But what happened, they got the willies, uh, they got the Buckwheats, uh, their knees wobbled and, um, um, we gave it up ...

Dan Rather to WFAN-AM radio host Don Imus, July 19.

On July 19, the morning after he reported (actually, misreported), for the first and only time on the Chandra Levy case, Dan Rather was a guest on Don Imus' syndicated morning show, where Rather strongly implied his bosses are cowards, said he would take the "hard news high road," and used colorful language to describe both his bosses and himself. (I wish to thank RatherBiased for providing the interview transcript.)

"You know, I work with some really good people. Jim Murphy, who’s the executive producer of the broadcast, and Andrew Heyward -- you know, I’m gonna suck up to him here — who’s president of CBS News. And they came in and said, 'Good God Almighty, Rather, you’re gonna be on Imus tomorrow?' I said, 'Well, yeah. I tried to do it last week and couldn’t quite make it reach.' And they said, 'Listen, we gotta save you from yourself. We’re gonna run some of this [Chandra Levy] stuff tonight.'... But what happened, they got the willies, uh, they got the Buckwheats, uh, their knees wobbled and, um, um, we gave it up, because there was great fear that I would come on the I-Man [nickname for host Don Imus] this morning and defend something that was indefensible. So there you are."

As I noted above, Rather botched the story when he reported on it on July 18. But in his defense of himself on the Imus show, he dug himself into an even deeper hole. When I read about Rather's criticism that his bosses at CBS "got the Buckwheats," I thought to myself, "Oh, what a charming bit of good 'ol boy, Texas color." After all, when do you get anything spontaneous from the likes of Tom Brokaw or Peter Jennings?

Well. A blizzard of attacks followed, most of which emanated from the website, NewsMax. Conservatives quoted civil rights leaders' demand that Rather at the very least explain his use of a racist "stereotype," based on the cowardly, bug-eyed "Buckwheat" character in the 1930s Little Rascal movie shorts. The Rev. Jesse Lee Peterson, the founder of B.O.N.D. (Brotherhood Organization of A New Destiny), a conservative, black organization, has demanded that Rather either apologize or be fired by CBS. Following the teachings of Booker T. Washington, the Rev. Peterson uses B.O.N.D. to promote black self-reliance and racial reconciliation, attack shakedown artists like the Rev. Jesse Jackson, and to lead a boycott of the NAACP, that the mainstream media have themselves "boycotted." The Rev. Peterson presents his beliefs in his book, From Rage to Responsibility.

In a July 24 press release, B.O.N.D.'s Ermias Alemayheu wrote, "BLACK LEADER DEMANDS APOLOGY FROM RATHER. Rev. Jesse Lee Peterson, Founder and President of B.O.N.D. ... and author of FROM RAGE TO RESPONSIBILITY (Paragon House), said this weekend that CBS Evening News anchorman Dan Rather used racially offensive language in an interview last Thursday on the nationally syndicated Don Imus Show. Rev. Peterson demanded that Rather apologize or be fired by CBS.

"Rather uttered the racial slur while explaining why CBS News finally succumbed to mounting pressure over his decision to ignore the Chandra Levy/Gary Condit story....

"Rev. Peterson said the reference is offensive to blacks, and claimed a double standard exists for liberals. 'The Buckwheat image has been used against black people for decades. Had a white conservative or someone from Fox News Channel said that, there would be an outcry today from the black community,' said Rev. Peterson. 'The NAACP and other establishment black leaders’ silence on this issue is more evidence of their true agenda.' The Rev. Peterson is leading a national boycott of the NAACP, claiming they have 'sold out' their original intent and have become 'tools' of the Democratic Party."

A little-known, conservative civil rights group called Project 21 (an offshoot of The National Center for Public Policy Research) also got into the fray, and aging civil rights agitator/diet guru/retired comedian Dick Gregory saw the main chance, and denounced Rather. Even the Rev. Jerry Falwell jumped on the bandwagon, noting that conservative former Atlanta talk radio host Ed Tyll was suspended in 1987, and forced to publicly apologize, on the orders of the NAACP and other civil rights groups, for using the same term to describe black Democratic Georgia Congressman and 1960s civil rights leader, John Lewis.

The July 27 NewsMax report quoted the Rev. Falwell as complaining that, "Rather has not faced any form of reprimand from his network. You can bet that if a conservative media figure like Rush Limbaugh or Sean Hannity had made this remark - although I can't imagine either one doing so - we would be seeing a blistering backlash by the liberal watchdogs who are so aggressively willing to savage their opponents."

