Cooper has done a great job for CNN with their tsunami coverage.
And he doesn't seem to consider himself the be all end all of news correspondents.
From what I've seen, he does straight news.
Ya know, if CBS really wanted to shake things up, they'd get Don Imus.
Seriously, a great choice and a great American would be Brian Lamb. (Imus could fill in for him if need be)
Before I got cable, I would see Cooper in the wee morning hours. IIRC, he was on ABC over-night news, so he was on around 4-5 a.m.
He was watchable; didn't seem to be agenda oriented. But that time slot is more of a 'break in' for new news-readers. It isn't until they get more exposure in the prime time that their true colors/leanings come out.
Cooper vaguely reminds me of Frank Reynolds, whom I always enjoyed watching when he was the evening anchor.