I found this:
http://www.aim.org/media_monitor_print/1019_0_2_0/
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Dan Rather Pulls an Al Gore
By Reed Irvine and Cliff Kincaid | April 25, 2001
"I made an embarrassing and regrettable error in judgment by going to this event." <![if !vml]>
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Several weeks ago there was a flurry over a rumor that CBS Evening News anchor Dan Rather was being replaced with Tim Russert, Washington bureau chief of NBC News and host of NBC's Sunday interview program, Meet the Press. CBS denied it. Ironically, if Rather were going to be replaced by Russert, one Democrat would be taking over for another. Russert worked for leading Democrats before going to work for NBC News. However, Russert has developed a reputation as a newsman who can be tough on both political parties, while Rather wears his pro-Democratic Party bias on his sleeve.
In a further irony, Russert has come to the rescue after Rather admitted raising funds at a Democratic Party event in Texas. "He got into trouble for trying to be a good father," Russert said, referring to the fact that Rather's daughter Robin had asked him to speak at the event. Russert added that he would probably have done the same thing if his son Luke had asked for a similar favor.
Rather's full statement was that, "I made an embarrassing and regrettable error in judgment by going to this event. It was a serious mistake, which I acknowledge. No one believes more strongly in CBS News standards than I do, and I have let those standards down." Howard Kurtz of the Washington Post, who broke the story, said Rather claimed he didn't know it was a fundraiser, but that he probably would have participated even if he had known.
In making that claim, Rather told Kurtz that he feared he might sound like Al Gore claiming ignorance about the notorious fundraiser at the Buddhist Temple. Gore had claimed he didn't know it was a fundraiser, but all of the evidence suggested otherwise. The incident became known as another example of Gore's tendency to lie. Rather said that by the time he got to his event, he did realize it was a fundraiser. A spokesman for CBS News said Rather's appearance was "an honest oversight" on his part.
The flap reconfirms Dan Rather's pro-Democratic, anti-Republican bias, and that he is willing to pull a Clinton or a Gore in trying to excuse it. When Russert says he was only doing a favor for a child, that bears analysis as well. Rather's daughter Robin is described as an environmentalist considering a run for mayor of Austin, Texas. She was a host of the event featuring her father and has been a consultant for David Butts, another host of the event who is a campaign advisor to the current mayor, Kirk Watson. In short, this "good father" Dan Rather may have been deliberately assisting the political plans and ambitions of his daughter. The event raised $20,000 for the Travis County Democratic Party.
Dan Rather's nightly newscast is already number three in the ratings, behind ABC and NBC. His program may be more biased than the others, but probably not by much. His appearance at the fundraiser tell us three things: he has a liberal bias, he is above the law at CBS, and he's got a liberal daughter who wants to exploit her father's notoriety.
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