September 14, 2004
If, as it appears, that the documents provided to CBS news questioning President Bush's military service were fake, whatever credibility remains at CBS news is over.
And so, possibly, is Dan Rather's career.
The latest is this: a former National Guard commander who had originally helped convince CBS news of the authenticity of documents that supposedly proved Bush's records had been doctored to cover-up his failure to report for duty, now says he believes they are not genuine.
The commander, Bobby Hodges, told the New York Times that CBS had only read the documents to him over the phone, but after he saw them, he concluded they were falsified.
CBS is standing by its report on "60 minutes," which also featured former Texas Lt. Governor Ben Barnes, who previously told journalists a different story that he had no role in helping Bush get into the guard.
Even Barnes' own daughter says her father is lying.
Thank goodness for cable TV and the bloggers who keep the broadcast networks honest.
I'm Cal Thomas in Washington.
Cal Thomas is a nationally syndicated columnist based in Washington, D.C. Watch his television show, After Hours with Cal Thomas, on the Fox News Channel, Saturdays at 11 p.m. Eastern Time.
