Desperate Dan, the Anchor Man

Okay, then, Bush. A quickie… I'll resist the temptation to tell you all my troubles. They're not so terrible as those the storms visited upon the unfortunate people of La Conchita, California, not too far from here, where the entire hillside collapsed and buried their homes; let alone the dreadful fate of the tsunami victims. We're fortunate, here at home. We have our power back, and our lives are restored to their normal, somewhat humdrum routine. Besides, you probably wouldn't be interested in such petty problems. Suffice it to say that I'm back in action, and have time at least for a brief entry for the day.

So… About Dan Rather and that pesky news report on the subject of your service in the Texas Air National Guard: from what I read, it's the journalistic methods that came in for such a heavy reprimand from the independent panel appointed to review the incident. No doubt, from this point of view alone, it was a rushed and sloppy job. Too bad. It gave Dan's right-wing critics the chance to pontificate about his liberal bias, and denied us all the opportunity to learn a little more about you.

The liberal bias is not one I see myself, qute honestly. On the contrary, I find Dan's news, like most of the mainstream media's work, far too timid and willingly uncritical of the things you do in your administration. And I was frankly disappointed to note that the independent report did not address the veracity of the content of the news item; on the contrary, it pronounced itself unable to judge the authenticity--or otherwise--of the documents which formed the basis of the CBS new special.

Okay, so it wasn't their job to do this. I understand that, Bush. Even so, the omission leaves open some serious unanswered questions, doesn't it? Given the pivotal role played by that Swift Boat gang in smearing your opponent's character last summer, the question of military records became fair game in the 2004 election. And yet you succeeded remarkably well not only in ducking the issue insofar as your own record was concerned, but also, through your insipid and unconvincing rebuke of the Swift Boat veterans' tactics, in supporting them with a kind of tacit virtual approval. Nice job!

If I were a conspiracy-minded person, though, I'd be wondering whether CBS wasn't set up by their detractors for this blunder, in order to discredit them--along with the rest of the mainstream news--in the eyes of those who are all too willing to get their information straight from the Fox's mouth. And nicely timed for the election, too!

Anyway, now, to my personal regret, we still don't know to what extent those documents were trustworthy, and instead have the dubious pleasure of watching you sail back into office with impunity. Talk about Teflon presidents, Bush! I'd certainly welcome a word or two of explanation… but I don't expect to get them.