Tom Shales: Insane

Tonight on Hardball Chris Matthews did two or three segments on the Rather/CBS News bru-ha-ha with David Gergen, Dorothy Rabinowitz of the WSJ and Tom Shales, the Washington Post's TV critic. Long story short: Tom Shales is a moonbat. A quick summary of some of the things he said:

• Rather is not a liar (but Bush is)
• This was probably a Republican black bag job anyway ("a gift to Bush")
• The risk Rather/CBS News took with the story was not reckless

Basically, Shales seems to feel that Rather was on to something and is being persecuted.

Ex-Bush speechwriter David Frum (who was on the next segment) summed Shales up perfectly when Matthews ask him to comment on Shales' theory it was the Republicans who set the whole thing up.

"No, I think it was the Masons. That would be a better response to Tom. What a stupid thing to say."

Hopefully MSNBC posts the transcript.

UPDATE: Here's the transcript. The money exchange:

MATTHEWS: Tom, why did Dan Rather pay such a big chance with such low stakes? Had he gotten the story, had he scooped everybody with this document, it wouldn‘t have been a—this isn‘t a trophy, this. Is it worth the risk he took?

SHALES: Yes, I think so.

And I still don‘t think he was reckless. I don‘t think we should rule out the booby trap theory that Dorothy seemed to be floating.

MATTHEWS: OK. Who set the trap?

SHALES: The one that Republicans typed up these

(CROSSTALK)

MATTHEWS: No, her theory is the Democrats

(CROSSTALK)

MATTHEWS: Your theory is the Republicans did it.

SHALES: My theory, they could very well have put the little “th” with the wrong thing knowing exactly which mistakes would be found, slip to some guy who is a little unhinged anyway, and there to CBS.

MATTHEWS: Right.

SHALES: Because it is like such a gift to the Republican Party and to

George W. Bush. I mean, it is like Christmas

(CROSSTALK)

MATTHEWS: But here, again, there‘s a risk factor. If they were caught putting this little—setting up this sting operation that Dan fell · that first Burkett and then Dan fell victim to, that would have been a much more colossal story.

(LAUGHTER)

SHALES: Well, but somebody has got to break it. Somebody has got to prove it.

MATTHEWS: I mean, Nixon was trying to prove that Howard Hughes was paying off Larry O‘Brien. Nobody cares what he was trying to prove. They just care he broke in to do it, or his people did.

SHALES: Nixon didn‘t get caught until after he was reelected. Maybe Bush won‘t get caught until after he is reelected either.