Anchor Braces to 'Catch Hell' for Interview.
Ratherbiased blog
With a publisher's embargo on his autobiography in effect until next Tuesday, former president Bill Clinton is keeping silent about his new book. In the meantime, Dan Rather has decided to take up the flack, er, slack.
Long known within the television business as the former president's favorite news anchor, Rather is lending a hand to the promotional effort. After earlier speaking to the New York Observer and the Philadelphia Inquirer, Rather continued his media blitz, trying to boost interest in his upcoming 60 Minutes interview with Clinton--but talking up the book as well.
After telling the Observer that he rated the memoir as five on a five-star scale, Rather continued gushing to the Orlando Sentinel's Hal Boedeker:
"This is as good as any, and better than any I can recall, with the exception of Grant's," the anchor said, referring to the memoirs of former president Ulysses Grant.
Commenting on his interview, Rather told the Washington Post's Howard Kurtz that Clinton was "remarkably candid," in a public situation, something the CBS anchor didn't think he was capable of doing.
We'd that introspection isn't one of Rather's strong suits, but it isn't the only thing that Dan has a problem with. The anchor appears to have followed his earlier precedent of pitching softballs to the 42nd president. Rather almost said so himself, too. He told the Sentinel that he would probably "catch hell" for failing to get a major scoop.
"I don't know what would make a bombshell at this age and stage with Bill Clinton," the 72-year-old CBS star said. "The most virulent Clinton haters are not likely to think I've done a good job unless I've hit him on the head like a baby seal."
Rather's reportorial teeth appear to have grown dull as well. Sixteen years after ambushing presidential candidate George H. W. Bush with contentious questioning about Reagan-era scandals, the anchor says he was uncomfortable asking Clinton about his impeachment and his relations with his family.
"I would have preferred not to ask any of these questions, but he wrote about them in his book," he told the Post. "Was I uncomfortable doing it? Yeah."
Despite all of that, Rather still appears to believe that he was tough on the former executive.
"Those who are the most ardent of Clinton supporters are not likely to like the interview unless I've kissed him between each answer," he told the Sentinel.
Noted
Sunday's program will be devoted entirely Rather's Clinton chat. This is the first time in the show's 37-year history that 60 Minutes has spent an entire evening on just one person. "To me, it was an easy call," executive producer Jeff Fager told the Philadelphia Inquirer earlier this month. "Dan's been pushing for this story, and he got it. There's a comfort level there. I think Clinton trusts him. I think he respects him."
The idea of giving Rather and Clinton a full hour to chat was a long-time goal of Fager's predecessor Don Hewitt. In 2001, he told C-SPAN's Brian Lamb that he would offer the newly departed president a full program. That never materialized during Hewitt's tenure, but the 60 Minutes founder did manage to retain Clinton's services for some short-lived commentary segments with his former rival Bob Dole.
After launching it with the name 60 Minutes II in 1998, CBS has renamed its 60 Minutes spinoff to 60 Minutes Wednesday.
Rather has now interviewed Clinton on five separate occasions. By contrast, none of the five Republicans (Nixon, Ford, Reagan, Bush 41, Bush 43) who've been the president during the transplanted Texan's long career at CBS has granted him the privilege.
Clinton on the media's impeachment coverage, as quoted by WashPost's Kurtz: "He added that 'the mainstream press was basically in the tank with Starr until the issuing of the Starr report' detailing the Lewinsky investigation, but that he had no complaint about the coverage after the report, which he appeared to view as a turning point."
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