Dan Rather
What are DL's thoughts on Dan Rather? I searched and could not find much on him.
A journalist with a JD, Rather worked for CBS and 60 Minutes for decades until he was abruptly fired over his reporting on George W. Bush's National Guard service. After his departure from CBS, he moved back home to Texas, where he works with his alma maters and civic and literary organizations.
I always felt he was more intelligent and classier than this contemporaries. He turns 93 on October 31.
Offsite Linkby Anonymous | reply 44 | October 12, 2024 1:00 AM
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That is ONE unflattering headshot. Ewww.
by Anonymous | reply 3 | October 11, 2024 3:18 AM
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[quote]I searched and could not find much on him.
Don't try for work in research.
by Anonymous | reply 5 | October 11, 2024 3:19 AM
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What's the frequency Kenneth?
by Anonymous | reply 7 | October 11, 2024 3:22 AM
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Love Dan. Glad he's still out there doing his thing.
by Anonymous | reply 8 | October 11, 2024 3:24 AM
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He hit me in the head with a fondue pot.
by Anonymous | reply 9 | October 11, 2024 3:26 AM
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I saw him recently on CNN. He's really showing his age. I hadn't seen him on TV in a while and was surprised at how he appears to have declined.
by Anonymous | reply 10 | October 11, 2024 3:28 AM
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Well, at 92, I would be more shocked if he was looking 50
by Anonymous | reply 11 | October 11, 2024 3:33 AM
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Wow, he was a handsome man! Yes, I always liked him, too. He had an air of confidence and authority that I liked.
by Anonymous | reply 12 | October 11, 2024 3:36 AM
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I love him with my heart and soul and brain.
by Anonymous | reply 14 | October 11, 2024 4:02 AM
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I remember he was doing an interview where he was hammering someone - typical Dan Rather which we normally appreciate.
However, the subject turned and said something like "how would you like it if you were judged forever based on the worst moment in your life?" Then, continued with "like when you walked off the set in the middle of a broadcast."
Dan got diva pissy.
Completely changed my opinion of him.
by Anonymous | reply 15 | October 11, 2024 4:06 AM
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There are some videos on YouTube of him interviewing (The Big Interview) music artists like Heart. He does a really good job and seems pretty knowledgeable about music. Pretty softball questions, I guess, though.
by Anonymous | reply 16 | October 11, 2024 4:11 AM
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I always thought it was bullshit that he was basically fired over those docs about Bush 2's military career.
It felt like a move by Karl Rove to discredit all claims about Bush's spotty military career and going AWOL and other items. Meanwhile they created Swiftboat Veterans against Kerry LIES to discredit the military record of Kerry - whose military career was commendable.
Offsite Linkby Anonymous | reply 17 | October 11, 2024 4:17 AM
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[quote] I remember he was doing an interview where he was hammering someone
That someone was George H.W. Bush.
Offsite Linkby Anonymous | reply 18 | October 11, 2024 4:47 AM
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Did he read Gibbon’s Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire “in the original Latin”?
Offsite Linkby Anonymous | reply 19 | October 11, 2024 4:52 AM
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He’s a legendary journalist and I really enjoyed his Twitter posts before I was permanently banned. Lives in a condo in downtown Austin (but I’ve never seen him). His daughter Robin is very cool and her speaking cadence is just like his, which I find charming. Haaaaaates Trump.
by Anonymous | reply 21 | October 11, 2024 8:02 AM
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A good man and a dependable supporter of liberals.
by Anonymous | reply 22 | October 11, 2024 11:36 AM
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He was there, reporting from Dallas, when Kennedy was shot and the first CBS reporter to confirm (via phone the news desk) that Kennedy was dead.
Offsite Linkby Anonymous | reply 23 | October 11, 2024 12:03 PM
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He was always strange with a frequently awkward delivery.
by Anonymous | reply 25 | October 11, 2024 12:55 PM
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[quote] saw him recently on CNN. He's really showing his age. I hadn't seen him on TV in a while and was surprised at how he appears to have declined.
