MRC’s CyberAlerts Documentation of
Dan Rather’s Liberal Media Bias

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2005

Jobs Report Undermines Dan Rather's Comparison of Bush to Hoover
The February 4 jobs report contradicted what Dan Rather declared on the CBS Evening News a few months ago. On October 8, Rather accurately stated that President Bush was facing the "election with 821,000 fewer jobs in the nation than when he took office," but Rather then asserted: "It's the first net job loss on a President's watch since Herbert Hoover during the Great Depression of the 1930s." In fact, from February 1, 2001 through January 31, 2005, the job statistics reporting period which matches Bush's first term, the nation gained 119,000 jobs, thus undermining the Democratic campaign spin echoed by the media. 
(CyberAlert, February 8, 2005)

Sitting by Rather, Historian Suggests Press Out to "Get" Bush
Durings CBS's coverage of the inauguration, Dan Rather wanted to know if there has "been any American President in a time of war who has asked for as little sacrifice as President Bush has done?" As he sat at the same table with Dan Rather who just months ago delivered a hit job on Bush based on forged documents, historian Joseph Ellis stressed how there are plenty of scandals which could imperil Bush's second term since as "a lame duck...the press is really out to get you. And they can get you if they want to get you. And they're going to go after him. You can already start to see it. And what the press defines as a scandal becomes a scandal." Rather quickly switched topics.
(CyberAlert, January 21, 2005)

Rather Uses Casket Video to Denounce Policy Barring Such Viewing
Dan Rather decided to turn, the return of the bodies of Louisiana National Guardsmen killed in Iraq, into an opportunity to take a shot at the Bush administration for not allowing pictures of caskets arriving at military bases, a policy, he did not note, which matches that of the Clinton administration. Rather led the CBS Evening News with how "by Pentagon design, the American people have rarely been allowed to see what was seen today -- a homecoming. Flag-draped caskets of six American soldiers were flown to Louisiana where the National Guard chose to ignore Pentagon policy and salute their sacrifice in a public ceremony."
(CyberAlert, January 13, 2005)

2004

Rather: CBS News a "Magical Kingdom," Talks to Murrow's Ghost
Dan Rather talks to ghosts? In a Hollywood Reporter story, a reporter for the left coast daily recalled how in an interview with Dan Rather conducted in late 2003, the soon-to-depart CBS Evening News anchor ruminated about how CBS News is "a magical, mystical kingdom -- our version of Camelot. And we feel we are working at a kind of roundtable of King Arthur proportions." Rather also insisted: "Ed Murrow's ghost is here. I've seen him and talked to him on the third floor of this building many times late at night. And I can tell you that he's watching over us." 
(CyberAlert, December 1, 2004)

Dan Rather Delivers Powerful Tribute to Marines in Iraq
No matter how obnoxious of a conservative-bashing liberal crusader Dan Rather is much of the time, when he returns to his patriotic Texas roots, he does so powerfully -- as he did in concluding the CBS Evening News with an emotional tribute to U.S. Marines. With a photo on screen of a grizzled Marine in Fallujah, Rather urged viewers: "Study it, absorb it, think about it. Then take a deep breath of pride. And if your eyes don't dampen, you're a better man or woman than I. Where such men come from and what will happen to our country when they cease to come, we can wonder with worry. But for now, we have them, and they are there in that brown hell known as Iraq. Whatever you may think of the war, they went for the right reason: They loved their country." 
(CyberAlert, November 11, 2004)

Rather: Cheney Doesn't Think It's Fair, But I'll Do it Anyway
Dan Rather: Dick Cheney doesn't think it's fair, but I'll do it anyway. In a short CBS Evening News item about how Halliburton will be allowed to keep disputed payments for services in Iraq, Rather found it necessary to tell viewers that "Vice President Dick Cheney is the former chief executive to Halliburton and still gets a pension and other benefits." Rather then acknowledged: "Republicans generally believe that it's unfair to point that out in the present context." 
(CyberAlert, October 23, 2004)

Rather Leads by Exaggerating Order Refusal Into "Mutiny" in Iraq
Though he acknowledged that the case "is still being investigated" and there's been "nothing proven," Dan Rather, nonetheless, led the CBS Evening News by hyperbolically citing "a mutiny" by "members of a U.S. Army logistical unit" who "may have rejected an order they considered too dangerous." Rather tied the alleged incident to larger problems in Iraq: "With U.S. casualties in Iraq mounting, along with some complaints about lack of proper equipment and not enough troops, American commanders are being forced to think about troops refusing missions."
(CyberAlert, October 16, 2004)

