The idea that Rather was politically liberal can be traced to a testy 1974 press conference exchange he had with President Richard M. Nixon. At the National Association of Broadcasters’ convention in Houston, Nixon called on Rather to ask a question. When he did, there was a burst of applause for the hometown boy who had made good. Nixon, in an awkward attempt to be humorous, asked: “Are you running for something?” Rather quickly retorted, “No, sir, Mr. President. Are you?”

Five months later, Rather was replaced on the White House beat by Bob Schieffer who, ironically, is sitting in Rather’s seat until the network decides on the format and person or persons to be involved in the post-Rather newscast.

In the meantime, the perception exists in many quarters that Rather was a political liberal. As usual, the excellent researchers at Fairness & Accuracy in Reporting (FAIR) have examined Rather’s broadcasts and they have arrived at a different conclusion. In a report on its Web site, www.fair.org, the organization reveals: “…The notion that Rather has used his CBS platform to disseminate left-wing propaganda over the last two decades does not hold up to scrutiny.”

FAIR scrutinized the broadcasts of ABC, NBC and CBS, which remains stuck in third place.

“If Rather were indeed liberal – or just more liberal than his network competitors – one would think that the CBS Evening News would include more critical perspectives in its newscast, particularly during a Republican administration,” the report says. “But FAIR’s study of guests and sources appearing during coverage of the Iraq war (3/20/03-4/9/03) actually found that Rather’s broadcast had the highest percentage of official U.S. sources (75 percent) and the lowest number (less than one percent) of U.S. anti-war voices.

“A FAIR study of all the network broadcasts in 2001 found that CBS Evening News had the most Republicans and the fewest Democrats (76 percent vs. 23 percent). The difference between CBS and the other networks was slim, but such analysis belies the notion that Rather’s network – or any of the others – have a liberal bias.”

Rather did not show any favoritism toward civil rights leaders, especially Jesse Jackson.

During the 1993 Democratic National Convention, Rather said: “There have always been two Jesse Jacksons. There’s Jesse the radical, who preaches rage and black separatism. That Jesse Jackson has always angered whites. And there’s Jesse the self-promoter, who preaches desegregation and compromise.”

Jesse Jackson, a Black separatist? That wasn’t true in 1993 or in 2003 or at any other time.

By contrast, Rather provided fawning coverage of Ronald Reagan’s death. On June 5, 2004, he said on CBS Evening News that Reagan “was the great communicator, yes. But he was also a master at communicating greatness. He understood that, as he once put it, ‘History is a ribbon always unfurling,’ and managed to convey his vision in terms of both simple and poetic. And so he was able to act as a conduit to connect us to who we had been and who we could be.”

Reagan’s White House image makers couldn’t have been more effusive in their praise.

The retiring CBS anchor created what has become known as Ratherisms, such as: “In Southern states they beat him like a rented mule.” And, “If a frog had side pockets, he’d carry a handgun.” Beneath such cornball is a biased journalist, a self-admitted bias tilted in favor of those in power, not progressive ideas or movements.

In an appearance on CBS’s “Late Show with David Letterman” [9/17/01], Rather, who retired a year early because he used fake documents about President Bush’s service in the National Guard, said: “George Bush is president. He makes the decisions, and, you know, it’s just one American, wherever he wants me to line up, just tell me where. And he’ll make the call.”

Equally troubling was a speech he gave at Harvard University last July 25. Rather said, “Look, when a president of the United States, any president, Republican or Democrat, says these are the facts, there is a heavy prejudice, including my own, to give him the benefit of any doubt, and for that I do not apologize.”

Anyone who called Dan Rather a liberal owes all of us an apology.