Finally: Delusional Dan Rather To Set the Record Straight on His Firing From CBS

Mary Mapes was unavailable for comment.

Dan Rather says his upcoming memoir will set straight the facts of his firing from CBS. The news legend had his own tome on his mind at the party for Bill O'Shaughnessy's fifth book, "Vox Populi," at Le Cirque on Wednesday. Rather confided to writer Gregory Speck, "Until now I never fully understood the power of the forces behind my axing from the anchor post at CBS News several years back, simply for speaking the truth about George Bush's questionable National Guard service." Rather was fired in 2006 for claiming Bush had received preferential treatment in the Guard in the early '70s using questionable memos as evidence.

They weren't questionable, they were completely bogus.

Rather also graciously weighs in on one of the big political debates of the day.

"With President Obama caving in to the Republican demand for a tax freeload for billionaires, I can believe anything."

Since when is keeping some of your own money freeloading?

Dan Rather: Some of My Best Friends are Black or Something

Desperately trying to extract his foot out of his mouth for his watermelon comment the other day, Dan Rather pops up at the Internet's premier home of hate, the Huffington Post, to try and explain away his comments.

But anyone who knows me personally or knows my professional career would know that race was not on my mind. Reporting on the injustices of race was part of the reason I became a reporter. I grew up in segregated Texas on the same side of the tracks as the African American community. At the time, enlightened people called them Negros. Many people called them much worse. When I covered the Civil Rights movement, I saw sheer hatred in ways that still haunt and shock me. For doing my small part in reporting on the South in the 1960s, I was called a traitor to my roots and other names not fit for print. I was threatened with death by people who would have welcomed me to their church on Sunday on account of my white skin if they didn't know what I was there to do. I do not take this issue lightly.

Wait a minute. If he grew up in segregated Texas, how is it possible he was on the "same side of the tracks" as the Negros? And how could he have "reported" on injustices before he became a reporter?

I can understand why someone who just happened upon my comments could take offense or want clarification. But what has caused this comment to "go viral" is the trumpeting of an online and cable echo chamber that claims the banner of news but trades in gossip, gotcha, and innuendo. Furthermore, even for those who brook no prejudice, when everything is condensed to 140 characters or a small YouTube clip, many people who got this "news" did so without any context, just a headline that popped up on their phone or inbox.

Now is Rather a racist? Who knows? But the larger point made here and elsewhere is the egregious double standard those on the right have to deal with. Rather can't be so naive to believe that if a Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity or Don Imus even facetiously said something akin to what he did the liberal media would be on a 24/7 witch hunt for their scalp and no amount of apologies would assuage the mob until that person had been personally and professionally ruined.

Nearly every day we see absurdities such as MSNBC hosts ominously detecting "racism" in comments such as "Harlem Democrat" when used by non-approved media outlets while ignoring the use of the same term by their own co-workers. Every day liberals casually call conservatives racist without any basis and we're supposed to be frozen in our tracks, rendered null and void just because the self-appointed arbiters of all things racial want to ruin others. And the cable "echo chamber" regurgitate the same talking points churned out by the hateful left.

Do we believe anyone at the Huffington Post would give a pass to Rush Limbaugh if he had blurted out the same thing as Rather? Of course not. And it's the unfair and contemptible double standard that people are pointing out.

Teabagging Redneck Mentions Obama and Watermelons on National Television, Outraged Democrats Call for His Scalp

Just imagine the feigned outrage if a Rush Limbaugh or Glenn Beck said this. The condemnation would be so swift and calls for their job so loud it would be 24/7 news for weeks.

Then again, Dan Rather doesn't really have a job any more and the Democrats always look the other way when it comes to alleged racist comments of one of their own.

In reality this is just one of Dan Rather's silly homespun analogies that falls flat until host Chris Matthews interrupts him, which he's got a habit of doing. Funny though, how those Soros-funded "media watchdog" outfits didn't quite get around to mentioning this yesterday. Guess they're too busy defending ACORN from their latest criminal activities.