Rather Pounces on "Hitting Below the Belt in the Bible Belt"
The Kerry campaign complains and CBS News jumps in line to castigate Republicans. "The Kerry campaign is accusing the Republican National Committee today of hitting below the belt in the Bible Belt," Dan Rather intoned on the CBS Evening News in introducing a full story devoted to a campaign flyer with the word "Banned" over a Bible. 
(CyberAlert, September 27, 2004)

Sawyer: Rather Opposed CBS Hiring Me Because of Work for Nixon 
Dan Rather's animus toward working with those linked to Republicans goes back to the Diane Sawyer days, she revealed on Larry King Live. As reported in the New York Times, the appointment of Richard Thornburgh to be one of two investigators to look into why CBS used forged memos in a hit job on President Bush, "upset Dan Rather" who "considers Mr. Thornburgh a confounding choice in part because he served two Republican Presidents, Mr. Bush's father, and Richard M. Nixon..." Sawyer confided on King's show that Rather told her that "'I didn't think you should be hired. I fought your being hired and I wanted you to hear it from me before you heard it from anybody else,' because I had worked in the Nixon administration." Sawyer also recalled that Rather regularly pressed her: "Have you checked the facts?" That's some advice he could use himself. 
(CyberAlert, September 24, 2004)

Rather Threatened Effort to "Dig Anew" into Bush Guard Record (with video)
During the GOP convention, Dan Rather posed a question to First Lady Laura Bush which suggested payback against President Bush would soon come for the attacks on John Kerry's Vietnam service by "friends and supporters" of George W. Bush. During an interview with Mrs. Bush carried on the CBS Evening News on the last day of the Republican convention, Rather couched a threat in the form of a question: "Now that friends and supporters of the President have raised the issue of John Kerry's combat record in Vietnam, do you or do you not think it's fair now for the Kerry people to come back and dig anew into your husband's military service record?" 
(CyberAlert, September 15, 2004)

Rather Reserves “Carefully Orchestrated Leak” to Items on Dems
Dan Rather reserves his “carefully orchestrated leak” formulation, to discredit revelations, to those stories harmful to Democrats. In addition to his introduction to the news about Sandy Berger, in June of 1998 Rather asserted that the "carefully orchestrated leaks" of Lewinsky tapes released earlier, which “were damaging to the Clinton camp, may not have told the whole story." Exactly two years later, on June 22, 2000, Rather set up a story about how “Vice President Gore is also on the spot tonight over a new, carefully orchestrated leak involving accusations about Gore's past campaign fundraising practices.” On the night Al Gore was set to address the Democratic convention in August of 2000, Rather intoned on the CBS Evening News: “Al Gore must stand and deliver here tonight as the Democratic Party's presidential nominee. And now Gore must do so against the backdrop of a potentially damaging, carefully orchestrated story leak about President Clinton.” Rather used the same formulation later during CBS’s prime time coverage but, in fact, the leak came from a Carter-appointed federal judge. 
(CyberAlert, July 21, 2004)

Rather Concedes Befuddlement Over Why Reagan Admired Coolidge
CBS’s Dan Rather conceded that he “never understood” why the late President Ronald Reagan “would think that Calvin Coolidge was such a good President” when “historians see him as one of the, I won’t say architects of the Depression, but certainly not a very good President?” 
(CyberAlert, Jun 12, 2004)

Rather’s Tribute to Reagan: “Think of Him Always When the West Wind Blows”
Dan Rather wrapped up his CBS News prime time special, on Ronald Reagan’s passing, with an emotional tribute to the former President which choked up the CBS anchor: “May we share his optimism and may his steed hold steady as he completes his journey. We will think of him always when the West wind blows.”
(CyberAlert, June 6, 2004)

Dan Rather Trumpets 14-Point Lead of Kerry-McCain “Dream Team”
Dan Rather trumpeted the polling success of a Kerry-McCain “Democratic dream team” ticket over Bush-Cheney. Over a graphic of a mock red, white and blue campaign button showing the faces of John Kerry and John McCain, with a question mark in between, Rather touted how “belief appears to be growing that the Democratic dream team -- and President Bush's nightmare -- would be Kerry and Republican Senator John McCain. Look at this: The latest CBS News poll indicates Kerry with an eight-point lead [49 to 41 percent] over President Bush. With McCain on a Kerry ticket the lead grows to 14.” 
(CyberAlert, May 28, 2004)

Rather: “Bush Finally Apologizes, But Will He Fire Rumsfeld?”
Network reporters complained again about how President Bush hadn’t apologized during his Wednesday sessions with Arab TV networks (Claire Shipman on GMA: “Eyebrows are being raised at the fact he never actually apologized”) and after Bush did say he’s “sorry for the humiliation suffered by the Iraqi prisoners,” that development led the evening newscasts. But not all were satisfied. Dan Rather teased the May 6 CBS Evening News: “President Bush finally apologizes, but will he fire Defense Secretary Rumsfeld?” Only NBC’s Chip Reid noted “a backlash from many conservative Republicans” as he highlighted how “conservative talk show host Rush Limbaugh is now leading the charge in accusing the media and Democrats of hyping the Iraqi abuse story.” 
(CyberAlert, May 7, 2004)

