Reply #23: Here's something on Dan Rather that people have forgotton. [View All]

[Cleita]

From his bio: http://www.brainyencyclopedia.com/encyclopedia/d/da/dan_rather.html

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Disliked in Nixon White House

During the presidency of Richard Nixon, conservative political figures accused him of being unfair in his coverage. At a Houston, Texas news conference in 1974, Nixon fielded a question from a ABC reporter, but Rather, still CBS's White House correspondent, jumped in: "Thank you, Mr. President. Dan Rather, of CBS News. Mr. President..." The room filled with jeers and applause, prompting Nixon to joke "Are you running for something?" Rather replied "No, sir, Mr. President. Are you?"

CBS apparently considered firing Rather and its news president met with administration official John Ehrlichman to discuss the situation. According to NBC's Tom Brokaw, the network considered hiring him as its White House correspondent to replace Rather. But CBS' plans to do so were scrapped after word was leaked to the press.

Reagan and Bush

In the 1980s, Rather became a hero to many American liberals for his tough, skeptical reporting on the Iran-Contra Affair which led to a famous on-air confrontation he had with then-vice-president George H. W. Bush. The incident is widely believed to have been pivotal in Bush's campaign to win the presidency in the 1988 election. It also marked the beginning of Rather's ratings decline, a slump from which he has never recovered. Bush never forgave him and refused to grant Rather an interview after their initial tangle. His son, George W. Bush has apparently followed suit, and has thus far declined to grant Rather an interview during his presidency.

Soft on Democrats?

Up until the presidency of Bill Clinton, Rather's reputation as a skeptical journalist was unquestioned. That changed during the Clinton years when his critics accused Rather of going easy on the president. During Clinton's impeachment, Rather was a vocal defender of the president and a persistent critic of Kenneth Starr, one of the independent counsels appointed to investigate allegations of corruption within the administration.

Rather's critics gained further ammunition when the CBS anchor was revealed by The Washington Post to have raised money for the Democratic Party of Texas. The incident dogged Rather for weeks and he was asked about it repeatedly by fellow journalists.
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