September 10, 2004
BATTLE OF THE EXPERTS:
Local Man Called On To Verify Bush Military Records: Polt Examines Documents For Inconsistencies (channelcincinnati.com, 9/10/04)
Richard Polt, a Xavier University professor, was called on to examine documents from the 1970s that could shed new light on information about George W. Bush's service in the military. The documents, used by "60 minutes," said Bush ignored a direct order from a superior officer and lost his status as a Guard pilot because he failed to meet performance standards and undergo a required physical exam.According to Polt, who owns more than 100 typewriters dating back to 1890, the documents would most likely have been typed on an old IBM selectric.
Upon examination, Polt said the memos seemed to be from a word processor.
One memo, dated May 4, 1972, raised questions because of the 'th' next to the number 111.
"There are some things that are very easy to do on a computer these days or happen automatically," Polt said. "The superscript ... the 'th' is a smaller font and above the 111."
Polt said it is highly unlikely that someone would change equipment on a typewriter to make the font change, Fuller reported.
A similar difference in another letter, dated Aug. 18, 1973, raises questions as well.
"The apostrophes in the document are curly apostrophes," Polt said. "Typewriters almost always had straight, vertical apostrophes."
Polt also scrutinized another letter's format. He claims the latter is too neatly centered.
"When you think about some of the details of the documents, it just adds up to something recently produced on a computer," he said.
What ax could he have to grind? Posted by Orrin Judd at September 10, 2004 8:21 PM
Via Powerline, here's some fun writing from CBS's "expert": "The expert ambush: How to hold off your opponent until the cavalry arrives." (http://expertpages.com/news/expert_ambush.htm) CBS is in deep, deep trouble...
Posted by: brian at September 10, 2004 8:42 PMTo anyone who has had experience with both the typewriters of earlier decades and the PCs of today, the forgery is so clumsy and blatant that it seems incredible that it would pass muster for a moment.
Quite simply, the earlier typewriters used monopitch fonts (fonts in which each letter was apportioned the same width). Documents in proportional fonts were prepared by offset or typeset methods, which were expensive and consequently used only for special presentations -- certainly not for memos. When I was job-hunting, conventional wisdom stated that resumes should use proportional fonts so that they would stand out among the rank and file, and that the price of offset printing (which had to be specially ordered at copying stores) was well worth the investment.
Even when PCs made their way into business offices in the mid-80's, proportional fonts were not frequently used, because the early word processing programs were not always reliable.
Does anyone remember dedicated word processors? Does anyone remember WordStar and the array of dot commands one had to insert at the beginning of each file to ensure that the finished product came out to its specifications? Does anyone remember WordPerfect and its neat little "Reveal Commands" feature, which allowed you to copy and edit formatting commands so as to provide shortcuts to the tedious business of reformatting different document sections?
I wrote many pages of technical documentation during the mid-80s and they were invariably in monopitch font. We did use proportional fonts for proposals; the planning of the page layouts was performed by technical editors versed in the publishing software of the day and it often required considerable ingenuity to juxtapose words and illustrations on the same page.
Surely I am not the only person who has had such experiences. Bill Gates must be delighted that a collective amnesia has enfolded the entire country and that everyone imagines Windows and Microsoft Word to have been in existence since the beginning of time.
Posted by: Josh Silverman at September 10, 2004 9:05 PMSo, as far as I can tell, the CBS "proof" of the memo's authenticity is: 1) a handwriting expert looked at two photocopied memos and says they look like they were signed by the same person. 2) Killian's former commanding officer says that sounds like what Killian thought at the time.
I feel like Jack Nicholson to Tom Cruise in A Few Good Men--Please tell me you have something more than this...
Posted by: brian at September 10, 2004 9:30 PMAx to grind? That's so obvious I'm surprised you didn't see it. He wants to bring back the electric typewriter!
Posted by: Joe at September 10, 2004 10:07 PMJosh - similar to you I was pushing out resumes after college in the mid to late 1980s. I recall having to have everything sent to a printer (at considerable cost to a college senior) since a regular typewriter didn't cut it.
As I stated in a post yesterday these documents seem to be so badly done that it is if they wanted to be caught, raising the specter that the GOP (which I don't believe) or Dems hostile to Kerry (like Clintonistas) did this.
Josh:
The most popular dedicated word processor I remember was the IBM Display Writer. Its 'memory' was magnetic cards that had to be removed and inserted depending upon which page was being edited. It depended as much upon instinct as technical ability, kinda like using body language and a little prodding at a pinball machine. Which was why legal secretaries at that time who had mastered it were in high demand and highly paid.
Posted by: Fred Jacobsen (San Fran) at September 11, 2004 12:22 AM