Los Angeles Times' "Media Matters" columnist David Shaw describes Rather's airing of phony documents purporting to be critical of George W. Bush's Texas Air Guard service "shoddy" and "slipshod."

"At 72, Rather has lost none of the hard-charging, go-anywhere, do-anything determination to get the story that marked his rise to the top of the network news hierarchy. But now that drive has taken him to the abyss," Shaw writes.

Despite this praise, Shaw goes on to question why Rather would air a broadside against a sitting president engaged in a tight re-election bid without verifying his information.

Specifically, Rather did not verify whether the documents he aired, allegedly written by Bush's commanding officer, were authentic by checking other related military sources.

And, it turns out, the documents indeed were phony. Poor copies at that; the type in the memos resembled Microsoft Word, not the 1972-era typewriter that was supposed to have been used to draft them.

Shaw also questioned why Rather's only source for the documents is a man the Washington Post describes as having a "history of self-described mental problems [and] who has denounced Bush as a liar with 'demonic personality shortcomings.'"

Shaw says it wouldn't surprise him if Rather is a liberal, but he says after a dozen or so interviews with Rather over the years, the veteran news anchor has never hinted at having an ideological bias.

What would surprise him, Shaw says, is if Rather allowed his ideological bias to guide his reportage, as it appears he may have done with the phony Bush document story.

The columnist speculates that perhaps Rather, using his years of instinct and experience, may have sensed the story was true and pursued it on that basis, knowing other networks and newspapers were looking for the same thing.

Why major news entities are looking for dirt on Bush from his Guard service 30-plus years ago when they aren't doing the same with Bush's rival John Kerry – especially after valid reports questioning much of Kerry's supposed combat experience – is, in and of itself, questionable.

Still, Shaw goes on to ask what is on the minds of many: Will Rather be forced out of his CBS News anchor chair?

"In other recent journalistic transgressions of this magnitude — fabrication scandals at the New York Times and USA Today, for example — disclosures and apologies were followed fairly quickly by high-level resignations. Will this happen at CBS?" Shaw asks.

While Shaw is not seeking Rather’s ouster, many journalists believe that if precedent and reputation mean anything to CBS, the decision is clear.

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