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October 8, 2004

Rather's Records Problem

That Dan Rather and CBS did not adequately investigate their "unimpeachable" documents before broadcasting their recent story on Bush's National Guard service is not news to those who have followed his career. The latest print edition of National Review features an article by Kate O'Beirne on the career of B. G Burkett. Burkett (not to be confused with Bill Burkett of the Rathergate scandal) has made a career out of investigating Vietnam combat service claims, and of debunking negative stereotypes of Vietnam veterans. He started his work in the mid-1980's and in 1998 wrote "Stolen Valor: How the Vietnam Generation was Robbed of its Hereos and It's History".

One of the things that Burkett discovered during the course of his work is that the mainstream media has virtually no interest in the truth when it comes to Vietnam veterans. One of the most shocking episodes concerns Dan Rather himself:

One of Burkett's most shocking accounts of the mdeia bias responsible for the distorted image of Vietnam veterans involves a 1988 CBS documentary, The Wall Within, hosted by Dan Rather. The hour-long special featured horrific accounts of murder and mayhem witnessed by six purported Vietnam veterans with post-war histories of drug abuse, alcoholism, homelessness, and despair. the atrocities and ruined lives were apparently "too good to check": By consulting records that CBS failed to research, Burkett found that only one of the veterans had actually served in combat. Burkett contacted CBS with his documentation and the Veterans Administration shared it's data refuting CBS's assertians about the high incidence of homelessness and mental illness among Vietnam veterans. The producers defiantly stood by their bogus story and the president of CBS defended the broadcast. After recounting the sorry episode of journalistic malpractice, Burkett wrote: "Why won't Rather and CBS admit their 'documentary' was a fraud, that it perpetuated an unwarranted, false picture of men who fought in Vietnam?"
(The entire article is only available in the print edition to National Review or online to digital subscribers)

Another National Review article on this sorry episode that you can see in it's entirety without a subscription (which you really should have) can be found here.

And They Just Never Learn

Ok, so you'd think that by now CBS would have learned their lesson. But no, almost immediately after trying to peddle the bogus documents story about our president, they tried to perpetuate the myth that the Bush Administration has a secret plan to institute the draft. Now this story is on the same level as the Nieman Marcus cookie recipie hoax, but that didn't prevent the media mavens at CBS from falling for it. As the New York Post reported on September 30;

There he goes again

Dan Rather (and CBS News) got snookered by political malcontents with an ax to grind.

Again.

Consider: Both President Bush and Sen. John Kerry say they adamantly oppose reinstitution of the military draft, which was ended in 1973. The Pentagon also says it is vehemently opposed to giving up the all-volunteer army.

But that didn't stop "The CBS Evening News with Dan Rather" and reporter Richard Schlesinger from airing a story Tuesday about a Pennsylvania woman's fears that her sons will be drafted.

CBS interviewed one Beverly Coco as part of their story. She was "sick to her stomach" that her sons might be drafted. What CBS didn't say is this, as reported by the Powerline blog
At the center of Schlesinger’s piece was a woman named Beverly Cocco, a Philadelphia woman who is 'sick to my stomach' that her two sons might be drafted. In his report, Schlesinger claimed that Cocco was a Republican and portrayed her as an apolitical (even Republican) mom worried about the future. Schlesinger did not disclose that Cocco is a chapter president of an advocacy group called People Against the Draft (PAD) which, in addition to opposing any federal conscription, seeks to establish a 'peaceful, rational foreign policy' by bringing all U.S. troops out of Iraq.
Sort of like Rather's "unimpeachable" source for the bogus documents. That Bill Burkett was a long-time Bush hater didn't make them suspicious at all.

There have been a few hoax emails going around the Internet, see here and here.

Michelle Malkin has more details here.

Posted by Tom at October 8, 2004 11:16 AM

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