The Rehabilitation of Dan Rather

When one watches Dan Rather's news program on HDTV on satellite, one gets the impression that one is witnessing a curious phenomenon involving the rehabilitation of the veteran news man's reputation. Rather is thoughtful, reflective, respectful--a far cry from the tempestuous, volatile, and impulsive Dan Rather to which most Americans became accustomed in his long career at CBS News.

Mr. Rather is actually easy to watch at HDTV. His interviews are in-depth, relaxed, and perceptive, allowing the interviewee to feel at ease and thus, more apt to disclose information without any of the defensiveness one feels when confronted by an aggressive news-hound.

One is apt to wonder about the change. Has Rather grown more mellow with age? Has he finally matured in concert with his age? Or is this a more calculated plan to rehabilitate the reporter's image after the debacle at CBS where it was disclosed that he and his lieutenants had fabricated a story concerning President Bush's service in the National Guard?

Perhaps it is a bit of both, and that's okay.

With age comes wisdom, or at least that is the hope. Perhaps even more wisdom is to be gleaned from making glaring mistakes in one's senior years.

Nonetheless, the change is striking.

Long before Dan Rather became anchor at CBS News following the retirement of icon Walter Cronkite in 1981, he had been the network's chief White House correspondent. During those years many wondered if perhaps Rather's penchant for being in the center of controversy became the news that overshadowed the news.

At the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago, Rather was roughed up by a group of protesters demonstrating on the Convention floor. He even received a gash on the side of his head, which necessitated that he wear a white patch for several weeks thereafter.

Rather never missed a beat, however. He gave a full report on the incident, on live TV, to Cronkite who was up in the booth, and he was back on the front lines the very next day.

When Richard Nixon beat Hubert Humphrey for the Presidency in 1968, Rather could hardly contain his utter disdain for Nixon. The glee with which Rather reported on the President's woes in the aftermath of Watergate was obvious. At one point, during a Presidential news conference, Rather arose to ask a question, to which the crowd of reporters responded with applause and cheers.

Who was it that said reporters weren't biased and partisan?

The President, seeking to break the tension with some humor, responded by quipping, 'Dan, are you running for something?'

Rather responded with an acerbic, 'No, Mr. President, are you?'

Years later, after assuming the role as anchor, Rather ambushed Vice-President George H.W. Bush, who was campaigning for President in 1988. The deal was that Bush would answer no questions about Iran-Contra. Rather proceeded to ask a question about Iran-Contra anyway, which sent Bush erupting into a 3-minute tirade.

Rather never got in a word edge-wise.

Many observers believed that Bush won the Presidency precisely because of the Dan Rather interview. He had taken on the unabashed liberal anchorman and won.

And then of course there was the incident where Rather walked off the set of the CBS Evening News one night, in protest of the decision by the network to delay the news broadcast due to a sporting event. The action left CBS with a blank screen for several minutes until producers decided what they were going to do.

The one thing we all came to expect from Dan Rather was the unexpected--and the volatile.

But the fabricated story on George W. Bush's military service was the last straw. When the news came to light that the whole thing was made up, with very little evidence to lend the allegations any credibility, CBS deftly eased Rather out the door in conjunction with the announcement of his upcoming retirement.

The thing is, Rather never retired.

Thus, we now are witnessing an aging news man in the sunset of his professional life taking a 180-degree about face. Perhaps Rather wishes to be remembered by some things other than his less-than-admirable decisions earlier in his career.

After all, he even appeared 2 weeks ago on Fox News on Neil Cavuto's afternoon broadcast. For a liberal, mainstream media icon to appear on Fox, on one of the most overtly conservative programs on Fox, is ample proof that something is happening.

Either Rather has lost his mind, or he really has gained some wisdom with age.