I doubt the White House cares if this documentary runs or not.
If Sinclair backs down, the issue is out there and once again John Kerry is the story, rather than the failures of George Bush.
If Sinclair airs the documentary, Kerry is the story PLUS all the controversy surrounding it ensures that many more people will tune in than would otherwise.
So it would appear to be win-win for the bad guys, right?
Thankfully, no. The Raw Story news item about Sinclair's recent DoD contract is what we should tie to this documentary--and fast.
Sinclair Broadcasting Group, under fire for ordering its 62 networks to broadcast a film sharply critical of John Kerry's opposition to the Vietnam War, is a major investor in a company recently awarded a military contract by the Bush Administration, RAW STORY has learned.
Who cares if there is an actual connection. There COULD be, and this is the story we need to push. Another Bush/Cheney-friendly corporation gets another sweetheart contracting deal with the Defense Department, and this is the payoff.
We MUST change the storyline to be about the corrupt ties between Sinclair and the Bush Administration--if nothing else, it muddies the water and destroys the credibility of this documentary.
The prospect of media consolidation and the politicization of the FCC are important issues, but this is abstract stuff that most people won't care about. Corruption, payoffs, abuse of taxpayer money--that's a much easier story to tell.
And if it turns out there's no connection, we can read about it in the papers after an independent investigation wraps up 3 months from now.