Hate mail floods professor’s in-box
Internet bloggers say the research done by a Utah State University professor on the Bush Texas National Guard Memos is fraudulent in proving the memos were indeed produced mechanically.
Professor David Hailey Jr., a tenured professor in the English department, has received criticism for his research project which examines the nature of the Bush memos.
The Bush memos authenticity came into question when CBS’ newsmagazine, “60 Minutes,” reported the memos provided evidence that Bush failed to get a required physical exam and sought treatment to get out of drills during Bush’s pilot service in the National Guard.
Hailey said his research does not concern the authenticity of the documents content – but whether the technology to produce the document was available in 1973. This has been the central focus of the month-long debate about whether or not the documents are authentic.
Hailey said he began researching whether or not the highly controversial documents were mechanically or digitally written. Hailey, working on his own accord, said he concluded in his research that the Bush memos were typed written – not digitally produced. However, Hailey said he has not proven – nor intended to prove – the authenticity of the documents.
“If they’re typewriter, it doesn’t mean they are authentic or not authentic,” Hailey said.
The conservative Web site, www.wizbangblog.com, has reacted to Hailey’s research with “unrestrained and unfounded attacks on the professor and the university,” John DeVilbiss, executive director of public relations and marketing, said.
“It appears to be an effort to kill the messenger,” DeVilbiss said about the comments made on the Web site.
The bloggers have posted comments discrediting Hailey and USU. The site includes “hundreds of vitriolic attacks on Dr. Hailey based on the conclusions he reached,” DeVilbiss said in a press release.
“They have nonetheless come after me with all guns blazing,” Hailey said about the Internet site.
Hailey said he has received hundreds of hate mail daily, and so are the administration and head of the English department.
“This blogging has become a new weapon,” Hailey said. “The idea is they can bring so much power to bear and bring so much noise [about an issue].”
The research paper, “Toward Identifying the Physical Source of the Bush Memos,” published by Hailey explains the process used in the project including the analysis of each letters character.
Hailey said he chose examples of each character with the highest quality and then cut and paste them into a computer program to recreat the memo. With the replica, Hailey said, he was able to determine what font family it belongs to.
“I couldn’t have used a typewriter,” he said. “These fonts in the memos are extremely specialized.”
The concern the bloggers have, Kevin Aylward, the creator of WizBang!, said, is if Hailey’s research is used in the defense of CBS and Dan Rather. Aylward said he has found basic, elementary mistakes in Hailey’s research and the concern is not Hailey himself.
There have been attacks and comments made about the university’s participation in the research project, Hailey said, but despite the comments made, the university did not ask Hailey to pursue the research project. However, USU does support Hailey in his academic freedom to pursue research projects, Hailey said.
“Utah State University respects Dr. Hailey’s academic right to engage in research,” DeVilbiss said in a press release. “Dr. Hailey, as with any faculty member, has the academic freedom to pursue research topics and scholarly projects. Suggestions that the university played a manipulative role are inaccurate and inappropriate.”
Aylward said he does not support nor condone the personal attacks made on Hailey. There are between 20,000 to 50,000 readers of this Web site, he said, and he can’t control how other people are going to react.
“[The] only concern was it was getting outside of academic research,” Aylward said. “And, in defense of CBS, and as such, it doesn’t carry as much weight as other research does.”
University involvement came into question on the Web site. In the entry, “Haileygate Focus Broadens”, Aylward wrote: “I have it on good authority that Utah State University requested that the now discredited work of Associate Professor David E. Hailey Jr., Ph.D., be done. If true, this changes the story dramatically from an independent work of a faculty member to a university-sanctioned project gone terribly wrong.”
Aylward said the question of university involvement is still open and he trusts his inside source that has indicated the university’s support of the project.
“If the university backs away from claiming responsibility, fine, then it is all on him,” Aylward said.
Another inconsistency in Hailey’s work is the release of two inconsistent versions of the project, Aylward said, which seems to change his view.
Joyce Kinkead, vice provost for undergraduate studies and research, said in a letter to Aylward, “We can assure you that no one in the administration requested that this project be undertaken. Dr. Hailey, working on his own, undertook this project to determine whether the Bush memos could have been produced by a typewriter of that period or were digitally produced. The university did not remove his site, and, in fact, we have asked Dr. Hailey to put it back up.”
Hailey said he is research is ongoing and has not been completed yet.
-kcashton@cc.usu.edu