Rather Reaction

Where to begin, where to begin...the reaction to the news, which everyone on the Blogsphere has been waiting for with baited breath, that those memos that CBS staked their reputation on were not credible has lit a fire under the Pajamahadeen. Most everyone is saying that Rather's statement is not enough.

Hugh Hewitt sez:

Rather's statement is a pathetic attempt to save face, a "limited, modified hang-out," a contingent apology that contains nothing of remorse or any promise of reform much less of resignation.

CBS is blaming Bill Burkett.

Meanwhile, Ed Gillespie is asking questions that many of us have already been posing for weeks. Mainly, what did the DNC know and when did they know it:

...but questions remain surrounding who created the documents, who provided them to CBS and if Senator Kerry's supporters, Party committee, or campaign played any role.

“Did Bill Burkett, Democrat activist and Kerry campaign supporter, who passed information to the DNC, work with Kerry campaign surrogate Max Cleland? Did Bill Burkett's talks with ‘senior’ Kerry campaign officials include discussions of the now discredited documents? Was the launch of the Democrat National Committee's Operation Fortunate Son designed with knowledge of the faked forged memos? Terry McAuliffe said yesterday that no one at the DNC or Kerry campaign, ‘had anything to do with the preparations of the documents,’ but what about the distribution or dissemination?

“In an effort to regain the trust of the American people CBS should not only investigate the process that led to the use of these documents but they should identify immediately those engaged in possible criminal activity who attempted to use a news organization to affect the outcome of a Presidential election in its closing days.”

Indeed, now even the White House has questions for CBS they would like answered:

'There are a number of serious questions that remain unanswered and they need to be answered,' says White House spokesman Scott McClellan.

'Bill Burkett, who CBS says now was their source, is not an unimpeachable source, as CBS has claimed.'

'There are news reports of Burkett having senior level contact with the Kerry campaign. That raises questions.'

'What were those contacts and what was discussed? Who is the original source of the documents?'

'Who is responsible for forging these documents?

And if this report by Carl Cameron of Fox News is correct, the Kerry campaign is going to have an awful lot of spinning to do.

Carl Cameron was just on Fox saying Maxie confirmed there was contact with Burkett. He also said that Kerry was pushing this 60 Minutes piece as a "must see" to his traveling press for several weeks PRIOR to it coming out. Carl Cameron, as we all know, is one of them traveling with Kerry. Max Cleland had made statements (didn't catch the timeframe) that he had the goods on President Bush's National Guard Service.

Also on Fox's website is this:

Adding more fuel to the fire, Burkett, who lives in Abilene, Texas, has now also said that he passed the documents on to former Sen. Max Cleland, a Georgia Democrat and triple amputee from Vietnam, who is working with the campaign of Democratic presidential hopeful John Kerry. Burkett also has urged Democratic activists to wage "war" against Republican "dirty tricks."

CBS has also going to have to explain this photo which is posted at LGF.

And why does the DNC web site still cites the forged Killian memos: DNC News: Bush Lied?