Rather Treats as Newsworthy Enemy’s Claim Iraq “Another Vietnam” 
CBS’s Dan Rather and ABC’s Peter Jennings did their best to advance Senator Ted Kennedy’s notion that Iraq is “Bush’s Vietnam,” though neither mentioned the Senator as they raised the comparison to the earlier quagmire. Rather treated the allegation of the enemy as newsworthy as he announced at the top of the CBS Evening News: “In Najaf, the militant Shiite cleric Al-Sadr echoed the refrain Iraq could become quote, 'another Vietnam’ for America.” 
(CyberAlert, April 8, 2004)

2003

Rather Uses Staged Democratic Event to Justify Leakgate Story 
CBS on Friday night used a partisan meeting of the Senate Democratic Policy Committee as an excuse to justify a story about, as anchor Dan Rather put it, “new developments” in “the investigation of who, possibly illegally, blew the cover of a CIA undercover agent in July.” Doing his best to blame top Bush officials, Rather ominously warned that “the Justice Department has been looking into charges that it was a politically-motivated leak, a smear, from a White House staffer.”
(CyberAlert, October 23, 2003)

“Finally” a Prescription Drug Plan, But Rather Sees GOP in Way
Dan Rather on Thursday night painted awful Republicans and insurance company lobbyists as undermining the efforts of Congress to “finally” add prescription coverage to Medicare. Rather teased: “The long-awaited Medicare prescription drug benefit. Does Congress finally have a plan, or will insurance company lobbying and other politics kill it?” Rather set up the subsequent story by blaming only one side for any delay: “Millions of older Americans waiting for prescription drug coverage under Medicare may soon be in for either a pleasant surprise or a rude shock. While congressional negotiators have agreed on the outlines of a drug coverage plan, Democrats accuse Republicans of seeking to steer seniors out of Medicare and into private insurance company plans.” 
(CyberAlert, October 27, 2003)

Dan Rather Turns Good Employment News Into Bad News 
The good news was bad news to CBS and Dan Rather. The Labor Department reported that the unemployment rate held steady at 6.1 percent in September while payrolls increased by 57,000 jobs, the first monthly payroll rise since January. But Rather emphasized how “a lot of people who need jobs can’t find them” and though “the economy actually created more jobs than it lost for the first time in eight months,” that wasn’t “nearly enough to meet demand.” Rather set up a story by warning that “with jobs still hard to find,” people are being forced to go into the military and those in the military can’t afford to leave.
(CyberAlert, October 4, 2003)

Dan Rather Slyly Suggests Bush Team Knew Iraq Had No WMD
ABC and CBS on Thursday night gave credibility to liberal talking points as they jumped on a February, 2001 comment by Secretary of State Colin Powell about how Saddam Hussein “has not developed any significant capability with respect to weapons of mass destruction.” Dan Rather slyly turned that into: “Tonight, the Iraq weapons search. New questions about what the Bush administration knew before the war.”
(CyberAlert, September 26, 2003)

Rather Admits CBS Stories on Mayhem Don’t Match Reality of Iraq
The CBS Evening News, where the stories, self-admittedly, don’t match reality. On Friday night, Dan Rather introduced a dire story on how “ordinary Iraqis are faced with an extraordinary surge of crime, banditry and thuggery from carjacking and robbery to kidnapping and murder” resulting “in a population fearful, frustrated, angry and heavily armed." But never mind. After the subsequent story on mayhem in Baghdad, Rather conceded that the report he just aired had distorted the situation: "A reminder that television sometimes has trouble with perspective, so you may want to note that in some areas of Iraq, things are peaceful." 
(CyberAlert, September 22, 2003)

Rather to Rumsfeld: “Is This Going to Be Another Quagmire?”
Dan Rather stuck on Vietnam-era analogies. On Thursday’s CBS Evening News Rather, from Baghdad, asked Lt. General Ricardo Sanchez whether the Iraq situation is a “tar baby” or “quick sand” or a “'quagmire’ out of the Vietnam era.” Fast forward to Friday night and Rather confronted Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld with the same theme: “Mr. Secretary, you know just this week in the paper, there’s been phrases used, rank and file Americans, saying 'are we into quick sand?’ 'Is this going to be another quagmire?’” 
(CyberAlert, September 8, 2003)

