans’ criticisms of John Kerry, Mr. Rather replied: “In the end, what difference does it make what one candidate or the other did or didn’t do during the Vietnam War? In some ways, that war is as distant as the Napoleonic campaigns.” Yet nine days later Mr. Rather was reporting on Mr. Bush’s National Guard service as if it were the story of a lifetime.

CBS said yesterday that Mr. Burkett admits giving “a false account of the documents’ origins to protect a promise of confidentiality to the actual source.” Mr. Burkett and CBS have not revealed that source, but we know he had contact with a Kerry surrogate, Mr. Cleland, who expressed a desire to “counterattack.”

We also know that Democratic National Committee Chairman Terry McAuliffe was quick to offer his own theory – that Karl Rove had fabricated the documents. And we know that the day after Mr. Rather’s report aired, the Democrats unveiled “Operation Fortunate Son,” a campaign video about Mr. Bush’s National Guard service that incorporated footage from “60 Minutes.”

All of this raises the question of whether CBS was a vessel for, if not a willing participant in, a partisan dirty trick two months before a closely contested Presidential election. Last week Mr. Rather told the Washington Post that “if the documents are not what we were led to believe, I’d like to break that story.” It was too late for that; Web writers and other news organizations had beaten him to it. But if CBS wants to restore the credibility it enjoyed back in the era of Edward R. Murrow, it will now get to the bottom of the story behind Mr. Rather’s discredited story.

49

Here are some other quotes from the Kerry camp – I don’t think these lead to the necessary conclusion that anyone from Team Kerry had a hand in producing the memos, but they apparently had a problem with the truth concerning their knowledge thereof, and dealings with Lockhart:

From the Kerry Spot at www.nationalreview.com (no permalink available)

WHAT THE KERRY CAMP SAID ABOUT THE MEMOS… [09/21 10:27 AM]

After avoiding saying much about the Rather-CBS memos story, the Bush campaign is suddenly finding its voice.

Bush campaign spokesman Steve Schmidt is circulating a list of quotes from the Kerry campaign denying any involvement with the memos, and a quote from Joe Lockhart telling George Stephanopoulos that he had nothing to do with them.

ABC?s George Stephanopoulos Reported That Lockhart Denied Having ?Anything To Do With These Documents.? STEPHANOPOULOS: ?I should say, just before we got on the air, Joe Lockhart of the Kerry campaign denies that the Kerry campaign had anything to do with these documents. Another Kerry researcher says they learned about them on television.? (ABC?s ?Good Morning America,? 9/10/04)

Lockhart Said He Spoke With Burkett About ?How To Deal With The Vietnam Issue? But Not About The Memos, Saying There Was No Connection There. ?Joe Lockhart denied any connection between the presidential campaign and the papers. 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. ?He said these guys play tough and we have to put the Vietnam experience into context and have Kerry talk about it more.?? (?Kerry Aide Talked To Texan At Center Of Disputed Guard Documents,? The Associated Press, 9/20/04)

Lockhart Later Said He Had Not Spoken With Burkett About The Memos And Called Suggestions Of Coordination ?Baseless.? ?Earlier, Lockhart said he thanked Burkett for his advice after a three- to four-minute call, and that he does not recall talking to Burkett about Bush's Guard records. ?It's baseless to say the Kerry campaign had anything to do with this,? he said. Later, Lockhart said he was sure he had not talked to Burkett about the Guard documents.? (?Kerry Aide Talked To Texan At Center Of Disputed Guard Documents,? The Associated Press, 9/20/04)

Lockhart Called Claims Of ?A Coordinated Attack? On The President?s National Guard Service ?Nonsensical, Inaccurate, And Baseless.? ??You absolutely are seeing a coordinated attack by John Kerry and his surrogates,? White House spokesman Scott McClellan told reporters. ?The polls show Sen. Kerry falling behind, and it's the same old recycled attacks that we've seen every time the president has been up for election.? Joe Lockhart, a spokesman for the Kerry campaign, said McClellan was ?hurling nonsensical, inaccurate and baseless charges.?? (Judy Keen, ?Accusations Exchanged Over Bush?s Military Record,? USA Today, 9/10/04)

Lockhart ?Mocked Claims That The Case Against The President Had Been Concocted With Forged Documents.? ?Senior Kerry advisor Joe Lockhart, meanwhile, mocked claims that the case against the president had been concocted with forged documents.? (James Rainey And Mark Z. Barabak, ?Guard Memos Fuel Another Vietnam-Era Battle,? Los Angeles Times, 9/10/04)

