AP media reporter David Bauder seems shocked that CBS would exclude Dan Rather from their gaudy 50th anniversary coverage of JFK’s assassination, “further proof of the lingering bitterness following Rather's messy exit and subsequent lawsuit against the network.”
The same man who thinks he’s never been wrong about the phony documents he launched against George W. Bush announced "I held off doing anything for anybody else for a while, thinking I may be asked to do something (for CBS)...I can't say I had any reason for that hope.” Rather’s delusional enough to think CBS can’t put a dent in his golden reputation with the American people:
"Setting my feelings aside about it, this is not a good idea to say we want to change the historical record so we're going to airbrush this guy out because we don't like him," Rather said. "They may want to control the way the public thinks about my record, but I'm pretty sure they have not been able to do that."
That ludicrous statement could use some CBS music. Bauder’s story suggests it’s sad that CBS won’t use Rather, since all the other CBS reporters from the time (save Bob Schieffer) are dead. This is how Bauder lamely discusses the Rathergate fiasco:
His downfall came as a result of a 2004 story about President George W. Bush's military service. Under criticism, the network concluded the story couldn't be substantiated, but Rather has stood behind it. His tenure as anchor ended six months later and he left CBS in 2006, eventually filing a $70 million lawsuit against his old employers that was thrown out in 2010 by New York's highest court.
Nowhere in there does Bauder take a side or specify that Rather relied on fraudulent documents that were not from the Texas Air National Guard.
Rather was interviewed by NBC's Tom Brokaw for their JFK special.
