The reason for the WaPo return to 'slant as usual' is because the topic is turning off of CBS specifically. At this point, the story is growing wider and could reflect badly upon Dems and Kerry (directly or indirectly).

Given their normal bias, I suspect we will see more return to normalcy at the Post in further stories.

Building him up as a "well respected Texan" is going to make it harder for them to say he was just a disgruntled, unstable, embittered "loose cannon" acting irresponsibly on his own if he is found to be the one who forged the documents. The more legitimate he is made out to be, the stronger the impression will be that the forgeries were spread with the knowledge of "legitimate" democrats.

Even though the Washington Post has sometimes done commendable things in their editorials and a few news stories, they still "are-what-they-are", a liberal MSM outlet.

I think you have it right: as the forged memo story progresses, it has the potential to damage the Democrats and Senator Kerry, not just CBS News and Dan Rather.

When the stakes are that high, the Post is compelled to move into damage control mode.

Can anyone corroborate the Freepers' story that Col. Staudt mentioned in the memos called BS on the story? I think Ace has a link, but as yet nothing on ABCNews.com (Freepers reported hearing from him on ABC radio)

Burn, baby, burn. I think I'll send my local CBS station manager a copy if this is true.

One of the funniest issues with the Boston Globe so far has been their FRONT PAGE HEADLINE over the story has been retracted.

Instead of
Authenticity backed on Bush documents
They admit they should have said
Authenticity NOT backed on Bush documents

http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2004/09/15/for_the_record/

I'm listening to 770 KTTH Seattle, I think they do ABC news on the hour, and I've heard _Major General_ Staudt (he was a Col _then_) say 'I never put that sort of pressure on anyone, I had no reason to do so'. I get the impression this was culled from a full interview somewhere - this was just the on-the-hour snippet.

Hmmmm ... is THIS the guy that Rather refers to as an "unimpeachable" source? Surely a new definition. One suspects that there was an intermediary.

News From the Local Paper, the Abilene (Texas) Reporter-News

Media frenzy in Baird follows Guard report
By Jerry Daniel Reed / Reporter-News Staff Writer
September 17, 2004

BAIRD - Strangers in town Thursday seemed to know far more about neighbor Bill Burkett than his fellow townspeople did.

Burkett, who lives about 10 miles south of Baird, surfaced Wednesday as the suspected source of controversial documents cited in CBS News reports that raised new questions about President Bush's Air National Guard Service in 1972-73.

The Washington Post and other media reported that at least one of the documents bore the heading of the FedEx Kinko's Copies Abilene store, which is

21 miles from Burkett's rural Callahan County home.

Visiting news reporters were commonly greeted with a blank stare followed by a ''Who?'' when they asked townspeople whether they knew anything about Burkett.

No one answered the phone at Burkett's home when a reporter from the Abilene Reporter-News tried to call.

Bill Hargrove, co-owner of the popular downtown eatery The Whistle Stop Cafe, said that, to his knowledge, ''I've never laid eyes on him.''

He said that all he knows about the documents in question was what he'd read in the newspaper

''I think he's stirred up a hornet's nest,'' Hargrove said. ''If he can back up what he says, fine. If not, he ought to stay out of it.''

Baird lawyer Bob McCool said he heard of the Burkett saga from an unusual source: his mother, a resident of suburban Philadelphia.

''What have you got in the water down there?'' Maureen McCool asked her son as a preface to informing him of the reported Abilene Kinko's link, he said.

''They're focused on the wrong war,'' said McCool, a Democrat who said he's not sure who will get his presidential vote in November.

What's happening in Iraq today is far more important than what the presidential candidates were doing 30 to 35 years ago in the Air National Guard or the Navy, McCool said.

Callahan County Sheriff Eddie Curtis said he had never heard of Burkett before the retired National Guard lieutenant colonel called him Wednesday afternoon to complain that media vehicles were parked ''on his place.''

''Go up there and tell them to leave,'' Curtis said he advised Burkett.

Burkett did just that, said Sylvia Moreno, a Washington Post reporter based in Austin.

Callahan County Judge Roger Corn said he met Burkett and his wife, Nicki, when the couple came to the courthouse to do some official business several months ago.

''He and his wife came up and introduced themselves,'' Corn said. ''That's the only contact they've had with me.''

Corn said late Thursday afternoon that he'd been ''pretty busy'' and hadn't had a chance for much conversation with fellow citizens about Burkett. But reporters from The Washington Post, The New York Times and Newsweek magazine called to chat about him.

On Thursday, as on Wednesday, several reporters and news photographers parked outside the locked iron gate of the Burkett ranch, hoping to get a long-range camera shot or an interview.

