Dan Rather did not lie about Bush's so-called service record.
He told the story just how it was, but of course, the White House did not appreciate the unflattering portrayal of their commander in chief especially since it was true. Bush would merely make cameo appearances at the base. He was not really serving, just wanting to look like he was.
The controversy then became a power struggle between Dan Rather and George Bush.
As often happens, the truth became the first casualty.
. . . The fact is that the White House is generally able to exert more pressure than even a top ranked news anchor as Dan Rather painfully discovered when he was fired because of the incident.
Originally Posted by Fast Gunn
You, like many in this post, are having difficulty recalling what happened to Rather, aren't you?
So let me refresh your recollection.
Rather (and CBS) received the most ridiculously bogus letter in history from a Bush hater (Bill Burkett) from (I think) West Texas. Bill Burkett, a former officer of the Texas Air National Guard (TANG), faxed to CBS News letters/memos allegedly taken from the files of a deceased Lt. Col. Killian, Bush's former commanding officer. The letters/memos made disparaging comments about Bush's TANG service and insinuated Bush had received preferential treatment.
The letters were supposedly typed in the early 1970s. At that time, an Air National Guard unit would have been equipped with typewriters, probably manual Underwoods or maybe electric ones if they were lucky. The typeface would have been Elite or Pica and would have been evenly spaced - NOT proportionally spaced. Word processors didn't exist back then.
The asshole who forged the letter (Burkett) couldn't be bothered to get the typeface right. He typed the letters on his computer using the DEFAULT font setting for MicroSoft Word (in 2004!!). That was Times New Roman and it is a proportionally spaced font. In other words, he selected a font that wasn't used in 1972 and typed it on a machine that didn't even exist in 1972.
The assholes at CBS - Rather included - took it hook, line and sinker. A minimally competent 10th grader could have spotted the forgery, but not the fact checkers at CBS.
The copies of the forgeries were released to the public, of course. Within hours - not days, hours - the Internet lit up with WTF articles, posts and comments about what an obvious fake it was.
CBS and Rather tried to make excuses, but were forced within a short period of time to make a complete retraction. After a brief internal investigation, CBS fired the producer of the show, Mary Mapes, and other senior news executives were asked to resign. CBS apologized to the public. Rather quit 60 Minutes and retired from CBS shortly after that.
So, no, Rather did not outright lie. But he also didn't tell the story just as it was, because the story was a fabrication. Rather just disregarded all the obvious warning signs in order to broadcast a story that perfectly fit all of his biases.
And, no, Bush and the White House did not put pressure on CBS News. If they had, CBS would have told them to pound sand. The media have been winning against US politicians since at least NY Times v. Sullivan. That's one of the things I like about this country.
But Bush and the White house didn't have to put pressure on CBS. Instead, Internet bloggers and competing news outlets, particularly Fox and CNN, tore Rather and CBS new assholes. So much for the "power struggle" between Bush and Rather.
Don't get me wrong. I'm not saying the Bush White House didn't enjoy every minute of it. It must have been like watching their worst enemy commit suicide. They were only too happy to sit on the sidelines and watch the spectacle.
A lot of big media figures have fallen over the last decade, but Rather was the first big pelt the blogosphere was able to nail to the wall. Others have followed since. That's another thing I like about this country.
We often hear the saying "If it looks too good to be true, it isn't true". Rather ignored this old bromide when he was presented with a fake story that every Bush hater wanted to believe was true. And so, he forgot his principles and better judgment.