All Bill Burkett defenders please take note:

[geek tragedy]

http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/news/special_packages/election2004/9743932.htm?1c

<snip>
During a single phone conversation with Lockhart, Burkett said he suggested a "couple of concepts on what I thought (Kerry) had to do" to beat Bush. In return, he said, Lockhart tried to "convince me as to why I should give them the documents."
<snip>

Defending the credibility of this mentally unstable old crackpot only helps Bush. Just so you know.

[aquart]

1. Please don't throw "mentally unstable" around.

The strain of trying to get the truth out about Bush would affect anyone. I don't think you've been so dedicated that you can throw stones at someone who's been staunch for so long.

I remember when Marty Heldt broke the AWOL story at Salon's Table Talk, how difficult it was to get the story out. THAT WAS FOUR YEARS AGO. We've known for four years, but who would listen? Burkett has known for a lot longer than that.

So if you've finished your smear, maybe we can get some sleep.

[geek tragedy]

3. He's saying that the Kerry campaign was part a conspiracy

regarding the memos. Fuck him. He's a liar, and deserves to be discredited.

His behavior has been too bizarre and too dishonest to warrant anything but contempt.

[IndianaGreen]

9. It is part of the record that Burkett had an mental breakdown

and that he was institutionalized for a while as a result of that. Some of Burkett's comments about Bush having "demonic personality shortcomings" sound as crazy as Ashcroft getting his head anointed in oil, or Pat Robertson saying that a hurricane hit Florida as punishment for Disney World being gay friendly.

Many of those that saw Burkett as some sort of hero are now having second thoughts about Burkett's reliability, particularly since his on-camera interview with Dan Rather.

The moral of the story is that knee-jerk partisanship is a poor substitute for healthy skepticism and critical thinking, even in the midst of a hotly contested Presidential election.

Questions Surround Man Who Provided Documents
CBS's 'Unimpeachable Source' Is Ex-Guard Officer With History of Problems and of Attacking Bush

By Michael Dobbs
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, September 21, 2004; Page A03

The man CBS News touted as the "unimpeachable source" of explosive documents about President Bush's National Guard service turns out to be a former Guard officer with a history of self-described mental problems who has denounced Bush as a liar with "demonic personality shortcomings."

<snip>

As a former planning officer in the Texas National Guard, Burkett had the opportunity -- at least in theory -- to witness the events that he described. But he also had a clear motive to attack his former superiors. In 1998, he became embroiled in a bitter dispute with the Guard over medical benefits after he contracted a mysterious disease while on assignment in Panama.

In interviews, Burkett accused the Guard of failing to provide him with proper medical treatment, as a result of which he became partly paralyzed and had a nervous breakdown. He told author Moore that, in desperation, he saved himself from death by taking a dose of cattle penicillin that turned out to be three times the correct dosage for his body weight.

Moore was one of Burkett's staunchest defenders until the "60 Minutes" program, but said yesterday that he no longer knew whether to believe him. "I've got so caught up in the white noise of political skullduggery that I no longer trust anything anyone tells me," Moore said.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A36908-2004Sep20.html

[DoYouEverWonder]

12. This story just gets weirder and weirder

I feel like James Moore. I don't know who the f to believe in this story.

[SeekingTruth]

2. Just watch....

the RNC will suddenly push that this guy really is credible....

[DoYouEverWonder]

4. Not after Rove has been so successful in turning him into

one of the most hated men in the country.

Oh no, this is exactly what Rove wanted to happed to Burkett. To discredit him and to turn him into a liability.

Now the story that he has been trying to tell for the last 5 years is down the tubes.

Rove won.

[geek tragedy]

5. Burkett discredited himself by lying.

Rove won this battle--but that's over with.

There is a larger war to be won.

[T Town Jake]

6. Agreed...

...and none of this horseshit is going to matter one whit on Nov. 2 as long as it's allowed to flicker out and fade into obscurity. We should be ignoring the entire thing from here on out, IMHO.

[DoYouEverWonder]

7. What did he lie about

How he got the papers? Or about Bush's record in the Tang?

Which one is more important?

Rove set him up with the papers, which he doesn't seem to understand and under pressure the old guy cracked. Not hard to do considering his unstable mental state.

Rove has been working on this since February, when Burkett made the rounds of the talking airhead shows. He knew Burkett would be dangerous to Bush, if the public thought he was honest and/or had any sympathy for him.

Whatever 'Lucy' told Burkett, made him want to protect her. She probably told him that if anyone found out that she had given him the papers, that they would kill her. I don't think he realized at this point that it was 'Lucy' who had set him and duped him.

[Night Gal]

8. "Lucy" is Lynne Cheney

wouldn't that be a gas?

[kokomo]

11. but Tucker Carlson already called Burket "mentally unstable" on Crossfire

[Clinton Crusader]

10. he may be unstable, but

the guy drops this bomb and then goes back to his life.

and he has the audacity to sue CBS saying THEY duped HIM? Earth to Burkett. YOU burned originals, YOU faxed them to CBS, all this based on mysterious invisible people he cant identify or produce. And worst of all, drags the Kerry campaign into this.

CBS should sue the pants off of HIM.

:kick:

[kokomo]

13. Didn't Burkett support John McCain in 2000?

[Name removed]

14. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Carni]

15. Burkett was scammed

I tend to think Burkett was scammed and I doubt the doc's were given to him by a "Lucy Rimerez" (sp? whatever...)

I would be willing to bet that he knows who he got the docs from well and that he is still protecting that person.

The fact that Burkett had two nervous breakdowns and was the one chosen to filter the memos through is no coincidence.

They chose him because of his history of so called mental instability.

Hatfield was "chosen" to write a bush biography (which BTW was not all that negative towards bush, with the exception of course, of the AWOL/cocaine allegations -- which if I am not mistaken were added at the last minute)

Hatfield had a criminal record so he was easily discounted and smeared. If an author with a clean background had written Fortunate son it would have been a whole different ballgame.

If memory serves me correctly CBS broke the Hatfield being a felon story as well.

Burkett has been used and if he is out there reading he needs to come clean about who put him up to this because the person that gave him the memos is definitely a Rove's operative and they are not his friend, nor are they worthy of his loyalty.

[Bush was AWOL]

16. Why in the hell would Lockhart take political advice

from some mentally unstable liar like Burkett? Does he have more experience in this field than Lockhart? Something smells bad about this story.