Keep Rather forever!

Just to remind you good people that the MSM's are the biggest knuckleheads since Julius Caesar first published The Roman Senate Journal! So says Joseph L. Farah, editor-and-chief and publisher of WorldNetDaily.

Joseph Farah is much better qualified than I to comment on the fiasco of the Killian Memoranda, and more broadly on Dan Rather's entire chequered career--because, as he himself says, "I've been in the news business for 30 years." Thus he knows, at least as well as Louis Boccardi and probably far better than Dick Thornburgh, what lines a journalist may and may not cross and still remain believable.

But I can name another reason: Joe Farah really is a political independent. His agenda is about what's good for the country--and if the Republicans, or any member of that Party, are pushing a program that is bad for the country, then old Joe will tell us, and will never hesitate. Thus if he does more hit pieces on Democrats than on Republicans, it's only because Democrats deserve it more. (If you doubt this, read the regular columns by Les Kinsolving, his White House correspondent, who routinely gives fits to Scott McClellan by cornering him on questions he is simply not prepared to answer.)

Furthermore: yes, Joe Farah has an agenda. He admits it. But the trouble with men like Dan Rather is that they won't admit it. They're not even willing to stand up and say that they're looking out for what's good for the country. They say that they're only interested in the story. Sure, they are--so they fabricate stories to promote one candidate over another.

In contrast, Joe Farah is the truly honest broker. Believe me, if he had found the slightest substance to the story that George W. Bush took a slot held open by "the children of privilege" (to quote Mary Mapes' testimony to the Memogate Panel, as you can read in the report), he would have reported it--but the minute someone tried to pass him phony documents, he would have skinned that &quout;source" alive.

But of course, Bill Burkett did not try to approach WorldNetDaily with his phony documents. He approached CBS News. Reputation, reputation, reputation!

That said, I don't quite agree with Joe on keeping Dan Rather. I don't think it makes the slightest difference anymore who reads the news on that network. They might as well cancel the whole show and substitute The CBS Evening Sports Update with Ron Artest. Good demographics, the biggest moneymaking subject today--how could they miss?