CBS, truth not synonymous

By Jim Shea of The Los Angeles Times

“The CBS Evening News with Dan Rather’’: Good evening. There are new developments to report regarding the legitimacy of documents that purported to show that George W. Bush, now the president of the United States, received preferential treatment while a member of the Texas Air National Guard.

If you will recall, the documents in question, which have since been shown to be a boo-boo on my part, implied that then-Lt. Bush came and went as he pleased, disobeyed direct orders, and generally behaved in a manner that might have sent him before a firing squad had he not been a fortunate son.

In case you are not familiar with the Vietnam-era tune “Fortunate Son’’ it goes something like:

(Hummm)... Some folks are born made to wave the flag, ooh, they’re red, white and blue. And when the band plays ‘Hail to the Chief’, oh, they point the cannon at you, Lord.

(Everybody) ‘It ain’t me, it ain’t me, I ain’t no senator’s son.

It ain’t me, it ain’t me, I ain’t no fortunate one, no.’

Anyway. In the wake of this reporter’s boo-boo, some people, among them the usual assortment of right-wing nuts, were calling for this reporter’s scalp.

And I have to be honest with you, folks, for a while there the heat they put on had me feeling like an albino armadillo caught out in a stretch of West Texas blacktop without his SP-45.

However, I now have in my possession new, rock-solid proof that all of the allegations made in the original documents were, and are, 100 percent accurate.

The new documents, which date back to 1972, are copies of direct communications between Lt. Bush and his commanding officer, Lt. Col. Jerry B. Killian.

These new documents include copies of faxes, e-mails and cell phone logs. The documents, which have been authenticated by our experts, speak for themselves and should put this controversy to rest once and for all.

On a personal note, please, if you will, understand that the only motivation of this reporter, and CBS News, was, and is, the truth, which can be as elusive as a greased weasel at a pajama party.

It’s like they say back home: You can take a rattlesnake to a barbecue, but you can’t make it wear lizard-skin boots.

In a related news event, the White House today released its own new batch of documents, also pertaining to Lt. Bush’s National Guard service.

One of the documents is a letter from then-Lt. Bush’s commanding officer, in which he lauds then-Lt. Bush’s service, and recommends him for the Congregational Medal of Honor.

This is Dan Rather.

And goodnight.