Would you like Dan Rather for president?

it would be an improvement.

And then there is the fact that he admittedly muzzled himself during the war, and was in fact an avid cheerleader of the war as it started.

I see him as only slightly less whored-out than most of his peers.

Nay on Rather IMHO.

Despite his hero status around here I have a bit of a problem with Rather. It's an old grudge but it isn't going away anytime soon.

The very first episode of "48 Hours" was "48 Hours on Crack Street" which presented flawed, hyped up research about a "crack baby" epidemic which really wasn't nearly as severe as it was portrayed.

Ratings soared. Not to be outdone, the other networks jumped on the bandwagon and produced similarly hyperbolic tripe. Before we knew it, we had a national crisis where once there was a soluble public health problem. And the government just loved the carte blanch that gave them.

So no. Dan singlehandedly escalated the War on Drugs which now has swollen the prison population with nonviolent offenders, trounced all over judicial discretion, continually lowered the bar on responsible scientific reporting and journalism, and eaten a huge sum of public money.

And I do not recall ever hearing him regret it.

The Rather worship around here is baffling and more than a little nauseating.

Anyone who seriously believes he is now "free" to save us with his superhero journalistic powers is just living in a fantasy world.

....but nobody has ever been able to spot his face in all of the many photos and films of the location where he stated that he watching.

Additionally, he defended the Warren Commission Report in a CBS Special, something that personally irked the crap out of me.

Even Wolf Blitzer looks like a more rational choice over the current admin.

I just want him back going after the truth from power. I guess he will be doing that now.

I find it interesting how the AP and other news sources like CNN based on the AP article decided to present his closing statement:

in a brief statement at the end of the broadcast, Rather paid tribute to September 11 terrorist victims, tsunami survivors, American military forces, the oppressed, those in failing health and fellow journalists in dangerous places.

"And, to each of you," he said. "Courage."

As opposed to some other news sources that went into a bit more detail:

He dedicated the word to those affected by the terror attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, U.S. military personnel in conflict zones and those battered by the Dec. 26 tsunamis and other natural disasters.

"To the oppressed or to those whose lot it is to struggle in financial hardship or in failing health; to my fellow journalists, in places where reporting the truth means risking all -- courage."

Seems like in this case maybe dangerous places includes back home in the US as well.

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evening news show in the country and sending it to the ratings gutter make him qualified to be President?

It's been his favorite position for years.