Dear Gentlefolk:

I am a trial attorney. I deal with documents, information and people’s perceptions all the time. The documents being used to support Dan Rather's story about President Bush's __time/lack of time__ spent meeting his Air Guard duty, while rather convenient, are clearly more than rather fake.

Since one doesn't need to be a document expert to see this, I expect the long term credibility of all of CBS, and all related entities and employees teeters on the verge of destruction. It seems to me that CBS continues playing this “denial game” only at great risk (to the level of absolute implausibility of any good outcome), and at great cost (to the level of a possible fatal outcome for the company in general, or at least certain departments thereof). I for one already don’t have the same level of confidence in any CBS story, and what confidence I do have left is daily eroded by the way you are handling all of this. It seems to me that mea culpas are long overdo, and each passing day raises the probable penance that will be needed to regain the public trust.

Just my thoughts, but I thought you should hear them.