The Kerry Campaign On The Memos:

Kerry Campaign Official Admits The Documents ?Are Probably Forgeries.? ?The campaign official acknowledged that the CBS docs are probably forgeries?a frustrating development, the official said, because it has distracted attention from legitimate questions about Bush's Guard service.? (Mark Hosenball, Michael Isikoff And Anne Belli Gesalman, ?CBS News: A Source Of Contention,? Newsweek, 9/27/04)

Kerry Surrogate Max Cleland Says He Does Not Know Anything About Burkett?s Information. ?In an interview with The Associated Press, Cleland said Monday that he had a brief conversation last month with Burkett, who told him he had information about Bush to counter charges against Kerry's Vietnam War service. The Georgia Democrat said he gave Burkett's name and phone number to the campaign's research department. ?People call me with stuff all the time,? said Cleland, who was campaigning in Ohio for Kerry on Monday. ?I don't know whether this guy is legit or fraudulent. I have no idea. I just referred him to the campaign.?? (Jeffrey McMurray, ?Cleland Says He Didn?t Know If Guard Documents About Bush Are Fake,? The Associated Press, 9/20/04)

Kerry Spokesman David Ginsberg Says No One In The Campaign?s Research Department Followed Up With Burkett. ?Kerry spokesman David Ginsberg said nobody in the campaign's research department followed up on Burkett's offer of information, but Ginsberg couldn't confirm whether there was any future contact between Burkett and others in the campaign.? (Jeffrey McMurray, ?Cleland Says He Didn?t Know If Guard Documents About Bush Are Fake,? The Associated Press, 9/20/04)

Kerry Spokesman David Wade: ?The Kerry Campaign Had Absolutely Nothing To Do With These Documents, No Ifs, Ands Or Buts.? (Kelley Shannon, ?Ex-Guardsman Contacted Kerry Campaign,? The Associated Press, 9/19/04)

Terry McAuliffe: ?No Democrats, None At The Democratic National Committee Or The John Kerry For President, Had Anything To Do With The Preparations Of The Documents.? (CNN?s ?Late Edition,? 9/19/04)

Kerry Campaign Officials, Including Max Cleland, Spoke With Burkett, Email Said. ?The retired Guard official, Bill Burkett, said in an Aug. 21 e-mail to a list of Texas Democrats that after getting through ?seven layers of bureaucratic kids? in the Democrat's campaign, he talked with former Georgia Sen. Max Cleland about information that would counter criticism of Kerry's Vietnam War service. The Associated Press obtained a copy of the e-mail Saturday. ?I asked if they wanted to counterattack or ride this to ground and outlast it, not spending any money. (Cleland) said counterattack. So I gave them the information to do it with,? Burkett wrote. Burkett, who lives just outside of Abilene, wrote that no one at the Kerry campaign called him back. The e-mail was distributed to a Yahoo list of Texas Democrats. The site, which had about 570 members Saturday, is not affiliated with the state party.? (Kelley Shannon, ?Ex-Guardsman Contacted Kerry Campaign,? The Associated Press, 9/19/04)

Kerry Campaign Officials Acknowledge That Burkett Was Referred To The Campaign?s Research Department But Say Nothing Came Of It. ?Campaign officials said Mr. Cleland had referred Mr. Burkett to someone at the campaign who passed his message on to the research department, where the message was set aside amid the deluge of other calls.? (David D. Kirkpatrick And Jim Rutenberg, ?Texan Involved In CBS Report Tried To Help Kerry Campaign,? The New York Times, 9/18/04)

Kerry Spokesman Phil Singer: ?It?s Ridiculous. We Didn?t Give CBS Anything.? (David Bauder, ?Republican Lawmaker Calls For Congressional Investigation Of CBS For Bush Guard Service Story,? The Associated Press, 9/15/04)

Kerry Spokesman David Wade Says The Kerry Campaign ?Certainly? Cannot Verify The Documents. ?Officially, both candidates stayed above the fray, seemingly content to let the controversy simmer awhile longer. Kerry spokesman David Wade said that it's up to the White House to ?come forward and verify their authenticity, certainly we cannot.?? (John Cook And Andrew Zajac, ?Debate Rages Over CBS Memos On Bush Service,? Chicago Tribune, 9/14/04)

