Mapes is a true believer who got caught in manipulating news. Rather is a fellow traveler who resigned, or was forced to move on, before the endgame. Truth be told, Rather has an alibi. He's not supposed to filter the news. His producer is. Yes, it's an ugly story.
I don't think Rather can hide behind Mapes' skirt. Rather knew that Mapes was a rabid partisan, looking for dirt on Bush. So is he. She may have been slightly more rabid, but they are both rabid, and their common goal was to tip the election to Kerry.
If they weren't partisan, then I'd like to see the story they were preparing on Kerry.