Dan Rather: Hall of Famer?

[Octave]

Let's hear it.

Son of a ditch-digger and pipe-layer, prolific reporter and news anchor. Tough to perform highly at both, like switch hitting.
Present for the coverage of every big story for nearly half a century, now attained sage status.

 

[swingline]

Close to inner circle hall of famer.

 

[Twirling Time]

I say no until Cronkite's in.

 

[DanOregon]

He and Barbara Walters ushered in the journo as celebrity stuff. Remember he was on a cover of People magazine. Good journo, but I do think there was a bit much of the "look at me" in him. He'd have a lot more credibility if he took down a lefty like he tried to take down W.

 

[MileHigh]

I remember the 2000 Election Night meltdown and all of his "Ratherisms" that became too much.

"Bush has run through Dixie like a big wheel through a cotton field."

"This race is as tight as a too-small bathing suit on a too-hot car ride back from the beach."

"Hotter than a Laredo parking lot."

"We've lived by the crystal ball, we're eating so much broken glass. We're in critical condition."

"Don't shoot the piano player, he's doing the best he can."

 

[Mngwa]

I'm not sure how you decide if he belongs in the upper echelons, but he has redeemed himself since the end of his career as a news anchor.

 

[MileHigh]

His pre- and post-Evening News anchoring certainly buoy him, but his Evening News anchoring is a lot to be desired.

The walking off the set.

The takedown by H.W.

Courage.

The swing and miss on W.

The 2000 fiasco and the Ratherisms.

But ... he was in Dallas in 1963 and was on the front lines for that and he was a stalwart in the field before he replaced the GOAT. And he's embraced the attacks from the right in his post-anchor days. You want to replace who replaced the GOAT.

Honestly, the Ratherisms on Election Night cracked me up because they were so goof-ballish.

I mean, you didn't get this from Chancelor, Jennings or Brokaw: "Pennsylvania drops for Gore, 23 electoral votes, and for the first time tonight, mark it, if you're in the kitchen, Mabel, come back in the front room, 145 for Gore, 130 for Bush, 270 needed to win."

Or: "If a frog had side pockets he'd carry a handgun."

And: "Bush is sweeping through the South like a tornado through a trailer park."

 

[playthrough]

"Courage" was so strange.

Seems like he's having a small revival on Facebook. Usually spot-on commentary without too much homespun hokum. Of course, on that platform the vast majority of his followers are folks who watched him decades ago.

 

[PCLoadLetter]

Dan Rather is an all-time great reporter.

He ran into two problems that derailed him:

1) Like a lot of great reporters he wanted to be an anchor. He got the gig, but he was far better as a reporter. (It's one of the things "Broadcast News" nailed -- Albert Brooks' character, the reporter who desperately wants the anchor chair but is much better off where he is.)

2) With W he had a story that he absolutely believed to be true and it clouded his judgement terribly.

But overall? Hell of a career.

 

[superhater]

Short answer: Hell fucking yes.

 

[Songbird]

Ratherisms < or > Bermanisms?

 

[Songbird]

Or Stuart Scottisms?