Here's what he said, via LCR:

Rather: "When you talk about a triumph though, part of the undertow in the coming election is going to be President Obama's leadership and the Republicans are making a case, a lot of independents will buy this argument, listen he just hasn't been...look at the health care bill, it was his number one priority, it took him forever to get it through and he had to compromise it to death and a version of ...listen, he's a nice person, he's very articulate, this was going to be used against him but he couldn't sell watermelons if it, you gave him the state troopers to flag down the traffic."

Clip via IOTW.

Heartbreak: Massive Job Cuts at CBS News

I blame Dan Rather and Mary Mapes for this. Five years after their perfidy the ill effects are still being felt by CBS. The news organization lost all credibility and has just never recovered.

By Monday afternoon, staffers from Washington to L.A. were sputtering in disbelief as they heard of top producers on the chopping block—particularly Mark Katkov and Jill Rosenbaum in D.C. and Roberta Hollander and Barbara Pierce in L.A. These were seasoned veterans, part of the old school known back in the Dan Rather days as “the Hard Corps.” Over the years, they had somehow managed to outlive every big buzz saw to cut through the newsroom. They knew how to get more from less. Each thought of himself as worth five producers at ABC News. Their theme song was Merle Haggard’s “Holding Things Together.” It was hard to imagine what the already third-place morning and evening news operations would look like without them.

The most disturbing news of the day for many observers was that Larry Doyle would no longer be working for CBS News.

Mr. Doyle, according to CBS News legend, joined the organization some 40 years ago, when then D.C. bureau chief Bill Small found him working as a porter at a Washington hotel. Mr. Small promptly made Mr. Doyle the bureau’s go-to “dogrobber”—the guy you sent into nasty situations to stare down snarling subjects and get the job done. From there, Mr. Doyle gradually worked his way up the news ladder, eventually becoming the network’s top war producer, churning out great television from every hellhole on the planet—including Baghdad, where he served as the network’s bureau chief during the early years of the ongoing war.

Reached the afternoon of Tuesday, Feb. 2, Dan Rather recounted various stories of Mr. Doyle’s heroism in the field, including his impressive management of gun-toting teenagers in Somalia. “He’s one of the all-time greats,” said Mr. Rather. “He’s the soul of the place.”

Maybe Rather can help support him with his many millions.

Or maybe the grossly overpaid Katie Couric can.

CBSNEWS anchorwoman and 60 MINUTES contributor Katie Couric faces a dramatic pay cut at the network, insiders tell the DRUDGE REPORT.

CBS boss Les Moonves is determined to save money and trim expenses -- from top to bottom -- at the former crown jewel of broadcasting.

Couric, the highest paid TV news personality in history, commands over $14 million a year, plus bumps for non-EVENING NEWS appearances.

But her salary is now in the direct line of fire, network insiders explain, and a populist backlash against Couric's cash is said to be forming inside the newsroom.

"She makes enough to pay 200 news reporters $75,000 a year!" demands a veteran producer. "It's complete insanity."

The angry source continues: "We report with great enthusiasm how much bankers are making, how it is out of step with reality during a recession. We'll, look at Katie!"

Couric's $300,000 a week paycheck has become the obsession of disgruntled CBS staff, just as deep layoffs rock the fishbowl.

OK, Dan, You Can Go Away Now

The thing that wouldn't leave may no longer have a choice.

New York's highest court on Tuesday declined to hear an appeal by former CBS Evening News anchor Dan Rather of his lawsuit against CBS Corp.

In a brief summary order, the New York Court of Appeals denied Rather's motion to file an appeal of a lower court's decision in September dismissing Rather's claim.

A lawyer for Rather didn't immediately return a phone call seeking comment on Tuesday.

Rather had alleged in part that CBS violated his contract by failing to provide him enough airtime on "60 Minutes" or "60 Minutes II" after removing him as anchor of CBS Evening News in March 2005 following a controversy over a 2004 report about President George W. Bush's service in the Texas Air National Guard.

Appeals Court Tosses Rather's Suit Against CBS

The disgraced former CBS news anchor has finally been given the heave-ho by an appeals court today. Hopefully now he'll slither off into obscurity.

