ABSTRACT
In September 2004, with the presidential campaign in full swing, the producers of the CBS television news show 60 Minutes Wednesday received a memo purporting to show that the sitting president, George W. Bush, had used his family connections to avoid his military service obligations as a National Guardsman in the early 1970s. Given the controversy and ratings the story would generate, it was just too good not to run. On cursory inspection, the documents and their source appeared legitimate. 60 Minutes producer Mary Mapes and anchorman Dan Rather decided to air it.
