The Atmosphere at CBS
NRO KerrySpot’s Jim Geraghty on the atmosphere at CBS:
My source familiar with the internal discussions at CBS describes the atmosphere at the network offices tonight as “madness” and “toxic”. Apparently a real bunker mentality is setting in; there is reportedly a great deal of anger at ABC for running a scathing report about the memos.I didn’t see the ABC report (the CBS report was so shockingly false I needed smelling salts) , but apparently it was a humdinger. Here’s a summary of each network from ABC:
ABC’s Brian Ross interviewed the two experts who CBS hired to validate the National Guard documents and reports they ignored concerns they raised prior to the CBS News broadcast. “I did not feel that they wanted to investigate it very deeply,” Emily Will told Ross. “I did not authenticate anything and I don’t want it to be misunderstood that I did,” Linda James told Ross. Ross reports 2 experts told ABC News today that even the most advanced typewriter available in 1972 could not have produced the documents. Ross also reported that Lt. Col. Jerry Killian’s secretary says she believes the documents are fake but that they express thoughts Killian believed.In the “Inside Story” on the CBS “Evening News,” John Roberts said that CBS “continues to stand by its reporting” on Bush’s National Guard records. Roberts derisively said Bush “barely mentioned his service” today while appearing before the Guard association. Roberts closed by saying that Bush’s goal is to turn the focus of the debate away from the questions to “those asking them.”
The next big question: How do the major papers treat CBS’ report tonight? And when do we start to see the first non-conservative editorials and columns ripping the network?
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