Swift Boat Vets vs. Rathergate

Inevitably there will be some discussion about what the difference is between what CBS reporting of the Air National Guard story, which has been proven to be false, and the Swift Boat Vets for Truth. Speak to any true liberal they will say CBS did nothing different by lying than the Swift Boat Vets did. Here is a comparison from polipundit that outlines the major differences between the two:

1. Newsworthiness. The subject of the CBS story was alleged misbehavior of President Bush of over 30 years ago while in the Texas Air National Guard, which the Bush campaign did not mention, much less rely on, as a qualification for re-election. The subject of the Swiftie’s ads and book was the behavior of John Kerry both during his service in Vietnam and after returning as a war protestor. Senator Kerry made his Vietnam service the centerpiece of the Democratic convention and both he and John Edwards cited that experience as his main qualification to be commander in chief. The Bush TANG story had been explored in some depth several times over the past dozen years, while the allegations relating to John Kerry’s service in Vietnam were largely unreported and had never been investigated by the press.

2. Strength of Sources. The CBS story relied on memos, that were shown to be fakes within 24 hours of appearing on the CBS website, which were given to them by a partisan Democrat who had tried to pitch anti-Bush stories for years. The Swifties’ claims were based on testimony of over 60 veterans (Republicans, Democrats and Independents, many highly decorated, including several former POWs) which was documented in a heavily footnoted book and was signed on to by over 250 veterans.

3. Media Response to Allegations. The response of many in the media to the Rathergate story was to believe the allegations were true even when it became evident that the supporting documents were not only forged, but fake. The response of the majority of the media to the Swifties’ story was first to ignore it, then to attack the Swifties personally as lying partisans and to attempt to disprove the various claims in their ads and book.

4. Coordination With Campaigns. The CBS producers had contact with some in the Kerry campaign when working on the story and put the main source of the story in contact with those in the Kerry campaign, yet maintained their story was devoid of politics. The Swift Boat Vets were never shown to have any coordination with the Bush campaign and vowed to keep speaking out even over objections by the Bush campaign, yet they were frequently described by those in the media as working on behalf of the Bush campaign.

5. The Messengers. Bill Burkett was an outspoken Democrat partisan, but was considered a reliable source. John O’Neill was a registered Democrat who had voted for Perot twice and most recently voted for Al Gore, but was continually described as a Bush partisan working in cahoots with the White House.

6. Pattern of Reporting During Election Year. 60 Minutes ran the Bush TANG memos story after a year of running stories featuring opponents of President Bush attacking the administration and assisting them in selling their anti-Bush books. The Swift Boat Veterans were largely ignored by the mainstream media, including CBS and 60 Minutes in spite of a best selling book.

7. Facing the Facts. Even after the release of the report citing extensive evidence, CBS will not state that the memos they relied on are fake or forged. Even after many of the allegations made in the Swifties’ book have been either proved or admitted to (Christmas in Cambodia, etc.), many reporters in the media (and many liberal commentators including Chris Matthews, who didn’t read the book, and Keith Olbermann, who reads DU) refer to the Swifties’ allegations as scurrilous and untrue accusations.