Tuesday, November 23, 2004

Filed From The Luxor Hotel, Las Vegas: Black Rock Makes A Move

Will Be Gone!!
ABC News(!) is reporting that Dan Rather has announced that he will make his last broadcast as the anchor of CBS news on March 9, 2005. The final broadcast will be 24 years to the day after he made his debut as the permanent host of the evening news. He will continue working full-time on "60 Minutes."

Bruce Morton of CNN said, "He was the most controversial of the news anchors." Morton went on to state that his "Ratherisms" such as, "That dog won't hunt," will be missed by everyone. We here at the 'Wonks agree that he was the most controversial of the broadcast news anchors, but it is a matter of individual opinion whether or not the "Ratherisms" will be missed.


Some will argue that he was a "victim" of the Rathergate incident. We disagree. Rather was a victim of his own hubris. He simply didn't check his facts, and when his pajama-clad (or not) colleagues out in the blogosphere pointed-out his inconsistencies, Rather continued to "stick to his story," and refused to even consider that documents alleging that George Bush had received preferential treatment during his Air National Guard service could even possibly be forged.

Only when the evidence became overwhelming, did he reluctantly admit that the network had been lax in its verification of the sources.
Dan Rather did this to himself.

Update: Jay over at Wizbang! has more to say about Rather. The Commissar at The Politburo Diktat also makes some excellent points regarding Rather's imminent retirement from the anchor's desk, and Robbie at The Devil's Advocate has some good thoughts.