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Politics : Stockman Scott's Political Debate Porch -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: stockman_scott who wrote (67662)	11/24/2004 2:58:47 PM
From: elpolvo	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 89467

Wednesday, November 24, 2004Dan Rather And The Datelines Of A Lifetime: Dallas, Vietnam, Chicago 68'; The White House, 9/11: They'll Miss Him, Even If They Don't Know It Now joemonahansnewmexico.blogspot.com It’s only on rare occasions that I depart from covering and commenting on the world of New Mexico politics. This is one of those occasions. I was nine years old. We had one black and white TV capable of receiving only one channel. It was the CBS affiliate out of Binghamton, NY. It was November 1963. "We have a report that President Kennedy is dead," intones legend Walter Cronkite. And he attributes the news to "our Man in Dallas." That man, Dan Rather, would become the embodiment of American journalism and, like some of you, I traveled a lifetime with him. I never lost faith in Rather because I knew where he came from and what he was made of. No one was more disappointed when the recent Bush National Guard story blew up in Dan's face. But my disappointment was greater when I heard the arch-conservative 20 and 30 something's pan Rather as a biased left-winger out to destroy Republicans. One mistake can not and will not undo a lifetime of adhering to the highest standards, of risking your "political capital," as President Bush might say, in pursuit of the truth and in defense of a free nation's right to hear that truth. THEY DON'T REMEMBER The swashbuckling youth of the hard-right don't remember Rather on the frontlines in Vietnam aggressively reporting a war that would bring down a Dem President. They don't remember Chicago 68' and the Democratic National Convention when Rather was dragged out of the hall for his no-holds-barred reporting. They don't remember when conservative CBS affiliates stood behind Rather when he faced-off with President Nixon in 74'. They don't remember, but I do and they are great memories of a great American journalist. I know. Its a fast-food country and you are only as good as your last story. That may be the fact, but as Rather might say, that's not the truth. "Dan Rather was the most, competent professional reporter I have ever met. He never even hinted to me to put a political spin on a story," remarked former journalist and lifelong NM conservative Republican Kurt Lohbeck in a late night cell call from a business trip in Los Angeles. "There are people who say they are happy to see him leave, but they are going to wish he was back in that anchor chair in the years ahead," said Lohbeck who reported from war-torn Afghanistan for CBS News in the early 80's. Maybe Kurt's right. But if you never ate steak, hamburger is pretty damn good. I could go on. About the Rather work ethic, the ultra-competitive spirit that made him tops in his field, or even about his strange "Ratherisms." But that's best left to others. What Rather gave my generation was a place to put our trust, an example to aspire to. In who do the hard-right 20 and 30 something Rather-haters place their trust? Who inspires them? The in-house Fox News Channel? Hate Radio? They will fidget when reading this. They may smirk at the relevance of times gone by. But they will miss Dan Rather. They just don’t know it.....yet. (c)NM POLITICS WITH JOE MONAHAN 2004