According to Power Line, the two-person panel reviewing the Rathergate debacle will release its report today.
Back in September, a few days into the blogosphere buzz about Dan Rather’s forged memos (purporting to show that George Bush received preferential treatment while in the Texas Air National Guard), I spent a little time thinking about the computing revolution generally and Rather’s fall specifically. I came up with “Computing Dan Rather,” a take on a previous post called “Blogging Matt Drudge.”
Happy Friday! 
——————————————————————————————————
Posted on September 17, 2004
Computing Dan Rather
It’s been suggested that I shouldn’t get caught up in the pettiness and minutiae of fonts and kerning and forgery. I’m urged to move on to more substantive and relevant issues. We all have better things to do than devote time and energy to this story.
There are many great and high-minded ideas and discussions we should be engaged in, but this moment in history, the eve of a presidential election, is very important. The memos matter (see Donald Sensing’s comment). But first, let’s talk about Dan Rather.
Long gone are the days when journalists refrained from publishing details about public figures’ private lives. Walter Winchell broke that taboo by writing a gossip column that made him famous.
But real journalists didn’t consider Winchell one of their own. Gossip by nature is based on rumor and innuendo. Even if true, unsubstantiated claims render them unpublishable. Times have changed.
Now in his fifth decade as a newsman, Dan Rather broke the story of John F. Kennedy’s death in 1963. After that, he became CBS’s White House Correspondent. His career was solidified.
Fast forward to 2004, and we see the veteran from the old school collapsing in a heap of his own making. His pride won’t let him admit he messed up. Get this: Rather claims that although the authenticity of the documents is questionable, the contents are true. How does he know? On what/whom is he basing this claim?
According to this story, Rather’s claim seems to be based on an assumption that President Bush is ignoring him and refusing to answer his questions. I think Rather is missing the point. He’s making the claim that Bush is a liar; the burden of proof is on him to prove it is true.
Rather’s boss attempts to back away from the whole mess. From the New York Post:
The president of CBS News last night vowed to “redouble our efforts” to determine if anchor Dan Rather’s controversial National Guard documents about President Bush are real or forgeries.It’s the first time that CBS has taken a step away from Rather, as a growing number of experts say the memos appear to be forgeries.
Rather also admitted for the first time last night that there are serious question about their authenticity.
“If the documents are not what we were led to believe, I’d like to break that story,” Rather told The Washington Post, adding if he is wrong, listeners will “learn it from me.”
The flap has put the network’s credibility on the line, with skeptics charging that Rather fell for a hoax because he’s out to get Bush.
And that’s exactly what he’s out to do. It’s common knowledge that most journalists are leftists, whether they think so or not. Rather’s own ideology and animus toward President Bush played a significant role in his decision to go on national television with questionable documents that purported to contradict the president. He knew he’d be under scrutiny by Bush supporters. Either he thought we were stupid, or he didn’t care. Rather will not acknowledge that he used poor judgment.
And he won’t acknowledge people like myself, either. Bloggers and Matt Drudge are mocked and laughed at by mainstream media, but a new day has dawned, and things will never be the same.
The broadcast is no longer in the hands of a few who decide what is and is not “news.” We live in a time unlike anything other in the history of the world. With the power of the Internet, regular folks like you and me can break and report stories long before they hit broadcast news.
Thanks to IBM , ordinary people now have the power and speed to expose corruption, journalistic or otherwise. (A commenter points out: “BTW, you should be thanking Apple for the Apple II the REAL start of the PC revolution and the university of Illinois for the original internet GUI browser.” I love this stuff.) The history of the personal computer is fascinating, and technology is still changing.
But forget PCs and bloggers for a moment. Congress has gotten involved, calling for an investigation. In the twilight of his career, Rather is going down ingloriously. I’m glad this misfortune has befallen him because he brought it on himself. But he didn’t start this fire; personal attacks against a sitting president, once taboo, are commonplace.
Rather’s shoddiness has so embarrassed the rest of mainstream media, they’re turning on him. Newspapers such as the Washington Post practically shouted, “He did it!” USAToday has launched an investigation. Can you believe it? It’s a joy to watch liberal media eating their own.
I just hope they don’t burp to loudly.
——————————————————————————————————
Unrelated linkfest!: Winfield Myers gets to the real root causes of crime.
Saintknowitall knows all about evolutionists.
The Commonwealth Conservative analyzes the Virginia governor’s race.
Mr. and Mrs. George H. W. Bush celebrate 60 years of marriage.
Got an interesting post? Send me an e-mail.
Update: Were you asleep during Rathergate? Here’s your chance to catch up. Michelle Malkin provides historical links. (Hat tip: David Limbaugh)
{ 10 comments }
Well, let’s at least give ol’ Dan credit for introducing many of us to blogs. Without him my reading practices would be more limited. Now a whole new world has opened up, peopled by bright, informed, witty, clever, writers and commenters.
Many on the left were so anxious for President Bush to admit to mistakes. Will Dan? It’s too late for his wish to “break the story” to come true. It seems as though hundreds of bloggers have broken bits and pieces of the story. Will he admit that his “unimpeachable source” has been impeached?
Another point of irritation for me: Producer Mary Mapes worked for five years on this story and all she could come up with is poorly forged memos? Given the time allowed, many people could at least come up with better forgeries. With friends like Mary Mapes and Dan Rather, [not to mention Michael Moore and George Soros] the DNC and the Kerry Campaign didn’t need enemies.
But they still have themselves. I spent part of yesterday watching the Democrats appear to be anti-Hispanic and more interested in the theoretical possibility that the wording of one memo might encourage the violation of rights than in protecting the American people. And on another channel they looked like very sore losers.
