But he [Dan Rather] also delivered a message to “our journalistic competitors,” including The Washington Post and rival networks: “Instead of asking President Bush and his staff questions about what is true and not true about the president’s military service, they ask me questions: ‘How do you know this and that about the documents?’ “ (Washington Post online)

Ah, but you see the difference is that George W. Bush’s presidency is not made legitimate by the circumstances of his National Guard service. Dan Rather’s legitimacy as a journalist, however, is entirely based on the reliability and veracity of his information and sources. So we come back to the question, Mr. Rather …