Friday, September 10, 2004
Typewriters, Fonts, Superscripts,...
The debate over the authenticity of the documents recently released by CBS News has reached an unbelievable level. Conservative pundits are convinced they are forgeries, liberal pundits are convinced they are not, and CBS News is standing by its claims. I have to admit that I tend to believe that they are genuine, but that aside, I still have a few questions.
As I said, I tend to believe that these documents are genuine. The critics have not offered any real proof to show that they aren't while CBS News and others have provided plenty of evidence in their support. What I find sad is that the information contained in the documents and the accusations they raise are getting lost in the debate. But that's just the way the right-wingers want it. Distort the focus away from the actual story and make it about credibility. We've seen it before. Take for instance the alleged Kerry flip-flops. Instead of addressing the fact that Kerry actually has a point in his criticism of the handling of the war, they have made the focus of the argument about Kerry's credibility. It's a simple misdirection play.
For all the facts about the documents, check out Media Matters For America's take on things. It's pretty straight forward and debunks a lot of the criticisms from the right.
- If these documents are forgeries, why did the White House release them without comment to the news media shortly after 60 Minutes finished airing?
- If the documents were released by the WH so quickly, they must have had them in advance, and if that is the case, why didn't they point out the fact that they were forgeries before the show aired and get in front of the CBS story?
- There is one person who knows for sure whether or not the information contained in these documents is true and that's George W. Bush. Why haven't we heard from him?
As I said, I tend to believe that these documents are genuine. The critics have not offered any real proof to show that they aren't while CBS News and others have provided plenty of evidence in their support. What I find sad is that the information contained in the documents and the accusations they raise are getting lost in the debate. But that's just the way the right-wingers want it. Distort the focus away from the actual story and make it about credibility. We've seen it before. Take for instance the alleged Kerry flip-flops. Instead of addressing the fact that Kerry actually has a point in his criticism of the handling of the war, they have made the focus of the argument about Kerry's credibility. It's a simple misdirection play.
For all the facts about the documents, check out Media Matters For America's take on things. It's pretty straight forward and debunks a lot of the criticisms from the right.
