Dan Rather's homey comparisons

[Rudolph C Troike]

Dan Rather is from Texas, and periodically likes to affect a "down home"
style to counteract his Gore-like stiffness. I think it was painfully
obvious that he had asked a member of his staff to come up with such a
list of comparisons, and was reading them from a monitor as the occasion
allowed. The full Damon Runyon quote showed that this was not something he
had learned from his daddy or granny.

I usually prefer CBS for coverage (I like all the Texans on their news
staff), but I found that NBC was miles ahead of everyone else on the
Florida debacle, so stuck with them. They were talking directly with the
secretary of state and attorney general and getting first-hand data when
Dan Rather was wondering an hour later where the confusing quotes were
coming from, and Peter Jennings did not seem any better informed.

        Rudy