Dean's World

High Noon

Dean

It appears that CBS will offer a statement at noon about Ra^thergate.

So what's the over-and-under on this thing? "These documents are questionable but we stand by our overall story" vs. "we published questionable documents and we apologize for deceiving our viewers." Which one will it be?

I'll give ten to one that it's the former.

But here's the one hundred-to-one odds-against favorite: "We now intend to investigate the allegations of the Swift Boat Vetrans for Truth, to see if they might be true, and we pledge to do so with as much vigor as we pursued this story about Bush's not fulfilling his National Guard requirements."

Talk about a sucker bet.

Oh THAT left-wing media bias!!!

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Bill from INDC Journal (mail):

I think that you left out option three: "We stand by our story and the documents."

9.15.2004 10:50am

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Ted Armstrong (mail):

"These documents are questionable but we stand by our overall story"

That's my bet, but since they're making a special announcement it COULD be a mea culpa. You know, Dean, taking that thought a little further it is not physically impossible for CBS to admit they lied. We’ve seen other people lie and later admit to it, so it in within the realm of possibility the CBS might also admit they lied.

Just because Dan Rather appears to be a left-wing nut-job doesn’t mean he can’t admit he lied.

9.15.2004 10:53am

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Paul Burgess (www):

CBS will admit that the documents are a forgery, but claim (based on remarks from an 86-year-old retired computer specialist) that the content is similar to a post Killian made at the time about Bush on Killian's weblog.

This will set off a new round of mud wrestling, with one side pointing out that PCs, to say nothing of blogging, didn't even exist in the early 1970s. The other side will retort— making vague reference to mainframes and ARPANET— that technically it would have been possible for Killian to have been blogging even back then; besides, the real question is not whether Killian ever had a blog, the real question is whether George W. Bush kicked little Susie's dog.

"What's ^the frequency, Kenne^th?"

9.15.2004 11:53am

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Lucy (mail):

Perhaps, oh vain hope, they're going to announce that Rather is retiring to spend more time with his family!

Aside from the obvious, I personally would have the added benefit of being able to FINALLY convince my mother-the-technophobe that the Internet is good and OldMedia is liberal!

9.15.2004 12:02pm

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Val Prieto (mail):

Dan Rather and CBS will come out with a new set of IBM Selectrically typed memos validating the orginal memos.

9.15.2004 12:04pm

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TC Lynch (mail) (www):

Actually, I don't The Swift Boat Vets' charges getting some real action after this debacle is such a sucker bet. But it won't be CBS who finally gives them a proper hearing. ABC and NBC are also in the gunsights now, especially, IMO, the folks at NBC, after giving Kitty Kelly a three day platform to slam away at Bush and his family. They could deflect any hint of their operation being as partisan as Rather's crew by giving the Swifties charges some credible investigation instead of the "partisan operates" crap they've been branded until now.

9.15.2004 12:05pm

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TC Lynch (mail) (www):

"operatives"
(preview is your friend, numbnuts...)

9.15.2004 12:07pm

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Ara Rubyan (mail) (www):

My bet: "Memos fake but accurate."

(hat tip to the New York Times and the Queen)

9.15.2004 12:31pm

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Catch 22:

CBS will give you a “yes-no-maybe” bowl of mush that can only encourage our enemies and confuse our friends.

H/T Zell Miller

9.15.2004 12:47pm

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Ted Armstrong (mail):

Paul,
That is very good. It gave me a chuckle.

9.15.2004 1:06pm

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Jane (mail) (www):

My prediction: they call LGF a hate site.

9.15.2004 1:31pm

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Ted Armstrong (mail):

OK, It's about 1:40 pm, where's the statement? I guess the orginal memos are done yet.

9.15.2004 2:39pm

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Ted Armstrong (mail):

Perhaps they're waiting for Rush Limbaugh to go off the air.

9.15.2004 2:52pm

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John Eddy (mail) (www):

My bet is they were going to trot out a new expert, but now he's waffling too much, hence the delay.

9.15.2004 2:55pm

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Mike (mail):

CBS = Cliffs. Bolting lemmings. Splash.

9.15.2004 3:21pm

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Jerry Kondraciuk:

The statement should be released at 3:30pm today. Rush said it was probably because they didn't want him to have the opportunity to rip it apart. Why would they think that?? :)

9.15.2004 4:00pm

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Mike (mail):

It was probably delayed to let the lawyers go over it one more time.

9.15.2004 4:08pm

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caltechgirl:

Mike you made me laugh! Lemmings! hahahaha

9.15.2004 4:35pm

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Ted Armstrong (mail):

Now it's to be at 5:00. I take that to mean all hell is breaking loose at CBS. If they had their act together they would have stuck to their schedule. Since it continues to slip, there's trouble in river city. The ship is taking on water and they can bail fast enough. I wish I were a fly on the wall at CBS right now.

9.15.2004 4:46pm

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urthshu (mail) (www):

Mike-
That was almost a haiku. I feel a CBS Haiku contest coming on....somewhere in the blogosphere

9.15.2004 5:34pm

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urthshu (mail) (www):

A little like-a so:

CBS News-(haiku version)

We can't even get
one of your names right Bouffard.
We just keep lying.

[from Politburo Diktat]

9.15.2004 5:36pm

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Janelle :

YOU ARE ALL INVITED TO A PARTY!!!!

GO LOOK UNDER DEAN'S POST, ADULT ADHD...

Follow the directions...

Remember Treasure Hunts Kids!?!

GIGGLE GIGGLE

I'm LEAVIN'...I'M GOING TO A PARTY!!!

9.15.2004 11:11pm

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Scott Harris (mail):

The NEW YORK TIMES says that the forged CBS documents that it used to accuse President Bush of disobeying orders in the Texas Air National guard are "FAKE BUT ACCURATE."

Yes, you can go read the headline right here:

Gee, isn't that swell. I think I'll take me some "FAKE BUT ACCURATE" checks down to the bank and see if they'll cash them for me. After all, the underlying story is absolutely true. I NEED THE MONEY.

This is becoming laughable and tragic at the same time. Can you believe that CBS actually put on an "expert" that confirmed the memos were fake? Unbelievable. It reminds me of a song we used to sing in 4-H camp:

Oh they made the ship Titanic
to sail the ocean blue.
They made it so the water
could ne'er come through.
But the good Lord raised His hand
Said this ship will never land.
It was sad when the great ship went down

Chorus:
It was sad (echo) it was sad
It was sad (echo) it was sad
It was sad when the great ship went down
To the bottom of the...
Husbands and wives
little bitty children lost their lives
It was sad when the great ship down
Waaay down
to the bottom
of the sea.
Kerplunk
She sunk.

9.16.2004 2:11am

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Arnold Harris (mail):

Next time I'm in McDonald's (I haven't been for almost 16 months) I'll try to pay for a cup of their "senior" coffee with a fake but accurate dollar bill (blue colored, maybe?).

Ought to be good for a chuckle or too, before the cops come to haul my ass out of there.

Arnold Harris
Mount Horeb WI

9.16.2004 4:59pm

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