This just in from the Department of Circled Wagons...

Brokaw, Jennings Show Support for Rather

(AP) -- While acknowledging mistakes in CBS anchor Dan Rather's "60 Minutes" report that questioned President Bush's service in the National Guard, competing news anchors Tom Brokaw and Peter Jennings offered support Saturday for the beleaguered newsman.

Not much of a shocker there. I dare say the media has as much of a habit of protecting its own as any other specialized field.

Brokaw blasted what he called an attempt to "demonize" CBS and Rather on the Internet, where complaints about the report first surfaced. He said the criticism "goes well beyond any factual information."

Huh... 'goes well beyond any factual information'... the same can be said about a certain batch of memos couldn't it Tommy? Didn't exactly stop Dan Rather's attempt to carry water for the DNC by "demonizing" the President (during an election year, during a time of war).

"What I think is highly inappropriate is what going on across the Internet, a kind of political jihad ... that is quite outrageous," the NBC anchor said at a panel on which all three men spoke.

In all candor, and with all due respect Mr. Brokaw, tough shit. Dan Rather and those like him have had their share of dragons they've relentlessly gone after. Now it's Mr. Rather's time to feel the knight's steel pierce his scaly hide. About damn time if you ask me. But since I'm one of those "internet jihadists" you're not about to ask me.

"I don't think you ever judge a man by only one event in his career," said Jennings, anchor on ABC.

Really Mr. Jennings? Then riddle me this. Why did CBS news spend five friggin' years relentlessly digging into whether or not then Lt. Bush missed a friggin' physical? In order to judge a man by only one event in his career. You're really pathetic, you know that, right?

You jackels make a career out of finding the jugular, that "one event" with which you can tear the throat out of others. Now that the spotlight is on one of yours, now that it's his jugular that's been latched onto, you're crying foul? Again I say, tough shit.

It's funny how often you schmucks prove Bernie Goldberg right.

Rather said he did not ask enough questions before the war or conduct enough follow-up reporting.

"If the country is in dire peril, as the president of the United States says it is ... I want to be a patriotic journalist," he said.

Patriotic journalist my sweet Aunt Fanny. This from a guy who said that if he new a squad of American soliders was walking into an ambush, he wouldn't tell them.

"You know that the role of the patriotic journalist is to put your fear aside, stand up, look them in the eye, ask the rough questions. But you also know that when you do that, you're going to get hammered..." Rather said. "So what happens is you just say ... maybe tomorrow."

Oh cry me a goddamn river Dan. When any other businessman does something flatout wrong, like say... participates in a fraud, you and yours have hammered them.

As the old saying goes, "If you can't take the hammering... tough shit."