That's The Way It Is, 24 Years Later To The Day

Tonight marks the final night, 24 years to the day whence he started, that Dan Rather anchors the CBS Evening News broadcast. It's been an occasionally bumpy ride, hasn't it?

Still, I'd rather (pun intended) not see Rather's legacy besmirched by the controversy over last year's debacle about the alleged documents concerning Dubya's National Guard "service."

The documents' authenticity has been successfully challenged, thus producing the debacle. But what everyone seems to be forgetting is that the veracity of the documents' contents has never been in doubt. Indeed, the secretary who informed Rather that the documents were not genuine went out of her way to note that what they had to say was, however, accurate.

And that those contents established beyond doubt that Dubya's service in the National Guard was less than sterling; further, that he received special treatment and protections not afforded to the average National Guard enlistee.

And we thought Ronald Reagan was the Teflon president!