Rather Should Resign

I remember a few years ago when Jeff Jacoby, Boston Globe political commentator, was suspended for four months without pay for simply not citing a source for a story that he thought was in the public domain. (click here for Jacoby's response) To make a long story short Jacoby was asked to resign, for what was called journalistic misconduct. He contends that it was simply an error that he did not write one line in his column stating one of his sources was from an anonymous email that had been going around (which he knew about but did not cite). Whether the Boston Globe's reaction was warranted or not is not the issue here.

What is the issue here is that a well known paper felt that one of it's journalists jeopardized the paper's reputation, was suspended and asked to resign for simply making a mistake. Yet Dan Rather and his producer Mary Mapes who both promoted and then defended a story that was backed up with forged documents are still at their jobs. Neither has been suspended and Rather has apologized.

Based on what happened to Jacoby, Rather should be fired. It does not matter how sorry he is. There should be consequences for his actions. Not only did he report this story, but he vigorously defended it up until he had to admit that he used fake documents to back up a story that could, if it had been proven true, have affected a national election. And he did all this knowing that others at CBS News were unsure of the authenticity of these documents.

Couple these FACTS with the fact that Mary Mapes contacted the Democratic National committee about this story and that the DNC released it's "Fortunate Son" ad campaign on its website a couple of days after the initial 60 Minutes story ran, makes this whole thing reek of liberal bias.

Rather and Mapes have not made a mistake. They have attempted to deceive the American people. These two were so happy that they had a story that would impugn a man that they hate so much, that they forgot to verify the story. They have been exposed as partisan liberal hacks and not the objective journalists that they claim to be. If CBS News does not fire them then CBS's journalistic integrity will be irreparably damaged.

Resign Dan and help restore the dignity that CBS News has now lost.

An Election about the Past

This election has deteriorated to the point that it is almost not worth paying attention. Isn't an election supposed to be about what a particular candidate can do to serve his constituents? At the most it should be about an incumbent record in his past term of office, what he or she did and what he or she has planned for the future. The challenger can then criticize his or her opponents views and record and offer a differing point of view.

This presidential election has deteriorated to the point that there is almost no discussion right now about the present and only a referendum on the very distant past. And the past in question is no longer President Bush's record over the past four years, but rather it seems that the Kerry camp and the Democratic Party has simply decided that the most important issue is whether or not President Bush fulfilled his duty almost thirty years ago.

What is hilarious to someone like me is that their obsession with trying to smear the President has come up and bit them in the ass. The Kerry camp has become so consumed with trying to discredit the president that they were duped by a hoax. These forged memos could be the thing that completely unravels the Kerry campaign.

The Kerry camp has become so clouded in its judgment, that they have forgotten the things that got them into this race. As much as I hate to admit it: Bush is still vulnerable, but as long as these fools continue to harp on an untrue and ridiculous story they will continue to hand this election over to President Bush.

And America will be just a bit safer under his watch!

Welcome

This is my first attempt at becoming a blogger. I am jumping on the bandwagon, joining the crowd. In actuality I have always fancied myself as an amateur writer. My friends have often told me that when they have read my opinions on message boards and in other places that I have expressed my written opinion, that I was a pretty good writer. Thus I will begin this odyssey with this short blurb. My random drum beats will be as varied as my wide interests. I hope that someone actually reads them.