And it worked. "Dan Rather Reporting" actually got something of a conservative following, not because it was a conservative show--it wasn't--but because it actually put forward the conservative point of view in what might be called a fair and balanced way.
Aha! So Dan Rather owed his success to Peggy Noonan's brilliant writing, who made his show "fair and balanced" and drew a large conservative audience because of that. It was her words, her script, that made him a success. After she left, his looney liberal rantings took center stage and his ratings began to slip. I hope Dan sent YOU some flowers, Peggy, because you did the impossible: Made a silk purse out of a sow's ear.
Sheeza, you are right on! Dan Rather owes much of his career to Peggy Noonan who wrote him fair and balanced essays for public consumption. Then we saw the real Dan Rather when he tried to bring Bush 43 down with his forged memos.
Proof:
"Now respectfully, when you start talking about a liberal agenda and all the, quote, 'liberal bias' in the media, I quite frankly, and I say this respectfully but candidly to you, I don't know what you're talking about." Dan Rather to talk radio host Mike Rosen of KOA Denver, November 28, 1995.
Rather repeatedly lied when he claimed no liberal bias at SeeBS, but as Ms. Noonan pointed out, he made it very clear that he was liberal and the show was liberal.
Red America knew you were a liar along, Dan RATher.