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Dan Rather: Objective Newsman?
NewsMax.com ^ | 9/07/01 | Carl Limbacher and NewsMax.com Staff

Posted on 09/07/2001 9:06:13 PM PDT by kattracks

Just how objective is "CBS Evening News" anchorman Dan Rather?

He claims he does his level best to suppress personal opinions while reporting the news. But the folks at RatherBiased.com have put together a compelling compendium of Rather quotes that proves his pretense to objectivity is beyond ludicrous.

Here's a sampling from Rather Biased.com's "Compare and Contrast" page:

Rather on sexual harrassment allegations against Clarence Thomas:

"It raises the potential, the potential for a strategy that says, 'Listen, Anita Hill has raised this. In order to save Clarence Thomas's nomination we're going to have to, in effect, tear her apart.' Is that pretty much the strategy as you see it?" --Dan Rather in a CBS Special Report during the hearings, October 11, 1991.

"It is related to what women say, and with justification, about rape charges. If you think you've been raped or you know you have and you come forward with charges, then you suddenly are the person who has to pay the price."
--Dan Rather in a CBS Special Report during the hearings, October 11, 1991.

Rather on sexual assault allegations against Bill Clinton:

"[E]ven if it...turns out to be true, it happened a long time ago and...they've gotta be figuring maybe, just maybe the American public has heard all they want to hear about this and are saying, you know, 'Next, let's move on to the next thing.'" --Dan Rather on Imus in the Morning, February 23, 1999.

"I don't remember all the details of Juanita Broaddrick. But I will say that -- and you can castigate me if you like. When the charge has something to do with somebody's private sex life, I would prefer not to run any of it."
--Dan Rather on the O'Reilly Factor, May 15, 2001.

Rather on lying by Republican officials:

"The man [Oliver North] Presidents Reagan and Bush branded an American hero was portrayed in court today as a liar and a thief."
--Dan Rather on the CBS Evening News, April 14, 1989.

"Despite these statements [by Nancy Reagan and Al Gore] that North is a documented liar, North, according to the polls, has a strong chance of defeating incumbent Democrat and former Marine in Vietnam, Charles Robb....What's going on here?"
--Dan Rather reporting on Oliver North's run for the Senate on the CBS Evening News, October 28, 1994.

Rather on lying by Democrat Bill Clinton:

BILL O'REILLY: And I want to ask you flat out. Do you think President Clinton's an honest man?

RATHER: Yes, I think he's an honest man.

O'REILLY: Do you really?

RATHER: I think -- I do. I think he's an honest man.

O'REILLY: Even when he lied to Jim Lehrer's face about the (unintelligible)?

RATHER: Listen, who among us have not lied about something?

Dan Rather on the hazards of covering the powerful:

"I strongly believe that in our system no citizen has to face any leader on bended knee. He is not standing before a monarch, or a descendant of the sun god."
--Dan Rather in his 1977 book The Camera Never Blinks.

"Do powder puff, not probing interviews. Stay away from controversial subjects. Kiss ass, move with the mass, and for heaven and ratings' sake, don't make anybody mad -- certainly not anybody you're covering, and especially not the Mayor, the Governor, the Senator, the Vice President, or the President, or anybody in a position of power. Make nice, not news."
--Dan Rather complaining to the Radio and Television News Directors Association, September 1993.

Rather, with his then-new partner Connie Chung, making nice to the Clintons:

"Thank you, Mr. President. Thank you. Thank you. Mr. President. If we could be one-one-hundredth as great as you and Hillary Rodham Clinton have been together in the White House, we'd take it right now and walk away winners."
--Dan Rather at a meeting for CBS affiliates, May 27, 1993. Quoted in Columbia Journalism Review Sept./Oct. 1993.

For more outrageous Dan Rather quotes, visit www.RatherBiased.com.

Read more on this subject in related Hot Topics:

Dan Rather/CBS


TOPICS: Extended News; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS:

1 posted on 09/07/2001 9:06:13 PM PDT by kattracks
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To: kattracks
Dan gives me a case of the "Buckwheats".
2 posted on 09/07/2001 9:08:12 PM PDT by TomServo
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To: TomServo
"...Dan gives me a case of the "Buckwheats"..."

Dan's a cheap shill for the Reds. A liar and fool...

