I had too much self respect to watch this fawning display.
Rather Cements Reputation as Clinton Sycophant.
Ratherbiased.com
After going one-on-one for more than four hours with Bill Clinton, Dan Rather and his 60 Minutes colleagues aired an abridged 45-minute version of their conversations last night. The program had a few interesting moments and Rather did ask a couple of tough questions, but overall, the program was more of the same fawningly liberal coverage that has driven independent and conservative viewers away from the CBS Evening News in droves.
No one should expect a former president to be interviewed as skeptically as one who is currently in power. We didn't, especially given Rather's long record of subservience toward a man whom the anchorman once said he wanted to be "one one-hundredth as great as you and Hillary Rodham Clinton have been together in the White House."
Most noticeable in Sunday's program was the remarkable fondness the two men seem to have for each other and the great deference that Rather exhibited toward the nation's most prominent Democrat, a stark contrast to his history of confrontation with Republicans.
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Normally, Rather and Clinton's affinity is just off-putting (limited as it has been to jovial conversation and mutual praise) but last night, the former president pushed it to an excruciating level, putting his arm around the self-described journalist and later using him to illustrate a point about kissing, grabbing his hand and arm in a way that no Republican president would ever do.
That assuming, of course, that Dan could ever get one to let him sit down with him one-on-one after he ambushed then-veep George Bush in 1988 after promising to do a friendly "candidate profile" interview. After the incident, Bush refused to let Rather interview him again. His son has so far followed suit.
But Rather and Clinton's improper closeness was only part of the display last night. Also noticeable was just how closely Rather seemed to stick to the former president's script.
The anchor defended his approach last week to the Orlando Sentinel, making the preposterous assertion that he just couldn't get any news from an out-of-office president.
"I don't know what would make a bombshell at this age and stage with Bill Clinton," the 72-year-old anchor 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."
While watching Dan Rather strike Bill Clinton on the head certainly has an appeal to some people, the rest of us would have been contented if Rather had at least bothered to ask some meaningful follow-up questions.
For instance, when Clinton asserted that he committed perjury because of pressure from then-independent-counsel Kenneth Starr, Rather could have pointed out that many of the charges in the Senate's articles of impeachment concerned actions that the then-president had committed before Starr expanded his inquiry to include the Lewinsky scandal.
A more objective journalist might even have wondered, as did BBC presenter David Dimbleby, if Clinton was truly contrite about his actions. More than likely, the idea never entered into Rather's head. Instead, he was busy pulling out old saws that no one but the most ardent Clintonite believes.
"His testimony was tortured and he used careful legalistic language to avoid perjuring himself," the CBS star asserted, referring to the president's testimony before one of Starr's grand juries, testimony for which he was later disbarred by the U.S. Supreme Court.
Rather even refused to follow up on a very controversial statement Clinton made about an incident where he reportedly declined an offer to from the government of Sudan to deport Osama bin Laden for trial in the United States. During his CBS interview, Clinton (unprompted by the star-struck Rather) denied that the offer took place, a direct contradiction to a statement he made in 2002 confirming the offer.
"There was a story which is factually inaccurate, that the Sudanese offered bin Laden to us. As far as I know, there is not a shred of evidence of that," Clinton said.
Uninterested in bad news about a fellow Democrat, Rather moved on.
The aged anchorman also felt no urge to quell soundbites. He let many go by unspun, such as this one the former president offered on why many people dislike him:
"I've always tried to change things. And people who try to be change agents are going to make people mad who are against the changes you're trying to make. I think, secondly, I puzzled a lot of people and confused them."
Rather even ended the program with a soundbite:
"As I said in my book, I will always regret the personal mistake I made, but I will always be proud that, when they moved on impeachment, I didn't quit, I never thought of resigning, and I stood up to it and beat it back. To me, the whole battle was a badge of honor. I don't see it as a great stain, because it was illegitimate. On the day I did, I'll still be glad I fought them. And I'll still be glad that I beat them. And I--I'll still believe that it was a bogus, phony deal."
Rather was not as kind to Arnold Schwarzenegger back when he was running for governor. After the former actor tossed out a pre-made line on how he'd restore California's fiscal solvency, the CBS star threw it back in his face.
"Nice soundbite. On the other side, one of the more favorite soundbites is 'Listen, Arnold Schwarzenegger does not have any idea of a detailed plan, so therefore he's running, quote, "voodoo economics,'" which is something that's left over from the Reagan years, as you know."
We have no problem with the fact that Dan Rather is very obviously an admirer of Bill and Hillary Clinton. Instead of denying the obvious, Rather should follow the lead of his CBS colleague Mike Wallace who has been honest enough to inform viewers of his friendship with Ronald and Nancy Reagan.
Should Rather continue in his absurd denials, it's likely that the only people left watching his program when he retires will be like the poor soul who sent us the following thinking that RatherBiased.com is affiliated with Dan Rather:
Dan : I am a 76 year old woman and I have to tell you the interview with Our Best President since John F. Kennedy was wonderful. He has more Class than any President since. What he did in his personal life has nothing to do with the Presidency, at least he never lied about the state of our Country. I just loved the Interview and actually Cried because we had the Best Prosperity while he was in Office. I feel sorry for my Children and Grandchildren and all the Children in our Country for their future is not good. God Bless our Country and God Bless all the wonderful Men and Women who are fighting for our Freedom. Thanks again Dan
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