Bad news for Dan Rather: His $70 million lawsuit against CBS is no more.

In a 19-page decision made public Tuesday, a state appeals court dismissed the legendary newsman's suit against CBS.

Rather, 77, sued the Tiffany network in 2007 after his career at CBS collapsed in the wake of a "60 Minutes II" report about former President George W.Bush's Vietnam-era military service.

The folksy newsman accused CBS executives of caving to Republican interests, coercing him into a public apology after the controversial report aired in September 2004.

The report claimed "high-level political influence" kept Bush out of combat by securing him a cushy spot in the Texas Air National Guard during the Vietnam War.

As recently as Sept. 21, lawyers for Rather said he would be vindicated and that Bush's military service would be proven to be a sham.

Rather is fortunate he and his odious producer, Mary Mapes, were never prosecuted for their perfidy.

Oddly enough, Rather still manages to draw a paycheck today from the obscure HDNet, owned by Mark Cuban.

'For Us, This Was a Good Day'

There haven't been many good days for this scourge of broadcast journalism in the nearly five years since he used forged documents to try and sway a presidential election. So let Dan Rather enjoy this one while he can. Hopefully it'll just make his ultimate defeat all the more painful.

If you believe Dan Rather's lawsuit against CBS is close to finished, folks, you'll believe rocks can grow.

The anchor's $70 million lawsuit against his former employers got a new lease on life today when a Manhattan judge restored his previously dismissed fraud claim against the network.

"I think by any reasonable, objective analysis, this was a bad day at Black Rock," Rather, 77, quipped after the hearing before Manhattan Supreme Court Judicial Hearing Officer Ira Gammerman. "For us, this was a good day."

The fraud charge contends the network's trickery cost Rather millions by scapegoating him for a flawed report on President Bush's Vietnam era military service, and then keeping him off the air - torpedoing the chance for a $4 million a year gig at CNN or another cable channel.

He now makes an average of $1.5 million a year at HDNet, the papers say.

Rather's contentions that the fix was in when CBS hired a panel to investigate the story also got a boost when Gammerman ruled he could have access to thousands of pages of documents that were being suppressed by a law firm that did work for the panel.

The judge also ordered CBS to turn over copies of "silence agreements" that banned 11 former employees from discussing anything about the Bush story and the panel's investigation.

Rather said he was hopeful the collection of documents would show "what really went on" at CBS "as opposed to what we were told went on."

Rather should have long ago slithered off into obscurity (then again, he is on HDNet), yet his supersized ego will never allow him to admit he perpetrated a fraud. How ironic he's pursuing a fraud claim against CBS.

Dan Rather's Audience Now Even More Microscopic

The washed-up former CBS news hack, disgraced in 2004 for trying to influence the presidential election with the use of forged memos on 60 Minutes II, now has an even smaller platform as his obscure network has been yanked by Time Warner cable in New York.

TIME Warner Cable in New York is dropping Mark Cuban's HDNet channel at the end of the month, officials said yesterday.

The move will effect Time Warner systems across the country and cost Cuban's pioneering HD channel more than 1 million of its reported 15 million subscribers nationally.

The programming on the channel includes special investigative reports by former CBS anchorman Dan Rather, live concerts and wrestling. "But in a world with hundreds of channels, simply being HD isn't enough," said a spokeswoman.

HDNet will go off May 31, when its current contract expires, she said, and will be replaced by Smithsonian HD.

Perhaps Smithsonian HD channel can air programs about TV relics who refuse to go away gracefully.

'Rather's Position Defies Logic and Common Sense'

The sorry saga of a punch drunk has-been drags out in court, as the man who tried to sway a presidential election pathetically pursues a payday while flinging about zany conspiracy theories.

Welcome to the bizarro world of Dan Rather.

Dan Rather's conspiracy theories about CBS make about as much sense as a two-story outhouse, the network says.

Rather and his old bosses were facing off in Manhattan Supreme Court yesterday, where the former Evening News anchor was seeking documents he says will prove his storied career there was sacrificed to appease the Bush administration.