The Rev. Falwell lambasted the socialist, mainstream media for giving free rides to racist black film director Spike Lee, when Lee said he would like to shoot NRA President Charlton Heston; socialist actor Alec Baldwin for calling, on The Conan O'Brien Show, for people to stone to death Rep. Henry Hyde (R-Ind.) and Hyde's family; Democrat Sen. Robert Byrd for using the term, "white n----r"; and finally, Rather, all because of their common political affiliation.

The July 27 NewsMax article recalled the fate of New York talk radio's most popular host, Bob Grant, who was fired by WABC-AM New York in 1996 for a much more restrained remark, following the air crash that killed Commerce Secretary Ron Brown and others. After the crash had been reported, but before Brown's death could be confirmed, Grant announced, "CNN is reporting there's a lone survivor. I have a feeling it's Ron Brown. But I'm a pessimist at heart." Soon thereafter, Grant was hired by WABC competitor, WWOR-AM, whom he has helped to vault past WABC-AM in the ratings.

As Kevin Martin of Project 21 told Bob Grant on the air on July 26, "If this had been a conservative, Bob, believe me -- they would have been down at the station with the torches and pitchforks demanding someone's head. But because Dan Rather is a pillar of the liberal left, groups like the NAACP, groups like Rainbow/PUSH, groups like the National Action Network.... they cover their eyes and run away."

Now that I have had things explained to me, regarding the heinous nature of Rather's remark, I am shocked, SHOCKED!

I can understand civil rights groups seeking to censor, humiliate, or destroy Dan Rather; that's what civil rights groups do. And it is certainly fair, and even refreshing, for those groups, and the Rev. Jerry Falwell, to vilify Rather for his behavior. After all, freedom of speech is a two-way street. It is salutary for critics to point out the hypocrisy of the media elite. And while it is a political plus for conservative groups to inflict damage on their socialist opponents, if you care about freedom, you can't desire that Dan Rather be harmed over what he SAYS.

I don't want Dan Rather to so much as apologize for his "Buckwheats" comment. But what is as shocking as the demands for his head, is the silence of the mainstream media regarding his slip of the tongue, the same media that have given saturation coverage to the racial and sexual faux pas of the late TV sports tout, "Jimmy the Greek" Snyder, the late Los Angeles Dodger executive, Al Campanis, Bob Grant, Sen. Trent Lott (R, Miss.), and so many others who were not darlings of the Left.

Critics will complain, "But he's a racist" or "he's insensitive" or "he's hopelessly out-of-touch!"

I have to confess to having a soft spot for ol' "Gunga Dan," that Rather's recent misadventures have left undiminished. After all, this is a national figure in the most politically correct of businesses, who refers to himself variously as "bone-headed," "bizarre," and "a dumb-ass." Can you imagine either Tom Brokaw or Peter Jennings ever using such terms to describe himself?

"But, you know, where I come out with this, Imus, it, look, we’ve made mistakes in the past, uh, somebody wrote the best quote, 'bone-headed.' Well, of course it’s, this, it’s a matter of record I’m bone-headed. [Someone] said, well, 'this is bizarre.' Well, of course I’m bizarre. You don’t want me to—we’ve known that for a long time. They said well, it was, you know --

IMUS: "What’s the frequency, Kenneth?" [Sardonic reference to the nonsensical question a stranger asked, while assaulting Rather on a Manhattan street in 1987.]

RATHER: "I don’t know, somebody, I don’t know who put it exact this way but it said, you know, it’s a dumb-ass thing he’s doing. Well, you, know, I’ve been a dumb-ass all my life. Why would anybody expect me to be any different about—

"But, you know, I don’t, I want the CBS Evening News to have a reputation that, you know, we’re high-road and hard news. I want us to have a reputation that we’re hard to herd and impossible to stampede. And I didn’t want to be stampeded into doing something here that, uh, I didn’t feel comfortable with, and I hope folks understand that."

But this "racism" issue is about more than whether I'm charmed by Dan Rather's good ol' boy expressions. To the people claiming Rather is a racist, I ask, "More or less than you are?" and "Do you have any proof of his ever abusing anyone based on the color of his skin?"

We all have thoughts and feelings that could arguably be called "racist," and if we say anything of value, we are constantly offending someone. And that's not even counting the people who use being offended as a bludgeon with which to bully and shake down other people. Dan Rather's critics have every right to criticize him for his remarks, and to demand that the socialist media report them. But if they demand his head on a platter, they have no business ever again decrying leftist political correctness, and if I catch them doing so, I'll point it out.

There is a very simple punishment we can mete out to journalists who refuse to report, or whom we catch misrepresenting stories we consider important -- don't patronize them! With that said, I have another confession to make: I haven't watched the CBS Evening News with Dan Rather in years.

Copyright 2001 by Nicholas Stix. All rights reserved.
Don't bring around a crowd,
to reign on my parade!