Dan Rather Chokes Up as He Recites John Denver Lyrics (with video)
John Denver’s lyrics nearly moved Dan Rather to tears. Shortly after ex-POW Jessica Lynch addressed the media inside a tent in Wirt County, West Virginia, a homecoming covered live by all the networks on Tuesday afternoon, Rather displayed both his middle American patriotic values in paying tribute to those felled in war, but also the goofiness and excessive emotionalism which fuels ridicule of him.
(CyberAlert, July 23, 2003)

CBS Wails: "With Only $400 Billion to Spend"
Not even $400 billion is enough spending for CBS which ran stories lamenting the inadequate level of spending proposed to create a prescription drug entitlement. Dan Rather warned: "The plan may wind up falling far short of what Medicare recipients were hoping for." 
(CyberAlert, June 25, 2003)

Rather and Auletta Discover Media Bias...
On Fox News Channel It's always amazing that establishment media figures, who are unable to discern any liberal bias at any mainstream media outlet, are so easily able to recognize conservative bias on the Fox News Channel. Rather told Ken Auletta his take on the Rupert Murdoch-owned FNC: "By any clear analysis the bias is towards his own personal, political, partisan agenda." 
(CyberAlert, May 20, 2003)

Rather Describes Poll as Finding Tax Cut “A Problematic Sell”
Though by more than two-to-one, those polled in a new CBS News/New York Times survey said they thought the Bush tax cut would have a “good effect on the economy” over a bad one, on Tuesday's CBS Evening News Dan Rather characterized the poll as finding the tax cut is “a problematic sell for the President” since “less than half the respondents thought the Bush tax cut would actually help the economy.”
(CyberAlert, May 14, 2003)

Rather Confirms Ramsey Clark a “Big Help” in Landing Hussein 
Dan Rather confirmed on Larry King Live on CNN that far-left, anti-American crusader Ramsey Clark, who has drawn up charges of impeachment against President Bush accusing him of “crimes against humanity,” was a “big help” to CBS News in landing the Saddam Hussein interview for the network. 
(CyberAlert, February 28, 2003)

Rather Demurs on If Hussein Is “a Lying Son of a Bitch”
When Late Show guest host Bruce Willis reacted as most Americans would to the Saddam Hussein interview, asking Dan Rather “how could you tell if he’s just a lying son of a bitch?”, Rather refused to agree with the characterization and instead delivered a dry response about their seating arrangement and how Saddam is a “strong eye contact person.” 
(CyberAlert, February 28, 2003)

Rather Gives Saddam Platform, Worries He Won't See Him Again
Saddam Hussein got plenty of time to spout his nonsense and falsehoods, largely without challenge, during Wednesday night's 60 Minutes II devoted entirely to Dan Rather's interview of the Iraqi dictator. Rather helped make Hussein seem reasonable by recounting how Hussein left the room “to pray,” highlighting how Hussein corrected one of his translators for referring to George H.W. Bush as “Bush” and not “Mr. Bush” as Hussein evinced “respect” for “Mr. Bush,” and Rather concluded the interview by expressing concern that “given the sober moment and the danger at hand, what are the chances this is the last time you and I will see each other?” 
(CyberAlert, February 27, 2003)

Dan Rather Cues up Hussein to Make Propaganda Points
CBS News is providing Iraqi dictator and mass murderer Saddam Hussein with a conduit to the American people for his propaganda on the eve of war. In an excerpt of Dan Rather's interview played on the Evening News, Rather wondered: “What's the most important thing you want the American people to understand at this important juncture of history?” In the excerpt played on the Early Show, Rather asked about “any connections to al-Qaeda and Osama bin Laden?” Hussein dismissed the idea: “Iraq has no connection with Mr. Osama bin Laden.” All during prime time, CBS ran promos hyping the Hussein wants to debate Bush angle. 
(CyberAlert, February 26, 2003)

Rather Depicts NASA Budget Cuts as Continuous Since Nixon
NASA suffered 30-plus straight years of budget reductions that “resulted in safety cutting,” Dan Rather suggested during CBS News live coverage of the memorial service for the Columbia crew. Rather proposed that “the attitude of a succession of Presidents beginning with President Nixon, running through Carter, Reagan, Bush first and President Clinton and now President George W. Bush, there's been more cost cutting that has resulted in safety cutting.” 
(CyberAlert, February 5, 2003)

Dan Rather Suggests Bush Tax Cut Will Impede NASA's Mission
Less than six hours after the Columbia disaster Dan Rather went political and raised how the Bush tax cut may be an impediment to improving NASA and launching new missions. Rather wondered where the money is “going to come from with a nation that's fighting one war, on the brink of another war, going through a series of not tax increases but tax cuts?”
(CyberAlert, February 3, 2003)