The “Hate Bush Flu” seems to be a virulent virus that affects those who have it in the areas of truthfulness and reason.
Still, I think that inadvertentally Dan did more for Blogging than just to introduce many to it. It showed that those “Pajama Pundits” were the best little fact checkers going and thus gave credibility to the Bloggers that the MSM was deriding. Thanks Dan. Blogging might have taken years to have the impact it’s having without you.
La Shawn wrote, “He’s making the claim that Bush is a liar; the burden of proof is on him to prove it is true.”
My observation – I think this is how liberals (like Dan Rather) get it wrong with their rhetoric often. They make claims that they know what Bush is thinking or doing. We conservatives vehemently disagree. We have different conclusions or beliefs about what we intend and are trying to do.
We try to explain it to liberals and they don’t listen (some do and they convert like I did in 1991). It would help if liberals learned to listen to what we say our intentions are and what we are trying to do.
For instance:
Tax Cuts all across the board for every worker: Recession was evident in November 2000 and September 11, 2001 hurt the economy as well. 2 sets of tax cuts was intended to help the economy with as much of a boost as could be provided. A helped economy would provide a better way of life for many people. More people would have jobs then be dependant on government.
Because of the way the federal tax system is so progressive already, there is no way to cut taxes for everyone who pays them and not have higher income tax payers be able to keep more of their income. The percentages are that 96% of taxes are paid by the top 50% of income earners. You can’t cut taxes for the bottom 50% of income earners and have a big impact on helping the economy.
So. what do liberals and people like Dan Rather do? They state things about conservatives or Republicans intentions or state things about what we are trying to do that is incorrect. When we try to correct the record they do not listen.
For a long time ABC, CBS, NBC was able to get away with it because they were the voice. (Get away with it in the sense that they didn’t have to try – they were liberals and it came natural to them). That period is over. That was from 1940-1994 where Democrats controlled the majority of state governorships and legislatures and the Senate and House of Representatives (except for 2 year gaps).
Talk radio happened and the Internet happened. Thanks to voices like La Shawn the shift in this country towards conservatism is growing. It has moved from 50/50 nation to a now more center right nation. Centrism is conservatism.
Unfortunately, many Republicans are to the left of center including George Bush.
On almost every issue George Bush and most Republicans are voting a little left of center.
Stem Cell Research as an example: Bush split the middle and had for the first presidency, federal funding for stem cell research including certain lines of embryonic stem cell research. Leftists keep calling it a ban (even thought it’s the first presidency to fund such) and call it a pander to the religious right.
To us conservatives (and especially libertarians who want government cut 80%) we don’t see where in the constitution that this should be something that the federal government funds. It should be left to the private sector to find a supply (cure) for the demand (of a cure) for whatever ailment there is. And the private sector has found many many many more uses for umbilical cord stem cells (40). Neither the federal government or private sector has found uses for embryonic stem cells and it hasn’t been for the lack of trying.
Wrapping it up:
It will probably be important for liberals to learn to listen and understand our perspective before mistating our intentions (our thoughts) or what we are actually trying to do. Because as more and more young voters get engaged and listen to both sets of facts/arguments more will convert to conservatism or some strain of it just as I did in 1991.
We can all hear both sets of arguments very easily now. Dan Rather seems to be stuck in the past because he and his staff have no clue as to how RIDICULOUS they look trying to claim that even though they can’t authenticate the documents that the underlying story is true. And the 5th time looking into this story?? And never looking into the Swift Boat Veterans for truth story??
To be accurate (and according to the link La Shawn provided) the PC revolution started with the Altair 8800.
LaShawn rocks!! Thanks for mentioning my blog on your page. I would also like to say that the other point in my evoulution blog was the fact that the ACLU compared the disgreement over evolution and intelligent design to “gaps” in the history of the Holocaust. The implication being that to question evolutions shortcomings was like saying the Holocaust didn’t happen.
Keep up the good work.
Saintknowitall
La Shawn…
I’d rather hear what you have to say about today’s discovery that the Bush Administration used taxpayer dollars to pay Armstrong Williams to endorse No Child Left Behind.
We all know Rather is a liberal stooge…even I admit this. But, the Bush administration using taxpayer dollars to shovel propaganda is clearly against the law.
In the words of Bill O’Reilly…What say you?
You’d think that somebody at CBSnews would have noticed that the documents at the center of the RatherGate debacle don’t look anything like the ones out of DoD. The DoD at the behest of the White House has provided more documents on George W. Bush’s time in the Texas Air National Guard than Carter makes of those little liver pills, so there is no excuse. Putting aside the many good technical reasons why these documents appear to be fabricated post facto, a simple examination would lead many 6th graders to question their veracity.
I personally could care less if Dan Rather (or Nick Coleman) are doing a bad job as journalist(s), but I do care about the spreading of misinformation or bad information with the intent to deceive. I guess it is probably called “journalist fraud” and as far as I know it’s not against the law, but it’s wrong. They are undeserving of your trust.
CBS ousts four employees after independent investigation into disputed National Guard memo story. Details soon. (CNN)
CBS Ousts Four Staffers Following Memogate (FOX NEWS)
Dose anyone ever remember CHET HUNTLY and DAVID BRINKLEY? it sounds like ancent history by niw but that was acualy back in the 60s before we had DAN BLATHER and TOM BROKENJAW and yes PETER JUNKINGS as well as the other clueless liberal journalists
Rathergate has not resulted in any punishment. All are still working for Viacom as of 1/21. Everyting Viacom does related to Rathergate is a hoax.
Comments on this entry are closed.