I agree, he won't bring a civil action. CBS is going to retract these papers in due course, and public figures have a tough go of proving actual malice anyway.
Damages? I doubt any court want to wrestle with "loss of an election," that is a political matter, and up to the public in a free and open society. Plus, President Bush knows that the suit would cause more downside, for him and for the country, and he is averse to causing harm. I am sure he will be well satisfied in seeing Rather retire soon, under a cloud, and for another layer of veneer to be stripped from the snob media's public credibility.