Showcasing Mandela Blast at Bush; Downplaying European Support
Dan Rather offered only a sentence about how the leaders of eight European nations had come out in support of Bush's Iraq policy, but CBS delivered a full story how Nelson Mandela lashed out at Bush. Rather intoned: "In South Africa today, a prominent new voice joined the international chorus of protest against President Bush's preparations for war against Iraq.” The NBC Nightly skipped the European statement, but the next night looked at, as anchor Brian Williams put it, “the theory held by a lot of Americans, that the real reason the U.S. is so interested in toppling Saddam is control of the oil that Iraq is sitting on.” 
(CyberAlert, February 3, 2003)

Rather Elevates Anger & Threats of Gun-Toting Iraqi Citizens
Or the Iraqi people will fight to the death the U.S. invaders. For 60 Minutes II, Dan Rather forwarded the pro-Saddam Hussein and anti-U.S. comments he heard in Baghdad. Rather warned: “For the Americans to win this time, Iraqis say, they will have to wage a perilous battle in the streets of Baghdad and if it comes to that, the civilians we spoke with say they will fight, too.” Rather showed a woman teaching others how to use a Kalishnikov, allowed a woman to label the U.S. as the “terrorists,” relayed how a “soft-spoken professor” believes the U.S. “deserved” 9/11, and as he pumped a shotgun, he explained how he saw Iraqis “out buying weapons” because they “want to be ready.” 
(CyberAlert, January 24, 2003)

Rather Says Few Want Tax Cuts, But CBS Poll Doesn’t Prove That
Dan Rather highlighted how a new CBS News poll determined that “only 14 percent say cutting taxes should be Congress's top priority,” but Rather failed to inform viewers that the majority of respondents, 54 percent, considered “helping unemployed and creating jobs” to be the highest priority, a goal which Bush backers would say will be achieved through tax cuts. 
(CyberAlert, January 8, 2003)

2002

Rather Displays Scorn for Snow’s Tax Cut Agenda
CBS’s Dan Rather displayed contempt on Monday night for the tax cut policies expected to be pushed by new Treasury Secretary John Snow. Dan Rather described Snow as “a long-time corporate-backer of Republican candidates” before bemoaning how he’s expected to push for more of Bush’s “controversial tax cuts." CBS also highlighted Snow’s membership in the all-male Augusta National Golf Club. 
(CyberAlert, December 10, 2002)

Rather Has Time for Dog Bite But Not For Daschle’s Intimidation
Dan Rather had time Thursday night for a British dog bite, but not for the Senate Majority Leader trying to intimidate a leading conservative commentator into silence by scurrilously suggesting he incites violence. But back in May, Rather expressed worry about government intimidation tactics and claimed that for anyone in the media who dares to criticize the tactics in the war on terrorism, the “fear is that you’ll be necklaced here, you’ll have the flaming tire of lack of patriotism put around your neck.”
(CyberAlert, November 22, 2002)

Rather Counters Minn. Controversy with Outrage at GOP in Georgia
Dan Rather couldn’t let bad Democratic behavior stand alone, so he balanced how Democrats misused the Wellstone memorial service with two manufactured controversies. First, he treated a Georgia TV ad from weeks ago as fresh news: “Six days to the elections and the campaign has taken a dirty and decidedly negative turn. In a U.S. Senate race in Georgia the Republican challenger questions the patriotism of the Democratic incumbent.” Second, after noting how the Wellstone memorial service “was made into a partisan Democratic rally,” Rather added, as if it deserved equal condemnation, “and the Republican candidate poses for interviews in front of a plane like the one in which the Senator died.” 
(CyberAlert, October 31, 2002)

Rather Bucks Up Gore Credibility in Denouncing Bush on Iraq 
ABC, CBS and NBC all ran short items Monday night on Al Gore’s speech denouncing President Bush’s policy toward Iraq, but CBS’s Dan Rather tried to make Gore seem more credible: “Gore has always supported overthrowing Saddam and was among the few Senate Democrats who voted for the 1991 Gulf War resolution. After that war, Gore said he felt betrayed by the first President Bush’s, quote, 'hasty withdrawal from the battlefield.’” 
(CyberAlert, September 24, 2002)

Rather Adopted Liberal Environmentalist “Rollback” Spin 
The broadcast networks followed the liberal script Thursday night in characterizing how the Bush administration’s new rules on power plant emissions, especially CBS. Dan Rather twice referred to a “rollback” of clean air regulations. 
(CyberAlert, June 14, 2002)

Dan Rather Obsessed with “Timing” of Bush Speech 
Dan Rather was obsessed with applying nefarious motives to the timing of President Bush’s prime time address. He led with it in prime time and on the CBS Evening News: “President Bush moved to take the spotlight away from the hearing” into FBI failures “and capture the headlines by suddenly asking for national television time tonight.” 
(CyberAlert, June 7, 2002)