But unlike in February, when Burkett came forward with a report that he had spotted aides to then-Gov. George W. Bush discarding documents from Bush's Air National Guard files, he was avoiding the media Wednesday and Thursday.

Repeated phone calls by the Reporter-News were not returned or not answered, an experience shared by other reporters.

David Van Os of San Antonio, Burkett's lawyer, said his client no longer trusts the media and does not intend to talk to any reporters. Van Os is running for Texas Supreme Court on the Democrat ticket.

In February, Burkett said he spent one day almost nonstop interviewing with reporters for several major national media outlets.

Meanwhile, news that at least one document central to a high-profile national controversy brought unaccustomed attention to the Abilene Kinko's Copies store. Local media also received a flurry of requests for help by national media representatives.

A clerk working alone at the Kinko's counter Wednesday night was interrupted every few minutes by phone calls from the media inquiring about the article.

''I can't even get my job done,'' said the clerk, putting down the phone as she moved to help a customer. The clerk refused to give her name.

She had to tell the callers she could not she could not comment on the story. She referred the Reporter-News to a company public relations representative. On Thursday, a FedEx Kinko's spokesman said customer privacy is ''of the utmost importance'' to the company.

Someone transmitting a document to CBS News could have used a self-service fax machine, so a store employee would not necessarily have seen any particular document, said spokesman Howard Clabo.

The clerk said the store does not keep records of customers who send faxes.

Chatter about the news buzzed among customers, such as Ossie Rister, an Abilene High School graduate now living in Dallas.

''It's kind of amusing it would be sent from here, because I don't know of any ties that Bush has to Abilene,'' said Rister, a self-proclaimed Bush supporter. ''The irony of is that it's my hometown.''

One local TV station scrambled to meet the request for satellite feeds and other service to national media.

''It's been chaotic,'' said KTXS-TV (Channel 12, Cox Communications Channel 4) News Director Iain Munro. ''Since we have the only satellite truck west of Fort Worth, everybody wants to use it.''

Munro said television stations from around the country called looking for video to use for their newscasts.

''They're asking for us to feed them video from Kinko's, and also Burkett,'' he said.

Tom Vodak, news director for both KRBC-TV (Channel 9, Cox Channel 5) and KTAB-TV (Channel 32, Cox Channel 10), had a much quieter day.

''The only call we've gotten today was from CNN,'' Vodak said. ''Neither CBS or NBC has called us, which is weird. I expected more.''

The Reporter-News received calls from The New York Times and The Washington Post looking for photographs of Burkett and the Kinko's store.

''I knew we were going to get these calls,'' said Robert Rogers, Reporter-News photo editor. ''It's like running a psychic hot line. I tell them what we have before they start talking. Everybody's looking for the same thing.''

Staff Writers Jason Sheehan and Staci Semrad contributed to this report.

Contact staff writer Jerry Reed at 676-6769 or reedj@reporternews.com

It's interesting that Burkett's lawyer is a well connected Dem operative in Texas, David Van Os, who is running for a spot on the Texas supreme court.

I wonder what the odds are that Burkett can afford Os. Most likely Os is providing Burkett with free or heavily discounted representation for political reasons. I'd say that's a connection to the Dem party.

Let them call Bill Burkett "well-regarded."

Then, if it is established that he's the forger, the appropriate headlines become:

"Well-Regarded Democrat Forged Memos to Discredit President"

Next question: Which other "well-regarded" Democrats helped him?

Suits me fine.

Winemaker, is this legit? If so, it's g-r-e-a-t! Sylvia Moreno of the Washington Post says:

'For half a dozen years, Bill Burkett has lived a pretty uneventful life in this tiny West Texas town. He and his wife are regulars at the Whistle Stop Cafe, ordering bacon cheeseburgers with jalapenos and fries or the pork chop special on Mondays.'

How can this be -- REGULARS at THE WHISTLE STOP CAFE -- when the Abilene (Texas) Reporter-News says:

'Bill Hargrove, co-owner of the popular downtown eatery The Whistle Stop Cafe, said that, to his knowledge, ''I've never laid eyes on him.'' '

Whistle me this and stop the presses--another case of fake journalism!

Another slant on Burkett's "creative memory", which I haven't seen anything on today ... Didn't he say he overheard someone telling someone else during a meeting in the guard office to purge Killian's records as they related to Bush. I'm sure I heard Bill Bennett on Hannity & Colmes last night report that the only other living person in the world who was privy to that conversation, I believe his name was Cohn, said no such exchangeever took place