According to DNCBS, they've been investigating the bogus and totally insignificant story about Bush's National Guard service for 5 YEARS. This nonissue was brought up in both of Bush's races for the governorship of Texas, again in 2000, again earlier this year, and yet again this month. There's a saying that "one definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over while somehow expecting a different outcome." Maybe they thought the 5th, 6th, or 7th time would be a charm.

It would be hard for anyone to predict that DNCBS would handle the story as sloppily and stupidly as they did. This whole thing would've never happened had DNCBS listened to the authentication experts they'd hired or to Lt Col Killian's family who thought the documents weren't authentic, or if they hadn't cherrypicked who to listen to (anyone who was considered "pro-Bush" was automatically excluded). Then, when the questions about the documents were first raised some 12 days ago, DNCBS could've said they were going to investigate. The story would've ended there. Instead, they stonewalled and kept the story alive even as ABC News, the Washington Post, New York Times, and even the LA Times raised serious issues with the story. You can hope your opponent is dumb as a post, but you can't count on it.

The incredible sloppiness with how DNCBS handled this whole story makes me wonder if this hasn't been their standard operating procedure for a long time. The reported ties between the producer and Joe Lockhart of the Kerry campaign are also telling, as is the speed with which the "Fortunate Son" ad was released. It appears that the Kerry campaign knew the "60 Minutes" piece was coming and created the ad to take advantage.

Dan's half-assed apology doesn't come close to ending the issue. He should've apologized to President Bush and to Col Stout (who was liabled in the story). They need to reveal who created the documents and the chain of custody. Forgery is a felony, and I hope there are criminal charges against those responsible.

"Journalistic Ethics" is proving once again to be an oxymoron.