Update: 9/20/04: CBS News now says that it was misled about the document in question by the person who gave it to them, who admitted that he did not identify the true source. CBS now says they would not have used that document in their story if they knew then what they know now. Unfortunately, this still does not tell us who was behind the likely fabrication of the original document or their motives, nor is the involvement of "Buckhead" (as described below) explained in any way.

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Greetings. When I heard about the now infamous memo from CBS regarding George W. Bush's National Guard service, I wondered if it might have been deliberately planted in such a way that the news media would jump on the story, only to have it be revealed as a fake afterwards to potentially do damage to Kerry.

Now comes word that a blogger with the screen name "Buckhead" -- who got the whole controversy rolling, by so quickly questioning the memo with technical typography details -- wasn't a technical person at all, but actually a well-connected GOP operative and activist, who is now refusing to discuss how he learned the details about the memo so quickly or other aspects of his involvement.

Speculation is rising that the entire affair may indeed have been a GOP dirty trick from the very start.

--Lauren--