Word: dan
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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BUSH. Other candidates should demand equal time with Dan Rather...
...undeniable star. Sometimes too much the star. For one well-publicized 60 Minutes story, Rather traveled into Afghanistan disguised in native garb. He introduced himself to a rebel leader with the memorable line "Hello, my name is Rather." Critics hooted at the stunt and dubbed him Gunga Dan...
...timing was almost perfect. His dustup came only two weeks before the Iowa caucuses, where he is trailing Bob Dole in the polls. For a candidate seeking to generate support from conservatives, getting mugged by Dan Rather and then beating him off was the political equivalent of winning a Purple Heart. "I can't really explain it, but a chord was hit," Bush said during a swing through South Dakota two days later. "I suppose people saw a guy up there by himself, standing up for what he believes...
...such moment occurred last week. Like most of the others, it came upon the viewer unawares. Unlike others, it was staged, self-generated, almost ceremonial: a media event. Dan Rather was interviewing George Bush on the CBS Evening News -- live. Unusual, but not unprecedented. But what could have been just another conversation between two familiar talking heads turned into a collision with a resonance far out of proportion to the intense nine minutes of airtime. Their contretemps was not just a conflict between men but between two institutions, two symbols: the Vice President and the anchorman, the loyal emissary...
...heat began to fade, people wondered about the light. Yes, Dan Rather had been brusque, even downright rude, but just what had George Bush stood up for anyway? That he has the right not to be dogged by questions he claims already to have answered? That he should be judged by more than just his murky behavior during the Iran-contra fiasco? Yes, but what had he been doing all that time? In rebutting Rather, Bush was not delivering a message, but beating up the messenger...