Kerry Spokesman David Wade Calls On President Bush To Answer The Questions Posed ?By Independent News Organizations And Official Military Documents.? ?Democrats seized on new questions about the president's service in the Texas Air National Guard on Thursday, while the Bush campaign dismissed the subject as old news?.Sen. John Kerry and his aides were careful not to get in the way. In Iowa, the Democratic candidate waved off a question about the Guard flap, and his staff was saying little at least publicly. ?The questions that have been raised by independent news organizations and official military documents should be answered by President Bush,? said Kerry spokesman David Wade.? (Pete Slover, ?Bush Camp Dismisses Questions About President?s Guard Service,? The Dallas Morning News, 9/10/04)
50

BB:

Thanks for the links and your personal feedback.

51

Seems Kerry was briefed by Mary Beth Cahill on Lockhart’s conversation with Burkett:

This would seem to belie Lockhart’s attempt to shrug off the meeting as 3 minutes of talking about nothing related to the memos. Just some more circumstantial evidence that there was coordination between the Democrats and CBS on this story.

52

Mary Mapes is being set up as the scapegoat on this story – I’d bet dollars to donuts she is either fired or resigns soon:

http://www.usatoday.com/news/politicselections/nation/president/2004-09-21-cbs-mapes_x.htm

53

CORRECTION:

The timeline below is incorrect. It was corrected here:

NOTE OUR CORRECTION BELOW

Matt Drudge linked to, and Sean Hannity discussed, a posting below. Well, it turns out that the RNC timeline that the posting referred to was wrong, and I dropped the ball for not checking this out. Terry McAuliffe had several press events about President Bush’s military record, but he did not - repeat, did NOT - refer to “sugarcoated” the way the memo did.

His first use of the term was in an e-mailed statement that was distributed to reporters as the “60 Minutes II” report was being broadcast. It was based on seeing the memo on CBS News web site.

Again, the fault is entirely mine for not nailing this down. My apologies to all who ran with it.

-Jim

[Posted 09/23 05:45 PM]

More on coordination between the DNC and CBS on this story – definitely a breach of ethics on CBS’ side. I don’t know that there is any ethical problem from a campaign using info – the problem and implications for CBS are much worse. Also, this makes the question of CBS giving up the actual source - or confirming it was Burkett - more important:

http://www.nationalreview.com/kerry/kerry200409231516.asp

WHY WAS TERRY USING TERMS FROM THE CBS MEMO 9 HOURS BEFORE BROADCAST?

Man, those guys at the RNC are a regular Bloodhound Gang or Mod Squad. Take a look at this little observation:

http://www.gop.com/RNCResearch/Read.aspx?ID=4733

[Begin excerpt] 9 HOURS BEFORE THE CBS REPORT: "Democratic Party chairman Terry McAuliffe said, 'George W. Bush's cover story on his National Guard service is rapidly unraveling. ... George W. Bush needs to answer why he regularly misled the American people about his time in the Guard and who applied political pressure on his behalf to have his performance reviews 'sugarcoated.'" (Terence Hunt, "Questions Raised About Bush Guard Service," The Associated Press, 9/9/04) [End excerpt]

(I checked with the RNC how they knew it was nine hours ahead of CBS report - it turns out McAuliffe made this statement during a press event held at 11 am Sept. 8.)

The CBS memo, revealed on 60 Minutes that night: “Harris gave me a message today from Grp regarding Bush’s OETR and Staudt is pushing to sugar coat it.”

“Sugarcoated.” What an interesting word. McAuliffe could have said that Bush’s performance reviews were covered up, spun, masked, smoothed over, soft-pedaled, glossed over, prettified, veiled, whitewashed, hushed up, concealed, varnished, suppressed, or distorted. But he just happened to pick a word that appeared in the memos that were supposedly unveiled to the world hours later.

Even beyond McAuliffe’s direct quote of the memos, he’s specifically referring to the central allegation of the Burkett-to-Mapes memo, that Staudt wanted Bush?s records ?sugarcoated.?

If this were a game of Clue, we would collectively be jumping up and down and shouting, “the attempted character assassination was committed by Burkett, Mapes, Rather, Lockhart, and McAuliffe, with the fake memo, in the observatory, er, in CBS offices and DNC headquarters!”

Or maybe this, along with the entire “Operation Fortunate Son,” is all just a coincidence.