Bernard Goldberg to Discuss Memogate on The O'Reilly Factor

"Until now," Goldberg writes on bernardgoldberg.com, "the controversy over the Rather/Mapes story has centered almost entirely on one issue: the legitimacy of the documents [shown in the report] — a very important issue, indeed. But it turns out that there was another very important issue, one that goes to the very heart of what the story was about — and one that has gone virtually unnoticed...."

"Mapes had information prior to the airing of the September 8 [2004] Segment that President Bush, while in the TexANG [Texas Air National Guard] did volunteer for service in Vietnam but was turned down in favor of more experienced pilots. For example, a flight instructor who served in the TexANG with Lieutenant Bush advised Mapes in 1999 that Lieutenant Bush 'did want to go to Vietnam but others went first.' Similarly, several others advised Mapes in 1999, and again in 2004 before September 8, that Lieutenant Bush had volunteered to go to Vietnam but did not have enough flight hours to qualify."