Rather's lawyer Martin Gold maintained the fix was in once CBS hired a panel to investigate a discredited story on President Bush's Vietnam-era service in the Texas Air National Guard, and thousands of documents being suppressed by a law firm that did work for the panel will show the report in a new light.

The panel's report found the story - which aired two months before the 2004 presidential election - was flawed, and should have been more heavily scrutinized by CBS before being put on the air.

"We allege this was a sham investigation on be half of CBS so they could mollify the right" and get rid of Rather, who'd been a thorn in Bush's side, Gold said.

That notion alone, that a network in this day and age would cater to the right, is patently absurd. Heck, even a former CBS newsman, Bernie Goldberg, laid out the bias for all the world to see in his books.

In their court filings, CBS states, "Rather's position defies logic and common sense."

"Rather's theory is that CBS News commissioned a costly panel, in order to criticize itself, exonerate Dan Rather, and give themselves cover for doing something that it had a contractual right to do anyway," which is remove Rather from his anchor seat, the filing says.

CBS lawyer Jim Quinn said that while the report found Rather did nothing wrong, it "excoriated CBS."

"If that's a sham, it's the dumbest sham I've ever heard of," Quinn said.

No, the dumbest sham is a court is even hearing this case.

Clueless Rather's Bad Day in Court

This stooge should be thankful he lives in a country where he can have his day in court. In other places he'd probably have been thrown in jail, or worse, for trying to help sway a presidential election.

As it is, all he'll get is more public humiliation in a courthouse. He should stop whining and take it like a man.

Dan Rather's $70 million lawsuit against CBS is getting whittled down like a redwood at an Alabama beaver party.

A Manhattan judge yesterday threw out two more of Rather's claims against the network, including his charge that his former bosses committed fraud by falsely promising to help restore his reputation after he became a "scapegoat" for a discredited story about President Bush's military career.

"We are extremely gratified that the court has now dismissed the vast majority of Mr. Rather's claims," CBS said in a statement.

Rather's lawyer, Martin Gold, said that despite Judicial Hearing Officer Ira Gammerman's ruling striking down two of their remaining four claims, their suit is still alive.

"The whole story is coming out," he said, predicting that Rather will prove claims that he was railroaded by his longtime bosses so they could curry favor with the Bush administration.

Sure, as if a network actually wanted to suck up to Bush. As if the administration has received glowing coverage ever since then.

Geez, do these people realize how clueless they sound?

Rather filed suit against CBS last year, charging they hung him out to dry after the uproar over a flawed story on the president's days in the Texas Air National Guard.

The report, which aired during the 2004 presidential race, said Bush avoided Vietnam by pulling strings to get into the Guard, and then shirked his duties once he was in.

The story came under fire when some of the documents the report relied on were revealed to be forgeries.

Rather: 'I Continue to Stay Focused on the Big Picture and Look Forward to Getting to the Truth'

He also wants to know who ordered the sausage parm sandwich and why those men in white coats keep showing up.

Really, isn't there anyone out there, some family or friends, that can do an intervention here?

This pathetic sap, who's lucky he wasn't prosecuted in the first place, still clings to the fantasy that he had the goods on George W. Bush and he's being wrongly persecuted.

He wonders why no news outlet, outside of some obscure cable channel, wants anything to do with him.

Will the day ever arrive when in a solemn moment of reflection he wonders silently, "You know, I might have f--ked that story up"?

I doubt it.

Dan Rather says CBS's skulduggery has cost him jobs everywhere from CNN to A&E.

In papers filed in Manhattan Supreme Court, the former CBS Evening News anchor says his reliance on the network's false promises that it would defend him after making him a scapegoat for a controversial news report cost him several high-profile jobs - and some lower-profile ones as well.

While he was once a hot property coveted by CNN to be its "face," the fallout from his report on President Bush's Air National Guard service resulted in him being turned away from even part-time jobs at CNN, ABC, NBC, Fox, HBO, the History Channel, A&E, Discovery and National Geographic channels, the filing says.