But I honestly believe that he's measurably less crazy than he was back in his salad days.

Today's Dan is a tired old leftist hack, hanging on out of reflex. Yesterday's Dan, on the other hand, was certifiable... "What's the frequency?"... "Courage!"... etc.

I assume he's medicated 24/7 these days, and that his instability is being fairly effectively 'managed'.

I miss the old Dan though. The new Dan is a bore. With the old Dan you could almost hear the 3 Stooge’s theme song playing in the background...

3 posted on 09/07/2001 10:11:24 PM PDT by DWSUWF
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To: DWSUWF
Dan Rather: Objective? Newsman?
4 posted on 09/07/2001 10:14:06 PM PDT by Doctor Stochastic
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To: DWSUWF
Nice post, but I really didn't wanna waste that many words on him. ;-)
5 posted on 09/07/2001 10:15:20 PM PDT by TomServo
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To: DWSUWF, RJayneJ
I miss the old Dan though. The new Dan is a bore. With the old Dan you could almost hear the 3 Stooge’s theme song playing in the background...

FYI...I nominate this for quote of the week.

6 posted on 09/07/2001 10:17:52 PM PDT by TomServo
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To: kattracks,Republican Wildcat,Howlin,Fred Mertz,.30Carbine, Harley_hog,sungirl,anniegetyourgun
Rather, with his then-new partner Connie Chung, making nice to the Clintons:

"Thank you, Mr. President. Thank you. Thank you. Mr. President. If we could be one-one-hundredth as great as you and Hillary Rodham Clinton have been together in the White House, we'd take it right now and walk away winners."
--Dan Rather at a meeting for CBS affiliates, May 27, 1993. Quoted in Columbia Journalism Review Sept./Oct. 1993.

Thank for the post, Kat! - Once more, you beat me to it! ;-)

Let's try this one on for size, from RatherBiased.com/Bizarre:

Discussing the controversy in Florida following the 2000 election with state senator Daniel Webster (R-12), Dan Rather relayed the concerns of some Democrats about the process being unfair:
"Let me come to a point that I have heard some people express, by no means a majority of people I've talked to. Some say, 'Listen, Danny, is the'--quote, 'Is the fix in in Florida?'"
--Dan Rather on the CBS Evening News, November 28, 2000.

Here's the link to RatherBiased.com:

RatherBiased.com

7 posted on 09/08/2001 6:35:29 AM PDT by MeekOneGOP
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To: MeeknMing, maxwell, dubyaismypresident, TigersEye, anniegetyourgun
The last time I saw Rather on television I shot it.
8 posted on 09/08/2001 9:36:43 AM PDT by .30Carbine
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To: .30Carbine
ROFL!
9 posted on 09/08/2001 9:58:31 AM PDT by anniegetyourgun
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To: .30Carbine
The last time I saw Rather on television I shot it.

Well you must have missed cause he's still alive!

Oh. . .you mean it as in the TV? ;-)


Typical CBS News Viewer

10 posted on 09/08/2001 10:04:00 AM PDT by MeekOneGOP
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To: MeeknMing
Gee, that doesn't look like a soccer mom...
11 posted on 09/08/2001 10:08:51 AM PDT by .30Carbine
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To: .30Carbine
I'd Rather stick my head in a cannon than watch SeeBS News. ~8+O
12 posted on 09/08/2001 11:02:46 AM PDT by TigersEye
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To: Anyone...
He told O'Reilly that "it is possible to be an honest person and still lie about a number of things". The subject was Clinton....go figure.
13 posted on 09/08/2001 11:06:18 AM PDT by Aerial
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To: .30Carbine
Rather is a pansy-a$$ed faggot. Never got over him refusing to cover that bastard Condidit. Jennings is just as bad... These days I watch NBC 'cause it's the clearest channel (I'm too cheap to get cable-- too busy with drinkin' an' carousin' as well, haha)... Brokaw just cracks me up because I always think of that SNL skit. Who does him-- Will Farrell? Daryl Hammond? Cain't recall.
14 posted on 09/08/2001 11:36:07 AM PDT by maxwell
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To: TomServo
Thanks for the nomination! };^D)
15 posted on 09/08/2001 12:40:57 PM PDT by RJayneJ
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