September 14, 2004
ROVE GOT TO HER:
Former secretary says she didn't type memos (PETE SLOVER, September 14, 2004, The Dallas Morning News)
The former secretary for the Texas Air National Guard colonel who supposedly authored memos critical of President Bush’s Guard service said Tuesday that the documents are fake, but that they reflect real documents that once existed.Posted by Orrin Judd at September 14, 2004 6:51 PMMarian Carr Knox, who worked from 1956 to 1979 at Ellington Air Force Base in Houston, said she prided herself on meticulous typing, and the memos first disclosed by CBS News last week were not her work.
“These are not real,” she told The Dallas Morning News after examining copies of the disputed memos for the first time. “They’re not what I typed, and I would have typed them for him.”
Mrs. Knox, 86, who spoke with precise recollection about dates, people and events, said she is not a supporter of Mr. Bush, who she deemed “unfit for office” and “selected, not elected.”
“I remember very vividly when Bush was there and all the yak-yak that was going on about it,” she said.
But, she said, telltale signs of forgery abounded in the four memos, which contained the supposed writings of her ex-boss, Lt. Col. Jerry Killian, who died in 1984.
Ouch.
Posted by: Bruce Cleaver at September 14, 2004 7:24 PMYou can exepct to see CBS and its supporters use the Michael Moore "higher truth" defense based on this. They'll say because Knox claims that was the belief on the base about Bush, it no longer matters if the memos are real, only that secretary says the ideas behind them are real.
CBS thought it hit a home run last week with the original story. Now they're probably hoping they hit a triple and can be awarded home plate on a balk. I'd expect if see agrees to it, Ms. Knox will probably be given the whole hour on "60 Minutes II" on Wednesday to make her opinions known, while the network tries to make its case that feelings count for more than factual documents.
Posted by: John at September 14, 2004 8:11 PMAnd if Dan Rather were running for Pres, he would be screwed. But guess what? HE ISN'T. Flight-Suit boy is. And he failed to follow orders.
It makes a lot of sense now why the White House has not condemned the memos as fakes. Because they know they would look stupid if they did.
And Flight-Suit boy wants to be my latex salesman.
Posted by: mkultra at September 14, 2004 9:17 PMmkultra:
Are you a Karl Rove plant, too? We like competing points of view, but only if you are genuine.
Posted by: ratbert at September 14, 2004 9:30 PMm:
He hasn't failed to follow one since he became Commander-in-Chief, which seems a better test.
Posted by: oj at September 14, 2004 9:57 PMI think the posting by mkultra is a forgery. While at first it sounds like the usual set of DU/MoveOn™ talking points, if you look closely, you'll notice that some of the terms used are a bit unusual, and the formatting is all wrong.
Posted by: Raoul Ortega at September 14, 2004 10:01 PMmkutra:
Perhaps they didn't condemn the memos as fakes because never paid attention to them, having correctly calculated that the election would be determined based on things that happened in the last 30 years?
Posted by: mike earl at September 14, 2004 10:31 PMMike;
I'm convinced that the White House knew the memos were fake, but saw no profit in disputing them because as so many (including our dear Mr. Judd) have pointed out, even if the memo's weren't fake, who cares? There just wasn't much upside to getting in to the authenticity game.
Posted by: Annoying Old Guy at September 14, 2004 10:42 PMWhy didn't the White House say anything? Because if you see your opponents running off a cliff, you don't yell "Stop!"