The Real Concern About Rathergate
By Thomas D. Segel (09/20/04)
Everyone who can take pen to paper, fingers to keyboard or voice to the airways has something to say about the docu-drama surrounding President George W. Bush and his service in the Air National Guard. It is also interesting that CBS News and its left of center anchorman should be the subject of a story rapidly being known as Rathergate.
Dan Rather and CBS News were in the forefront of those media organizations that trumpeted the Watergate scandle, which ultimately brought about the demise of an American president. Watergate and all of the complex cover-ups surrounding that event were legitimate news stories that heralded in a generation of new journalism talent, all seeking to become investigative reporters.
Since those glory days of journalism until today, everyone in the business of reporting has searched for stories of similar impact. Dan Rather and his network have always led the pack in that paper chase.
It is an open secret that Dan Rather and the news organization for which he is the public face have never held Republican officials in very high esteem. Rather had visible hatred for Richard Nixon, was condescending toward the accomplishments of Ronald Reagan, bristled under the presidency of George H. W. Bush and has felt, from the day of the election that our current office holder was only a pretender a seat in the Oval Office.
Dan Rather’s known involvement in Texas politics, his fund raising efforts on behalf of the Democratic Party, his refusal to present an evenly balanced news presentation on the current election and his denial of bonafide evidence or support for opposing positions all combine to make him one of the most partisan news commentators on television. Those who endorse a conservative view of politics understand all of those things about Dan Rather and CBS News. They don’t accept the proposition but see it as a reality.
However, the introduction of fraudulent documents, the suppression of evidence disclaiming those papers, the clandestine way the papers arrived at the news bureau and the continued refusal of the network to admit the fraud all cry out conspiracy! The charge is that a major news organization, on the public airways of the nation, conspired with a person or persons unknown to use fraudulent documents in an attempt to remove the President of the United States from office.
Whenever a news organization is charged with wrongdoing, it will wave high the banner of the First Amendment. That freedom of speech should be protected and most Americans understand even when it is abused. What is not understood is how any news organization or the person presenting its views to the public can hide behind constitutional protections when it has perpetrated a fraud of such magnitude it could have altered the course of a presidential election.
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