"I know that this story is true. I believe that the witnesses and the documents are authentic. We wouldn't have gone to air if they would not have been (sic). There isn't going to be--there's no--what you're saying apology? I want to make clear to you, I want to make clear to you if I have not made clear to you, that this story is true..."
You forgot,
"Nor need there be!"
This isn't what they wrote. And Rather can spin around all he likes. But the execs at CBS should have written:"We at CBS now believe that the documents used to support a 60 Minutes II story putatively about the President's record while serving in the Texas Air National Guard were fradulent. The admitted source of the documents has been revealed to have had a long history of personal animus towards now President George Bush, and is no longer considered reliable. CBS can no longer vouch for the authenticity of these documents. And that must be the standard for journalism, not that others are required to refute a story by proving the negative. That the staff of 60 Minutes II ignored warnings from its own uncertified experts, misrepresented themselves to others who were then said to be witnesses or approved of the story, ignored the objections of the author's own wife and son, and otherwise proceeded in a manner suggesting journalistic bad faith on their part, these and other questions will be address by an independent investigation just commissioned by CBS management.Now that's what they should have written. But they did not.This entire incident was a mistake, which we deeply regret. Nothing is more important to us than our credibility and keeping faith with the millions of people who count on us for fair, accurate, reliable, and independent reporting. We will continue to work tirelessly to be worthy of that trust.”