Dan Rather Quotes

• For years Don Imus was just - boy, he was merciless in his criticism of me. Maybe it was justified, but that didn't mean it didn't hurt.

  Dan Rather

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• A lot of tight Senate races out there. Let's hit those chips with another dash of salsa, Ed Bradley.

  Dan Rather

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• I had someone at the Houston police station shoot me with heroin so I could do a story about it. The experience was a special kind of hell. I came out understanding full well how one could be addicted to 'smack,' and quickly.

  Dan Rather

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• If I didn't have a front-row seat on history, it was at least a seat on the aisle.

  Dan Rather

  Twitter post from Apr 23, 2014

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• What separated Ed Murrow from the rest of the pack was courage.

  Dan Rather

  Dan Rather, Mickey Herskowitz (1994). “The camera never blinks twice: the further adventures of a television journalist”, William Morrow & Co

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• I'm of the belief that you can have only one commander-in-chief at a time, only one president at a time. President Bush is our president. Whatever he decides vis-a-vis war or peace in Iraq is what we will do as a country. And I for one will swing in behind him as a citizen ... and support whatever his decision is.

  Dan Rather

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• One finds oneself saying: 'I know the right question, but ... this is not exactly the right time to ask it.'

  Dan Rather

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• President Bush insisted today that he was not caving in to big-money contributors, big-time lobbyists, and overall industry pressure when he broke a campaign promise to regulate carbon dioxide emissions from power plants. But the air was thick today with accusations from people who believe that's exactly what happened.

  Dan Rather

  "Clamoring for Kyoto" by Rich Noyes, www.newsbusters.org. May 24, 2012.

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• You'd better do what you feel good about doing. If we [try] to figure out what it is the audience wants and then try to deliver it to them, we're lost souls on the ghost ship forever.

  Dan Rather

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• I still love following and thinking about politics. I enjoy recommending important journalism I read or see from other sources.

  Dan Rather

  "I’ve Discovered Facebook" by Dan Rather, www.huffingtonpost.com. December 16, 2011.

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• I'm part of nobody's world except Brezhnev's.

  Dan Rather

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• I think you can be an honest person and lie about any number of things.

  Dan Rather

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• A tough lesson in life that one has to learn is that not everybody wishes you well.

  Dan Rather

  FaceBook post by Dan Rather from Jul 21, 2014

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• The Republican convention opens in New York to re-nominate George W. Bush and showcase the party's, quote, 'moderate side.' Will voters buy it?

  Dan Rather

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• The American Dream is one of the greatest ideas in the history of human achievement . . . It thrives today in an age when its core components of freedom and opportunity are open to more Americans than ever before. It holds a real, identifiable place in the American heart and mind, and it informs the aspirations of everyone from farmers to software developers, from detectives to bankers, from soldiers to social workers . . . It defines us as a people, even as we add to its meaning with each new chapter in our national experience and our individual actions.

  Dan Rather

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• I've never believed in measuring one's worth by the size of his or her bank account. I prefer to look at distance traveled.

  Dan Rather

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• I know that this story is true.

  Dan Rather

  "Chronology of '60 Minutes' Controversy" by Randy Hall, www.crosswalk.com. January 10, 2005.

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• Now, I know you expected me to say that, well, I just kick back in the rocking chair, fished a little bit, listened to Willie Nelson tapes and watched old baseball games on the Classic Sports network. And, tell you the truth, I have done that for maybe about five total minutes.

  Dan Rather

  "Larry King Live", edition.cnn.com. June 2, 2005.

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• Comedians, such as yourself, Jon Stewart and others, are a valuable supplement, and here's why: Good journalism at its best frequently speaks truth to power. What's happened with journalists - again, I don't except myself from this criticism - in some ways we've lost our guts. We need a spine transplant. What's happened is comedians, in their own way, speak truth to power and fill that vacuum that we in journalism have too often left, particularly post 9/11.

  Dan Rather

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• They may have turned this up, whether you had the Paula Jones case or not. But again maybe not, but again that's like if a frog had side pockets he'd probably wear a handgun.

  Dan Rather

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• Americans will put up with anything provided it doesn't block traffic.

  Dan Rather

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• It's a legitimate point to debate. But it's part of the reality. It's happening, but it's also true they (looters) are in the distinct minority. I think there's a hero on every street corner in New Orleans, and I think the reporting has shown that. I think the balance has been there.

  Dan Rather

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• Democratic presidential candidate Al Gore officially introduced his history-making running mate today, Senator Joseph Lieberman of Connecticut....In their first joint appearance they gave a preview of the Gore-Lieberman fight-back, comeback strategy. Their message: They represent the future, not the past, and they are the ticket of high moral standards most in tune with real mainstream America.

  Dan Rather

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• Start-ups like UniversityNow, a network of low-cost, online colleges, allows students to work at their own pace and pay a few hundred dollars a month for a degree.

  Dan Rather

  "College on the Cheap" by Dan Rather, www.huffingtonpost.com. September 24, 2012.

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• Music is important. It says things you heart can't say any other way, and in a language everyone speaks. Music crosses borders, turns smiles into frowns, and vice versa. These observations are shared with a hope: that, when schools cut back on music classes, they really think about what they're doing - and don't take music for granted.

  Dan Rather

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• To the pilot of a deep sea submersible, upon finding out what would happen if the craft sprung a leak while submerged. I'll trust you to make sure that doesn't happen.

  Dan Rather

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• Covering the civil-rights movement was a mind- and eye-opener for me. Houston was a segregated society, as was Texas as a whole - some of it by law, a lot of it by fear and tradition. But there was no violence where I lived, and if there was hate, it was either concealed from me or I just didn't recognize it.

  Dan Rather

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• College is like a woman: you work so hard to get in, and nine months later you wish you'd never come. We used to say if a frog had side pockets, he'd carry a handgun.

  Dan Rather

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• A college degree is the key to realizing the American dream, well worth the financial sacrifice because it is supposed to open the door to a world of opportunity.

  Dan Rather

  "I’ve Discovered Facebook" by Dan Rather, www.huffingtonpost.com. September 24, 2012.

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• In dealing with the press, do yourself a favor, stick with one of three responses: (a) I know and I can tell you; (b) I know and I can't tell you; (c) I don't know.

  Dan Rather

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