Rather Insisted He Was “Fair” to Ashcroft 
On CNN’s Larry King Live Dan Rather refused to admit that he had irresponsibly hurled a reckless charge at John Ashcroft about protecting his personal security while not warning the public. Realizing his predicament, he noted: “When you're in a hole, you don't just keep digging.” But Rather did as he tried to justify his false charge: “I thought then and believe now, it's a fair question.” Rather also falsely claimed that he had never said Ashcroft tried to “sully up my reputation.” 
(CyberAlert, June 5, 2002)

More on Rather’s Insinuation that Ashcroft Selfishly Protected Himself
More Dan Rather on Ashcroft: “When the Attorney General heard a threat, it was decided that, immediately and expensively, he would be taken care of on a security front...What some people are asking...and some of the people include the relatives of victims of September 11th. What they're asking is that, okay, then when there came threats about the American flying public, there were threats bubbling up all over the place, the public was not told about that and, therefore, could not make their own decisions about their security.” 
(CyberAlert, May 28, 2002)

Dan Rather Lashed Out at Ashcroft for Daring to Counter Slanderous Charge
Dan Rather lashed out at John Ashcroft for daring to question Rather’s claim that Ashcroft’s use of private planes last year suggested he knew terrorists might hijack a commercial flight. Rather told Don Imus: “It probably would be better for him to spend a little less time trying to...sully up my reputation in some way, cover his own backside.” Rather smarmily blasted Ashcroft: “At the same time he’s cutting back the anti-terrorism budget, he’s arranging for a private plane to fly himself around. That doesn’t look particularly good.” 
(CyberAlert, May 24, 2002)

Rather Pushed "What Did Bush Know"
Dan Rather again insisted upon again raising the "what did Bush know" theme: "There are a lot more questions...about who, including to a certain extent President Bush, knew about what terror threats were happening before 9/11." 
(CyberAlert, May 23, 2002)

Rather Relayed False Story Impugning Ashcroft
Dan Rather falsely impugned John Ashcroft, passing along on Imus in the Morning the vile claim that the fact that the Attorney General was "inexplicably" using private aircraft last year proves he feared a terrorist hijacking, but didn't tell the public. An hour later, NBC's Jim Miklaszewski informed Imus that Ashcroft's private plane use had nothing to do with terrorism and was prompted by personal threats on his life. 
(CyberAlert, May 23, 2002)

Palestinian Bombers Called “Victims” by Dan Rather
Three Palestinians, armed with bombs and intent on murdering Israelis, were shot dead as they approached an Israeli settlement, but CBS’s Dan Rather characterized the three as “victims.” Rather intoned that “many on both sides are still stunned by the deaths Tuesday of three victims too young to die for any cause.” 
(CyberAlert, April 26, 2002)

Rather’s Tribute to Valor
Dan Rather concluded the CBS Evening News by choking up as he delivered a tribute to the U.S. servicemen killed in Afghanistan: "They were some of America’s best. They gave this country everything. We close our broadcast tonight thinking of them and of their valor." 
(CyberAlert, March 6, 2002)

Rather Tied Cheney to Enron Shafting Staff 
Adopting the hostile terminology of Bush opponents, both CBS’s Dan Rather and NBC’s Campbell Brown referred to how the Bush team wants to keep "secret" details about the energy task force. Rather went so far as to associate Cheney with Enron’s nefarious actions, referring to "Cheney’s secret meetings last year with officials of the now bankrupt energy company, some of whose executives made millions while trapping employees into losing money." 
(CyberAlert, January 29, 2002)

2001

Rather Didn’t Correct 2000 Florida Error, Suggests Gore Won
Back in 2000 Dan Rather maintained that "a politically and ideologically motivated U.S. Supreme Court...handed the presidency to Bush." But instead of noting how the consortium’s re-count disproved that, Rather stressed how it "found that if there had been a re-count of all disqualified ballots statewide it might have produced a narrow Gore victory."
(November 13, 2001 CyberAlert)

Dan Rather Blamed U.S. for Attack in Pakistan
The U.S. is to blame for the killing of 16 Protestant worshipers in Pakistan? That seemed to be the implication of what Dan Rather said on Monday night: "Religious tensions are running higher after the U.S.-led terror war in Afghanistan touched off such events as a funeral today for Pakistani Christians gunned down during church services yesterday." 
(CyberAlert, October 30, 2001)

Dan Rather’s Post 9/11 Patriotic Fervor (with video)
Dan Rather praised President Bush as "Giuliani-esque" for saying, "Osama: Dead or alive." Later on Monday’s Late Show he volunteered for the war effort: "George Bush is the President. He makes the decisions and...wherever he wants me to line up, just tell me where." An emotional Rather broke down twice as he recalled the heroic work of the firefighters and recited a stanza from "America the Beautiful." 
(CyberAlert, September 18, 2001)

