I fastened my seatbelt last night when CBS introduced a story by saying that there were “new questions” about Bush’s military service. I braced myself for an investigative piece with damaging, new revelations about the president’s service in the Texas Air National Guard.


As the long, lazy lead-in meandered around to familiar scenes such as a helmeted Michael Dukakis riding a tank and Bush’s helmet-under-the-arm “mission accomplished” strut that drives Democrats nuts, I began to realize that there was nothing coming about Bush’s military service.


As usual, NBC, was far more honest than CBS, introducing the story this way: “President Bush’ military record under attack. The White House fights back.” This was accurate. The news is that the president’s military career will be invoked, not that CBS was in able to advance the story on Bush’s service. It is also worth noting that NBC, hardly a hive of conservatives, was more informative about Bush’s military service than CBS.


CBS did give us a preview of how the election will be covered last night. Fasten your seat belts.