Perhaps sensing that people would greet them for what they are — partisan hacks trying to sway an election — Dan Rather and the “60 Minutes” crew last night tried to strike a temperate tone for the temperate swing voter in their Ben Barnes story last night.

Rather hit a few notes of balance, that Bush drew some praise from commanders, and he noted in passing that Barnes is a fundraiser for John Kerry. But Rather didn’t ask Barnes any questions about that — while any Swift Boat vet, and there haven’t been any of those on “60 Minutes” would get all the partisan-conspiracy questions first and perhaps last. Instead, CBS allowed Barnes to plead his case that he was just saying all these politically damaging lines about Bush so he could put “truth” on the public record.

For some real balance to CBS trying to highlight any flaw in Bush’s National Guard service, see Byron York’s summary. For an idea of just how incredibly one-sided “60 Minutes” has been this year, see your media memory banks here.