Poll: Rather made 'honest mistake'

By Peter Johnson
USA Today

Most Americans think CBS News anchor Dan Rather made an "honest mistake" in his controversial story on President Bush's military service and should not be fired for it, according to a USA TODAY/CNN/Gallup Poll released Monday.

The story set off a firestorm within hours of its Sept. 8 airing after experts questioned the authenticity of memos used to document charges that Bush was given special treatment in the National Guard during the Vietnam War.

Last week, CBS and Rather acknowledged that the authenticity of the memos could not be proven and said the story shouldn't have aired. A two-member panel probing what went wrong is expected to deliver its findings in a few weeks.

In the poll, 56 percent said that Rather and CBS had made an honest mistake — perhaps because of "carelessness in their fact-checking and reporting." Asked if CBS News should fire Rather, 64 percent said no.

The poll also found that 55 percent of people think they can trust CBS News to accurately report the news; 41 percent said they can't. And asked about overall media accuracy, 52 percent were positive, 47 percent, negative.

Brent Bozell, founder of the Media Research Center and a frequent critic of Rather, said that neither CBS News nor the media in general should be heartened by the findings.

The "credibility problem (at CBS) is much deeper than Dan Rather," Bozell said. "Forty-one percent of people not believing you is trouble in paradise." And, he said, when 47 percent of Americans "don't trust the media, you've got a credibility issue — everyone in the media is being punished."

Rather would not comment.

CBS News spokeswoman Sandy Genelius said the poll "seems to indicate that, in many ways, the public has had a more moderate reaction to events than has been reflected by some of the media covering the story. The majority of the people surveyed in this poll trust CBS News and its accuracy in reporting, and overwhelmingly believe the report was not part of any political agenda."

Meanwhile, Doug Forrester, a Republican self-made millionaire, announced a $1 million petition campaign and Web site (Danrathermustgo.com) to get Rather fired.