Dan Rather: Replace CBS With a Newspaper 
Dan Rather’s advice: "If you’re really interested in this you’ll want to read in detail one of the better newspapers tomorrow," because stem cell research is "the kind of subject that, frankly, radio and television have some difficulty with because it requires such depth into the complexities." 
(CyberAlert, August 10, 2001)

Rather Mistaken on CBS coverage of Bush's Drug Use 
Dan Rather told Don Imus that his show did not report on drug use charges against candidate George W. Bush when, in fact, the CBS Evening News ran multiple stories; expressed regret for his 1992 coverage of allegations against Senator Bob Packwood as he realized it contradicted his rationale for avoiding Condit; and proclaimed "I’m boneheaded," conceded "I’m bizarre" and boasted that "I’ve been a dumbass all my life." 
(CyberAlert, July 20, 2001)

Rather Discovered Levy, But Only to Clear Condit, Who Was Not Labeled a Democrat 
Wednesday night the weekday version of the CBS Evening News finally discovered the Chandra Levy/Gary Condit story. But instead of filling in their ill-informed viewers about Condit’s obfuscation regarding his relationship with Levy, CBS emphasized how "law enforcement sources" believe "that local police have put an ‘inappropriate emphasis’ on the role of Congressman Gary Condit," whom CBS did not identify as a Democrat. 
(CyberAlert, July 18, 2001)

Rather Upset Tax Cuts Hinder More Spending 
Dan Rather cited "worries" that President Bush’s "big tax cuts" are "are re-shaping the political and fiscal landscape of the country." 
(CyberAlert, July 10, 2001)

Rather Stressed Brock’s Recant 
Dan Rather highlighted how David Brock says that in his book on Anita Hill "he was lying to discredit Hill after she testified against" Clarence Thomas. Rather gratuitously added that Brock describes himself as "a witting cog in the Republican sleaze machine." But though a Washington Post story carried the headline, "Author Says He Lied in Book on Anita Hill," all Brock is claiming is that in a review of another book he improperly discredited a witness to how Thomas supposedly rented pornographic videos. 
(CyberAlert, June 28, 2001)

Rather: "Uncle Cheney" in Charge 
Dan Rather twice joked to David Letterman about how "Uncle Cheney" is really running things, declared that Bush has governed "further to the right than most people expected" and brought up a new global warming study. Plus, he threw in a new Ratherism about trailing a bleeding elephant in six feet of snow. 
(CyberAlert, June 8, 2001)

More Bogus Rather Claims on Bush and the Environment
Dan Rather on George W. Bush: "He's beginning to take some criticism, such things as rolling back environmental protection and conservation measures, in favor of what many people see as big business, big oil....But I would say that those who felt that he would just fall on his face...they've been disappointed." 
(CyberAlert, May 17, 2001)

Rather Imitates Train's "Woo-Woo!" (with video)
Ending the CBS Evening News, Dan Rather imitated a train whistle, "woo-woo."
(CyberAlert, May 17, 2001)

Rather Gave 23 Seconds to Recount
In December Dan Rather impugned the "ideologically motivated" U.S. Supreme Court for having, "in effect, handed the presidency to Bush" by stopping a statewide hand count. But Wednesday night after a newspaper hand count found more votes for Bush, Rather gave it a vague 23 seconds and didn’t correct his spin. 
(CyberAlert, April 5, 2001)

Rather Raised Money for Democrats 
"Please join us for an evening with DAN RATHER," read the invitation to a Democratic fundraiser in Austin. The Washington Post’s Howard Kurtz wrote that Rather adopted Al Gore’s Buddhist temple excuse, claiming "he hadn't realized beforehand that the event was a fundraiser." But Rather "stopped short" of "saying he would not have attended had he known in advance that he was being used to raise money." 
(CyberAlert, April 4, 2001)

Rather: Bush "Selected" President (with video)
Dan Rather twice suggested to David Letterman that Bush was not elected but "selected." Rather argued Bush’s pick of Ashcroft, who takes "a hardline stance on a woman’s right to choose" and Norton, who says "it’s alright for people who own private land to pollute," contradicts promises of being a uniter. Those picks are "a little bit like moon walking in the end zone." 
(CyberAlert, January 16, 2001)

2000

Rather Tosses Softballs on 60 Minutes II to Bill Clinton (with video)
Dan Rather tossed softballs and questions matching the Democratic spin to Bill Clinton in his 60 Minutes II interview, such as "you say what" to those "convinced that the Supreme Court...voted politics not the law?" Rather didn’t bat an eye when Clinton offered whoppers about Whitewater, Tom DeLay, impeachment, Ken Starr... 
(CyberAlert, December 20, 2000)