If you find that level of decline in a 92-year-old shocking, I advise you never to visit a nursing home and never to live past 85 or so.
by Anonymous | reply 26 | October 11, 2024 1:01 PM
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Bush Sr was one of the first republicans to push back on the media.
by Anonymous | reply 27 | October 11, 2024 1:12 PM
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R27. And we’ve been paying the price ever since.
by Anonymous | reply 28 | October 11, 2024 1:19 PM
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Always kindof an asshole. But generally on the right side of things. He apparently treated Connie Chung with disdain and and abject neglect, for which he deserves an award.
by Anonymous | reply 29 | October 11, 2024 1:34 PM
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To be fair to Bush, he was told he was going to discuss his policies. Rather was focused on Iran Contra. Rather kept pushing.
I love the look on Rather's face when Bush mentioned Rather walking out of the studio.
by Anonymous | reply 31 | October 11, 2024 1:40 PM
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One of the best. Classy, intelligent, no nonsense, and to the point.
by Anonymous | reply 32 | October 11, 2024 1:41 PM
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He seemed nice and he was engaging and I enjoyed when he hosted the evening news. I don't know anything else about him.
by Anonymous | reply 33 | October 11, 2024 1:43 PM
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Just because the cat has kittens in the oven don't make em biscuts.
by Anonymous | reply 34 | October 11, 2024 1:47 PM
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He was one of ther first reporters to see the film of JFK being shot. He went on the air and described it totally wrong. Whether by honest error or sinister intent is still being debated. He must have been blind either way.
Offsite Linkby Anonymous | reply 35 | October 11, 2024 1:55 PM
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[quote]...he was abruptly fired over his reporting on George W. Bush's National Guard service.
As I recall, the reason for his firing was the following:
Supposedly Rather had received some old letter about GWB's National Guard Service that claimed something negative. As was their policy, CBS analyzed the supposed letter and discovered that the letter was a fake. The reason was that the font used on the supposedly old letter had not even been invented at the time of the date on the letter. They told Rather the letter was a fake and that he should not use it.
Rather ignored the order from CBS.
He was fired for that reason.
by Anonymous | reply 36 | October 11, 2024 2:32 PM
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Yeah R16. He did several of those for AXS TV. He is either pretty knowledgeable about music or he did good research before the interviews.
by Anonymous | reply 37 | October 11, 2024 2:42 PM
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Wrong r36–well partially. CBS never properly authenticated the documents, and Rather has said he would not have run with the story if it was determined the documents were fake.
by Anonymous | reply 38 | October 11, 2024 2:46 PM
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Was he fired because he used the letter?
by Anonymous | reply 39 | October 11, 2024 2:51 PM
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I followed him on some form of social media for a while, probably Facebook, and in everything he posted he always seemed to be swinging for the fences. He wanted to say profound things and move us and change hearts and rouse people and I started feeling like he should give it a rest and just pass on his thoughts and let us reach our own conclusions.
by Anonymous | reply 40 | October 11, 2024 3:19 PM
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His AXS interview series with music stars is terrific.
by Anonymous | reply 41 | October 11, 2024 6:38 PM
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Always thought he got a raw deal from CBS over the GW Bush military thing.
He made a mistake in reporting that. But he also had 40 years of service to CBS at that point.
A suspension would have been the appropriate punishment. Not firing.
I always wondered if Karl Rove was not somehow involved, perhaps creating the fake letter that made its way to Dan. Would have been something out of Rove's playbook. Would have made nice revenge for the Bush family after the interview with GHW Bush 12+ years earlier.
by Anonymous | reply 42 | October 11, 2024 7:54 PM
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R42 - I think the sticking point was that he wasn't willing to retract the findings. He believed the source and information and we STILL don't know anything about Bush Jr's military service to this day - which is bullshit.
I agree it had Rove's fingerprints on it.
Comparatively, just a few years later, MANY networks were going with the Obama birther lie -over and over and over. Same thing with the Vince Foster crap. Nothing happened to those reporters.
by Anonymous | reply 43 | October 11, 2024 9:17 PM
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I thought Dan Rather only listened to classical? Or was that Tom Brokaw?
by Anonymous | reply 44 | October 12, 2024 1:00 AM
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