Say Anything Blog

Of course, they fired him because he ran a thinly-sourced hatchet-job of a story which was intended to impugn the character and credibility of a sitting President in the months before a national election.

But Rather isn’t letting facts get in his way.

Former CBS news anchor Dan Rather has filed a $70 million lawsuit Wednesday against the CBS network, its parent company Viacom Inc., and three of his former bosses, claiming he was made a “scapegoat” for a discredited story about President Bush’s military service.

Rather, 75, accused CBS and its executives of making him a “scapegoat” in an attempt to “pacify the White House,” according to CBS Radio.

Rather’s complaint stems from “CBS’ intentional mishandling” of the aftermath of a discredited story about President George W. Bush’s time in the Texas Air National Guard, the suit charges.

The newsman also said he was denied airtime on “60 Minutes” and forced out of his job, CBS Radio reported. ...

Rather, whose final months were clouded by controversy over the story, stepped down as “CBS Evening News” anchor in March 2005.

He narrated the September 2004 report, which claimed that President Bush skirted some of his duties during his National Guard service and that a commander felt pressured to sugarcoat Bush’s record. He maintains the story was true.

But an independent CBS review determined the story was neither fair nor accurate. CBS fired three news executives and a producer for airing it.

Rather maintains to this day that the story, while flawed, was accurate anyway (thus bestowing upon the blogosphere the gift of the term “fake but accurate").  Unfortunately, pretty much every reasonable person in the world (and with “reasonable” I’m not including ardent anti-Bush demagogues) disagrees with him.

The story was utter nonsense with nothing more than a mentally disturbed man harboring a grudge against the President - along with the fake memos he typed up in Microsoft Word to support his claims - to act as foundation for it.

But whatever.  It’ll be fun to watch Rather embarrass himself further as he pushes this lawsuit forward.