"None of these networks were interested in hiring Mr. Rather, each of them ultimately indicating" to his agent "that he 'had too much baggage,' 'was too hot to handle,' 'there was too much controversy,' or words to that effect," the papers say.

Words to that effect.

Words like are you f--king kidding me!?

Good grief. This boob can't get a National Geographic gig and he still doesn't see the writing on the wall?

Now we go from delusional to outright comical.

Rather makes the claims in an amended version of his $70 million lawsuit against his former bosses, which charges that, in order to placate the White House, they damaged his reputation by hanging him out to dry and refusing to let him defend himself.

Rather, 76, said the filing spells out the damage CBS did to his career.

"I continue to stay focused on the big picture and look forward to getting to the truth," he said in a statement. "We need to ensure that politics and profits don't come before the public trust in America's newsrooms."

Uh, Dan, it's because America's newsrooms are political that you no longer have a reputation.

Obviously, the irony escapes him.

Of course, he then veers off into conspiracy land.

"Since the fall of 2004, CBS has continuously acted to Mr. Rather's detriment by directing him to publicly apologize, and thus accept the blame, for CBS's mishandling of the broadcast, despite his blameless conduct," the suit says.

The suit states network honchos decided to ax him in order "to pacify the White House," and noted that he was told he was losing his anchor job the day after Bush was elected to a second term.

In case anyone was wondering, Rather's co-conspirator, Mary Mapes, also clings to her delusions at one of America's renowned bastions of responsible journalism.

Update: Lawhawk also has some thoughts on Rather.

Punchdrunk Rather Proceeds With Lawsuit

Dan Rather, the Mountain Rivera of television news, is trying to get another bite at the apple with his lawsuit against SeeBS. After having most of his original lawsuit laughed out of court, he is repleading the case. I love it when moonbats sue moonbats.

Former "CBS Evening News" anchor Dan Rather was back in court Tuesday asking for a second chance at claims against the network that a judge dismissed April 10.

Rather and his lawyer, Martin Gold, argued that they should be able to submit an amended complaint "to replead the legal claims that were dismissed" by New York judge Ira Gammerman.

Gold said the court would entertain the motion; CBS News' attorney Jim Quinn said the judge had significantly limited discovery.

The bottom line is Rather does not think it's his fault that he went with a story based on the now famous phony TANG memos in an effort to damage President Bush prior to the 2004 elections. Rather lost his job as part of the fallout from that journalistic disaster and is suing CBS for breach of contract.

But the money quote is this:

"Soon we'll have those who were in a position to know what happened with their right hands up in the air," Rather said. "That is when hopefully we will get the truth, which is all I ever wanted."

Hey Rather, you have never been interested in the truth. You have spent the last 40 years whoring your position as a journalist out to every leftwing cause that came down the road. You're the same guy who has supported various leftwing fundraising functions. You're the same guy who went with the TANG story even after your own hired experts tried to warn you off the story because the documents appeared to be phony. You're the same guy who then had to admit that the documents were not verifiable and tried to blame your source, again after you had been warned off the story by your own hired experts. You're the same guy who then went with the "fake but accurate" line to justify your attempt to influence a national election in the favor of the Democrats with false documents. You're the same guy who became the icon of "agenda based journalism" as a shameless shill for the Democratic party. You're the same guy who's name has become the standard punchline for jokes about shoddy journalism.

And then you have the gall to say all you are interested in is the truth. I can't wait for the CBS attorneys to get you on the stand.

Rather on Blogs: 'There’s Little or No Accountability'

The bitter has-been of a bygone era, Dan Rather, continues to snivel and whine, well over three years after being totally exposed as a complete fraud.

This guy is a laugh riot.

The 24-hour news cycle that has made presidential races an unavoidable spectacle has extended far beyond the mainstream media as hundreds of bloggers, YouTubers and “citizen journalists” have descended on the Granite State.

Former CBS anchor Dan Rather, covering the primary for the high-definition cable channel HDNet, said the new media is a plus overall, but there are some negatives.

“When it comes to blogging and some things on the Web, there’s little or no accountability,” said Rather, who covered his first presidential race in 1952. “This is the new American political coverage media. It’s a wilderness, and when you go into the wilderness, there’s always some danger.”