After Election, Rather Raises Bush's DWI
In the midst of Bush’s short-lived time of victory announced by the networks, Dan Rather used the three finger signal to remind viewers about the drunk driving disclosure.
(CyberAlert Extra Edition, November 9, 2000)

Dan Rather Easy on Gore, Rough on Bush (with video)
Al Gore and George Bush were not treated the same by Dan Rather in taped interviews shown Wednesday night. He portrayed Gore as a victim of an ungrateful nation not rewarding him for prosperity and prompted Tipper about how she’s said Bush is "not quite ready yet." But with Bush, Rather demanded he respond to the charges he has less "knowledge" than Gore and that his tax cut skews "to the wealthiest." 
(CyberAlert, November 2, 2000)

Dan Rather: Bush "Got Nastier"
Dan Rather complained "the campaign climate got nastier today with new Bush attacks." CBS’s Bill Whitaker claimed Bush employed "some of his harshest language yet." ABC and CBS relayed Gore’s citing of a new report critical of Bush’s Social Security plan, but pointed the report also took on Gore’s plan. None, however, cast any doubt on Gore’s global warming claims. 
(CyberAlert, October 27, 2000)

Rather: In Debate, 3 Bush Errors, None by Gore (with video)
Dan Rather listed three errors made by Bush, but was unable to name any by Gore. 
(CyberAlert, October 18, 2000)

Rather Upraids Bush for "Gutter Language" (with video)
Dan Rather, who has yet apologize for suggesting that Bush operatives were behind a leak about the "Republican-backed special prosecutor," Tuesday night upbraided George W. Bush for not apologizing for the "meanness and nastiness" of the "gutter language" in his "personal attack" on a reporter. 
(CyberAlert, September 6, 2000)

Ray Awaiting Rather Apology
Independent Counsel Robert Ray is still waiting for an apology from Dan Rather for linking the "Republican-backed" prosecutor to the leak about how Ray had empaneled a new Lewinsky grand jury. 
(CyberAlert, August 28, 2000)

Rather's "Republican-Backed Special Prosecutor" Mantra
At the Democratic convention, CBS suggested GOP dirty tricks: Dan Rather's mantra: "The Republican-backed special prosecutor." 
(CyberAlert, August 18, 2000)

Rather Swoons for Kennedys
During the Democratic convention, Rather swooned over kennedys, tied to Gore: "Al Gore...will lead the country in the tradition" of JFK 
(CyberAlert, August 16, 2000)

At Conventions, Introduced Republicans With Attacks; Democrats With Own Spin
Case Studies in Dan Rather's Bias: Introduced Republicans with attacks; Democrats with own spin. Dan Rather led by stressing Al Gore's plan to help "mainstream" Americans, but on the night before the GOP convention he emphasized how Dick Cheney "was dogged by questions" about "his very conservative voting record." 
(CyberAlert, August 14, 2000)

Rather's Odd Description of Bush's Face
At the Republican convenbion, Rather delivered an odd, yet detailed, description of George W. Bush's fcae.
(CyberAlert, August 3, 2000)

Rather Raved for McCain
"The Straight Talk Express is still rolling," a pleased Dan Rather claimed in using the CBS Evening News to plug an interview with John McCain. Rather’s news: McCain will back Bush whether he adopts "McCain’s way of thinking about reducing the corruptive influence of money in presidential politics or not." 
(CyberAlert, March 21, 2000)

Rather Admired McCain’s Appeal
In a CBS News Web site-posted analysis Dan Rather ignored Al Sharpton and asserted that Al Gore "has not moved as far to the left as Bush has to the right." Rather admired how John McCain appeals to the "vital center," a skill that’s a "special thing." 
(CyberAlert, February 24, 2000)

Rather's Global Warming Mantra
Global warming "is real and it is underway" Dan Rather announced for the third time this week on Thursday night as John Roberts featured a liberal activist who warned we all might die if we don’t follow Clinton’s policy to reduce greenhouse emissions. 
(CyberAlert, January 14, 2000)

1999

Dan Rather Awed by "Kennedy Mystique" 
(CyberAlert, July 20, 1999)

Rather Breaks Vow on Balanced Gun Coverage
(CyberAlert, July 19, 1999)

Rather Refused to Correct Gore on Gun Laws
(CyberAlert, June 15, 1999)

Hillary Clinton Hailed by Rather
(CyberAlert, May 27, 1999)

Rather Goes Easy on Bill Clinton in Interview
(CyberAlert, April 1, 1999)

1998

Dan Rather: Hillary for Chief Justice 
(CyberAlert, December 4, 1998)

Dan Rather Linked Bombings to GOP "Cutbacks" 
(CyberAlert, August 14, 1998)

Rather Blames U.S. for Shortages in Cuba, Compares Cuba to Rural U.S.
(CyberAlert, January 20, 1998)

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