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Dan Rather Keeps the Faith Dan Rather's "reporting" on George W. Bush's service record in the Texas Air National Guard has been misleading at best. |
Dan
Rather's September 10, 2004 broadcast regarding documents allegedly authored
by Texas Air National Guard Lt. Col. Jerry B. Killian reinforced just how
desperate Rather is to maintain his journalistic credibility. "I'm
of the school, my name is on it, I'm responsible," Rather said. With the authenticity of the documents in doubt, and with
Rather's sources backing away from the story, Dan Rather simply denied there
was any "definitive evidence" contradicting the authenticity of the four
documents. (There is no presence of American infidels in the city of Baghdad!) How dare anyone focus on the documents that support the allegations against Bush -- focus instead on the allegations! The Documents The memos in question were purportedly written by Lt. Col. Jerry Killian, Bush's former commander in the Texas Air National Guard. CBS says it obtained the documents from an "unimpeachable source," and that they came from Killian's "personal file." The May 4, 1972 Memorandum orders Bush to report for an annual physical examination no later than May 14, 1972. The May 19, 1972 Memo to File
describes a phone conversation between Bush and Killian, in which Killian
"discussed options of how Bush can get out of coming to drill from now through
November." It also states that Killian thought Bush was "talking to someone upstairs"
regarding transfer to a unit in Alabama. The August 1, 1972 Memorandum for Record
states that Killian "ordered that 1st Lt. Bush be suspended from flight status
due to failure to perform to USAF/TexANG standards and failure to meet annual
physical examination (flight) as ordered." The August 18, 1973 Memo to File states that Col.
Walter Buck Staudt was pressuring Major General Bobby W. Hodges, Killian's superior, to "sugar coat" Bush's rating.
Superscript, Times New Roman, Proportional Spacing
There are a number of problems with the documents, and with CBS's
reporting, most of which were known to Rather prior to his September 10 response
to people "on the internet and elsewhere." The main problems with the documents are their use of superscript,
the New Times Roman font, and proportional spacing, features that are unlikely
to have been in place on a manual typewriter in 1972. All of these
problems were identified and reported on prior to Dan Rather's September
10 CBS Evening News broadcast. Quoted in a front-page September 10 Washington Post story,
forensic document specialist William Flynn stated, "It would be nearly impossible
for all this technology to have existed at that time." Rufus Martin,
who was the personnel chief in Killian's unit at the time, stated,
"There's no way they could have been typed in 1972 on the equipment we had
at the time." With regard to the use of superscript, Rather stated: Critics claim typewriters didn't have that ability in the 1970s. But, some models did. Other Bush military records, already officially released by the White House itself, show the same superscript. Here's one, from 1968.
Another document was briefly flashed on the screen to support
Rather's contention; however, if you look closely, it looks nothing like
the superscript used in the Killian documents. With regard to the use of the New Times Roman font, Rather
stated, "The owner of the company that distributes this typing style says
it has been available since 1971." But the Post had reported earlier that day that the font was not common on typewriters. Finally, with regard to the use of proportional spacing, Dan Rather had nary a word to say. Compare Killian's 1973 application for discharge with the May 4 Memorandum to see the difference.
Marcel Matley
Dan Rather interviewed Marcel Matley, who allegedly vouched for the authenticity of the documents. Document and handwriting examiner Marcel Matley analyzed the documents for CBS News. He says he believes they are real, but he is concerned about exactly what is being examined by some of the people now questioning the documents.
This Rather statement is false. As the Los Angeles Times reported,
Matley only formed a judgment as to the authenticity of the May 4, 1972 memorandum.
The other three documents included only Killian's initials, and therefore
Matley would not express an opinion as to their authenticity. (Killian's
son Gary notes that Killian never would have signed the documents with just
his initials.) Therefore, Rather's statement that Matley believes the
four disputed documents are real is false.
He looked at the documents and the signatures of Col. Jerry Killian, comparing known documents with the Colonel's signature on the newly discovered documents.
These Rather statements, even with the most charitable (liberal?)
reading, are at best grossly misleading, because there is only one signature
to examine on the four documents. Rather's statement leaves the casual
viewer with the impression that the signatures are the key to the authentication
of the documents. This can't be true because there is only one signature
to examine on the four documents. One would not expect a news anchor
to mislead his national audience in this way.
Lieutenant Colonel Jerry Killian Survivors of Lt. Col. Jerry Killian insist the documents are forgeries, but Rather made no mention of this in his report. Marjorie
Connell, the widow of Jerry Killian, called the documents a farce, stating
her late husband did not keep files, and did not type. According to
the Washington Post, CBS contacted Ms. Connell before the broadcast. But Rather
made no mention of Ms. Connell during his evening broadcast. Apparently, she didn't tell CBS what they wanted to hear. Jerry Killian's son,
Gary Killian, who was a Captain in the National Guard, also said the documents were forgeries. "No officer
in his right mind would write a memo like that." CBS News
reported Gary Killian's statements on the internet on September 9, 2004. But Rather
made no mention of them in his evening news broadcast. Major General Bobby Hodges However, according to a September 12 Washington Post story, Hodges said he was "misled" by CBS
and now believes the documents are forgeries. "Now that I have had
a chance to see them, I think they are fake," Hodges told the Post. Not surprisingly, Dan Rather didn't mention his trump card in
his report. However, Hodges is mentioned indirectly; he is one of the "solid
sources" upon which Rather relied for the original 60 Minutes report. Colonel Walter "Buck" Staudt According
to the August 18, 1973 memo, Col. Walter "Buck" Staudt was exerting pressure
on Killian to "sugar coat" Bush's military record. It turns out that
Staudt retired on March 1, 1972. Retired
Col. Earl Lively, the director of Texas Air National Guard operations in
1972 and 1973, said Staudt had no authority after his retirement, and Hodges
agrees that Staudt had no influence after his retirement.
Robert Strong Rather's
remaining "solid source" was Robert Strong, who Rather described as an "administrative
officer for the Texas Air National Guard during the Vietnam years." Thus
far Strong is standing by his story. "They [the documents] are compatible
with the man that I remember Jerry Killian being. I don't see anything in
the documents that are discordant with what were the times, what were the
situation, and what were the people involved," he said. Rather didn't bother to mention that Robert Strong was Maj. Gen. Hodges' administrative assistant; Rather's "trump card" was never mentioned, nor were Marjorie Connell, Gary Killian,
and the experts who disputed the authenticity of the documents.
Dan Rather
has so far denied there is a story here, as he tries to keep the focus on
Bush's record. Maybe, for once, he should take a look at his own. Andrew Alexander is Co-Editor of IntellectualConservative. |
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