In 2004, bloggers discovered that documents about President Bush’s military record reported by Rather were fakes - leading to his downfall as CBS Evening News anchor. He has since slapped CBS with a $70 million lawsuit.

The difference between a discredited hack like Rather and bloggers is for the most part, bloggers are quickly corrected on any factual mistakes and update as fast as possible if they want to maintain credibility with their audience.

Rather tried to influence a presidential election in September 2004 and still can't admit any wrongdoing.

A pathetic shell of a man, he'll go to his grave denying what he attempted to do.

He's lucky to be walking free. In some countries, he probably would have been executed for treason.

More from Michelle Malkin.

Delusional Dan Makes a Stand

I see Dan Rather is shoveling the BS again.

Dan Rather making a stand with lawsuit

NEW YORK (Hollywood Reporter) - A day after he filed a $70 million lawsuit against CBS for violating his contract, veteran newsman Dan Rather said Thursday that he would "absolutely not" settle purely for money.

What a bunch of hooey. Rather saw Imus get a pile of dough, now he has his hand out. If he's not suing for money, then what? Does he really think he will get his job back? Oh please....

Rather said he filed the lawsuit largely to "make a stand and say democracy cannot survive, much less thrive, with the level of big corporate and big government interference and intimidation in news."

It is well established by our friends at LGF and other experts that Rather used fabricated documents to base his report on, then ignored hired experts who warned him off the story. Rather is living in a fantasy world. He also has a convenient memory. I rmemeber him well admitting on camera that he made a mistake in not checking the documents better. Also, from the story:

In a June 2005 interview with King, Rather said that his father had taught him not to whine or complain and added, "I'm not a victim of anything other than my own shortcomings."

I'm not an attorney, but I bet those who will be defending this suit are drooling to get Rather on the stand and throw his own words and actions back in his face.

I see no way that this suit goes to completion. Rather is looking for a pile of money like Imus got to shut up and go away.

Rather to Revisit 2000 Election

This is really pathetic.

Aging hack Dan Rather, having failed at influencing the 2004 election with Memogate, is now revisiting the 2000 election.

The left will just never get over it.

`Rather Reports' on Vote-Count Fiascos

NEW YORK (AP) - With the 2008 election season heating up, familiar scapegoats continue to take the hit for past hang-ups at the polls. Those include bad graphic design (Florida's confusing "butterfly ballot" in 2000) and software glitches in certain voting machines.

But this week's edition of "Dan Rather Reports" explores other culprits: the very paper from which punch-card ballots were made, and glaring shortcuts in how certain touch-screen voting machines were produced.

"Our story is not that the election would have turned out differently in 2000 if certain things hadn't happened. No one can know that," Rather said Monday. But his eight-month investigation has "dug down vertically as deep as we were capable of doing" to probe the brewing problems—including on-camera interviews with workers who had a front-row seat.

The hourlong news program premieres Tuesday at 8 p.m. EDT on cable's HDNet channel, with subsequent re-airings and streaming online video.

Rather Decries Dumbing Down of News

Poor Dan. He longs for the days when you could just make it up instead.

Warriors Demolish Mavs

It what is the greatest upset in NBA playoff history, the Golden State Warriors not only defeated the Dallas Mavericks, owners of a 67-15 record enetering the playoffs, they completely humiliated then, winning Game 6 in blowout fashion last night.

What happened in Oakland on Thursday night climaxed the most improbable playoff series the league has ever seen. Dallas had won 67 games to the Warriors' 42 during the regular season. They were the all-conquering masters, talking boldly of returning to the NBA Finals, while the Warriors clawed desperately into the eighth and final playoff spot on the last day of the season. That 25-game difference is what makes it historic -- and not just for the NBA. Neither the National Hockey League nor Major League Baseball has seen a disparity that great.

Making it even more delicious is we get to laugh at 9/11 Truther moron Mark Cuban, who deserves nothing but ridicule. Hey Mark, how's that Dan Rather thing working out?

They're not taking things well in Dallas.