An open challenge to CBS News and Dan Rather

I don't know about you, but I am pretty much sick and tired of hearing about the questionable authenticity of these new memos that CBS continues to champion. Just about everyone except the people at CBS News are now saying that these documents that claim that George W. Bush disobeyed orders are probably forgeries.

But CBS continues to claim that these documents from a retired military officer who died years ago are true. The late officer's family members and even his former secretary are now saying that these documents are forgeries.

So I have an open challenge to CBS News and to Dan Rather himself: if you still believe without a shadow of a doubt that these documents are true, then put your job on the line!

The world of jouralism has been hit pretty hard these past few years by seemingly "stellar" reporters that got caught fabricating stories. USA Today and the New York Times know first-hand how this blatant fraud has an effect on their credability. And right now, CBS News has not only their credability on the line, but the network's whole future on the line.

It's a serious gamble. If these documents are real, then it is a serious blow to President Bush's re-election campaign. But if they're not real, then CBS News will lose any credibility and respectability whatsoever! They will be damned to an extent that not even the New York Times or USA Today has so far endured.

So Mr. Rather, if you, as the seasoned professional that you claim to be, want to continue to claim that these documents are valid and not forgeries, then it is your responsibility AS a professional to put your job on the line. If these documents turn out to be forgeries, then I expect you to not only announce so, but to also immediately announce your resignation from CBS News. That is the only way to show the world that you are serious in your support of this story, especially when the whole world is starting to believe otherwise.

It's high time for CBS News to put up or shut up.