What a shock from Fox

Found this last night, and it's making its way around the 'net. I found it on Arianna Huffington's Website, and I'd like to think that if she ran with it, she had a good source. According to her site, it's a leaked internal memo (below) obtained from a source at Fox News. Penned by the network's vice president of news, John Moody, it reveals Fox's game plan the day after Democrats won control of both the Senate and the House. Really, should anyone be surprised by this?

The Department of Homeland Security should put out an APB for all Republicans how still piss and moan about "Rathergate," the incident prior to the '04 election where Dan Rather did a report on President Bush's time in the National Guard. It was revealed the story was based on forgeries and false documents. "Bias! Bias! Bias!" righteously indignant Republicans screamed. I'm not sold on Rather's bias, but it was sloppy, stupid reporting, and Rather should have known better. But, if Rather's reporting was biased, that would make this Fox News memo WHAT?

If Rupert Murdoch has any balls whatsoever (and we know he doesn't), he'll immediately fire John Moody and apologize to all of FN's viewers. Moody is the new Dan Rather, but on official state TV, there are no consequences.

Two quick afterthoughts here. On the drive home yesterday, thinking about this memo and how it relates back to Dan Rather and his forged documents, two things struck me:

1. I wonder if Rather was trying to get back at Bush 41 with the report on W in September '04. Anyone remember when Bush Sr. was running for president in 1988 and he got in a shouting match with Dan Rather, and Bush really got the best of him by mentioning when Rather walked off the set in the early 1980s?

2. Speaking of documents, I wonder why the forged documents, hyped as "proof" by the Bush administration, are never brought up in the phony Iraq purchase of yellow cake in Niger? (An incident which gave rise to the whole Valerie Plame affair, by the way.) Rather was duped by forged documents, just like the Bush administration was. One led to war and the senseless death of tens of thousands, the other to embarrassment, not of Bush, but of Rather.

I only bring up Rather now because the analogy is already being made between the so-called bias at CBS and the blatant bias at Fox News. They are not analogous, but I can guarantee that Republicans will try to make that distinction. Christ, I could practically write Sean Hannity's show for today.

It's gonna be an interesting two years of Democrats ruling Congress.