If you folks at home have the crazy idea that I don’t think much of USA Today, allow me to reinforce it.

USA Today founder Al Neuharth yesterday joined the growing chorus of voices asking for the head of Dan Rather. It’s not an unreasonable request, seeing as how Rather did not have the “courage” to take one for the team while the rest of his partners in crime (save CBS Prez Andrew Heyward) had a date with the chopping block.

Given USA Today’s commendable, speedy and exhaustive investigation into former reporter Jack Kelley’s numerous sins against journalism, you’d think that Neuharth has a moral leg to stand on. Not in this case.

Heads need to roll at his newspaper, too, which we’ve mentioned here before played a role in Memogate. Remember that former CBS Producer Mary Mapes considered the newspaper her biggest threat to scoop her.

Accuracy in Media pointed out that the newspaper’s fact-checking was worse than CBS. The reporters and editors used CBS’ “research” and the White House rushed response as proof of the documents’ authenticity. In short, they copied the answers on the big exam from the high school’s starting lineman, and got egg on their faces.

Not only did USA Today make the same mistake as CBS News, but the newspaper’s editors used the CBS News broadcast of the story as further proof that they were somehow valid. Hence, USA Today made two critical mistakes. Its “fact-checking” was even worse than CBS News, which at least went through the motions of appearing to consult some “experts” about the documents’ validity.

USA Today now acknowledges that its reporter Dave Moniz met with Burkett shortly after the 60 Minutes program aired. USA Today says Moniz “had dealt with” Burkett “on previous stories related to the National Guard” and that Burkett gave Moniz “copies of the same documents he gave CBS.”

USA Today editors say they ran with the story about the memos because they chose to “rely in part on 60 Minutes’ reporting” and on Bartlett’s decision not to immediately contest the documents. But USA Today tried to defend the documents, after doubts were being raised, by insisting that the signatures on the disputed memos “matched those on many of Bush’s publicly released records.” This was obviously not true.

Now that Washington Post reporter Howard Kurtz is raising questions about USA Today’s role, USA Today Executive Editor John Hillkirk is telling him that, “We never did vouch for the documents’ authenticity,” as if that constitutes a defense of the story.

The bottom line is that USA Today is caught up in the same scandal that is threatening the careers of Dan Rather, producer Mary Mapes and CBS News President Andrew Heyward.

Neuharth’s newspaper is commenting on the splinter in CBS’ eye and ignoring his own myopia. In the name of journalistic ethics, Neuharth at the very least needs to disclose his own newspaper’s Memogate problem in the same column in which he spanks Rather.