Peggy Noonan has a gracious, balanced and I suspect correct ode to Dan Rather and his career.

People are complicated, careers are complicated, motives are complicated. Dan Rather did some great work on stories that demanded physical courage. He loved the news, and often made it look like the most noble of enterprises. He had guts and fortitude. Those stories he covered that touched on politics were unfortunately and consistently marred by liberal political bias, and in this he was like too many in his profession. But this is changing. The old hegemony has given way. The old dominance is over. Good thing. Great thing. Onward

Well, Ms. Noonan is always gracious and insightful. Makes the case better than anyone else that one can be principled and forceful without being mocking or vicious. I'm very glad she's back after the campaign hiatus.

I think she also makes a very good point in that Rather, like all of us, was strongly influenced by his desire to fit in. One of the best arguments for intellectual diversity in the academy, as well as elsewhere, and one of the clearest illustrations of the follies attendant on wishing for one clean and "correct" point of view on the world.

Ms. Noonan is a lady, and IMHO, way to gentle with her ex-boss. Rather has a long history of partisan bias, exageration and in several cases - fraud. He was a prime example of a type which has now (thankfully) gone the way of the dinosaurs.
"Now respectfully, when you start talking about a liberal agenda and all the, quote, 'liberal bias' in the media, I quite frankly, and I say this respectfully but candidly to you, I don't know what you're talking about."
--Dan Rather to talk radio host Mike Rosen of KOA Denver, November 28, 1995.
"I think Dan is transparently liberal. Now he may not like to hear me say that. I always agree with him, too. But I think he should be more careful."
--CBS 60 Minutes Commentator Andy Rooney on Larry King Live, July 28, 2002
http://www.ratherbiased.com/compare.htm