In his Weekly Standard column titled Whitewash, Jonathan Last airs his disappointment with the report on the disputed CBS TexANG memos.
In his mind, the report did not adequately answer three key questions:
1. Where did the documents come from?
2. Were the documents legitimate?
3. Why did CBS News run with the story?
Eh. I was doubtful we would get a full indictment of bias from this report, and I basically agree with John Hinderaker of PowerLine, in that anyone who reads certain key passages of the report should be fully convinced that there was clear bias.
The problem, of course, is that most people won't read the report and will only see the recap, which invariably cites the lack of a decisive judgment on the documents in question, etc. But at the end of the day, four people were fired (well, one was fired and three were asked to resign). To me, that is a clear enough message.
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5 comments:
I think the investigation was a CBS corporate one, not a public one. So their actions explain the probable answers to JL's questions. It's obvious.
1. An unreliable source.
2. Doubtful.
3. To be first with a big story.
It's worth noting that one of the whistleblowers in this story was the retired assistant of the supposed author (Bush's superior) of these documents. While she didn't believe they were real, she did say they were factually correct. Thats what I get such a kick out of. Everyone's so busy pointing fingers and hollering that somehow the real story is missed. Even though the story was baloney, it was actually true! Biased? Hard to sort it out, huh.
About the above post:
It's like a doctor who heals somebody whos dying with an unapproved drug and get's fired for it. People chose what they want to see and hear. All people, CBS included, but the biggest question should still be, "Is Bush lying?"
Yes, that is one important question. But with respect to this report, I think the bigger question is "Did CBS, in possible collusion with the Kerry campaign, cook up documents (or knowingly go to air with cooked-up documents, or even rush to air with obviously dubious documents) in order to sway the momentum in a major political campaign?"
You see, the question of Bush's TexANG service is important, but without real documents or other conclusive proof, the presumption of innocence still reigns. We've let that slide somewhat in the US, whether it's the white Bronco to the White House.
I don't necessarily care if Bush screwed off in the 70s (I'm sure he did), or if Kerry was in Cambodia on Christmas Eve in 1969 (I'm not so sure he was). Frankly, what they did 30 years ago is much less important than what they did 10 years ago. (We could argue about that.)
But in case you do care about the Vietnam War era, what we do know is that Bush was honorably discharged, and Kerry's records are still locked because he refused to release them.
Wow, for a guy who says innocence reigns, you sure have some speculative thoughts on Kerry who was also (very) honorably discharged. I, personally wasn't a Kerry supporter, but something told me not to trust the swift boat bunch at all. After reading a lot at factcheck.org they seemed ridiculous to me. That's not really my point though. It's something bigger. I'm just an observer and what I see is politics and thus, media, as sport rather than truth and/or honor. As a Christian and an American, this bums me out. I think CBS should get what it deserves. I just think the people should too. And that is the truth. It seems like everyone is focused on the part or parts of the story that fit into their ideology rather than the big picture.
I really doubt the Kerry campaign was involved in this at all, you never know but, I doubt it. I've heard the opposite speculation that it was a Rove plot. I'd be more likely to believe that after studying up on the campaigns he ran in the past. He really is a genius at branding and marketing (my livelihood), but he's also a ruthlessly bad person (just my opinion). Shrum and the other Kerry bozos just aren't that smart.
On a side note, thanks for responding and nice blog. I've never done this before, it's fun.
You make some very good points. Politics being treated as sport is an excellent metaphor, and I agree with you that it detracts from the big picture. People all along the political spectrum are conditioned to fall in line in one way or another. It is discouraging that the actual exchange of ideas is as scarce as it is.
I also tend to doubt the Kerry campaign was involved with the memos, although they obviously hoped to benefit from the firestorm of controversy that would have occurred had they not been discredited. (That's just politics, after all.) Jonathan Last's point was that the CBS report neglected to probe some of the murky waters on that issue.
All that said, thanks for the kind words, and for checking back and continuing the discussion. I wish more of that happened on my blog, actually. But it's still pretty new. (Tell a friend if you feel so inclined.)
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