It's looking more and more like CBS Producer, Mary Mapes, will be the fall guy for the Rathergate memo scandal. Although I still think Rather is done after this year, Mapes looks to be the immediate scapegoat for CBS.

CBS acknowledged Mapes passed on Burkett's number to Kerry adviser Joe Lockhart, and Lockhart called him. Spokeswoman Kelli Edwards said CBS wasn't aware that this was part of any deal, but it's one of the things that will be examined by an independent commission CBS will soon appoint to look into the incident.

"It is obviously against CBS News standards and those of every other reputable news organization to be associated with any political agenda," Edwards said.

CBS News and Dan Rather are continuing to play the victim. First they claimed they were being targeted by partisan political operatives. Then they claimed that they were duped by their source. Now it is looking as though they may concede that persons at CBS colluded with the Kerry campaign, but that the CBS brass had no knowledge of it. They will also undoubtedly continue to claim that the story is "fake but accurate", thus no real harm was done.