Dan Rather Quotes

Courage is being afraid but going on anyhow.

A tough lesson in life that one has to learn is that not everybody wishes you well.

The dream begins with a teacher who believes in you, who tugs and pushes and leads you to the next plateau, sometimes poking you with a sharp stick called 'truth'.

The press is a watchdog. Not an attack dog. Not a lapdog. A watchdog. Now, a watchdog can't be right all the time. He doesn't bark only when he sees or smells something that's dangerous. A good watchdog barks at things that are suspicious.

A free and truly independent press - fiercely independent when necessary - is the red beating heart of freedom and democracy.

I think you can be an honest person and lie about any number of things.

A college degree is the key to realizing the American dream, well worth the financial sacrifice because it is supposed to open the door to a world of opportunity.

Once the herd starts moving in one direction, it's very hard to turn it, even slightly.

If you're in Journalism and you're looking for friends, you should get a dog.

If all difficulties were known at the outset of a long journey, most of us would never start out at all.

I'd much rather wear out than rust out.

Don't taunt the alligator until after you've crossed the creek.

The dream begins, most of the time, with a teacher who believes in you.

Music is important. It says things you heart can't say any other way, and in a language everyone speaks. Music crosses borders, turns smiles into frowns, and vice versa. These observations are shared with a hope: that, when schools cut back on music classes, they really think about what they're doing - and don't take music for granted.

But we cannot rely on memorials and museums alone. We can tell ourselves we will never forget and we likely won't. But we need to make sure that we teach history to those who never had the opportunity to remember in the first place.

Be careful. Journalism is more addictive than crack cocaine. Your life can get out of balance.

And now the sequence of events in no particular order.

(Obama's) a nice person, he's very articulate this is what's been used against him, but he couldn't sell watermelons if it, you gave him the state troopers to flag down the traffic.

Comedians, such as yourself, Jon Stewart and others, are a valuable supplement, and here's why: Good journalism at its best frequently speaks truth to power. What's happened with journalists - again, I don't except myself from this criticism - in some ways we've lost our guts. We need a spine transplant. What's happened is comedians, in their own way, speak truth to power and fill that vacuum that we in journalism have too often left, particularly post 9/11.

This race is hotter than a Times Square Rolex.

One of the most important roles of our journalists is to be watchdogs.

College is like a woman: you work so hard to get in, and nine months later you wish you'd never come. We used to say if a frog had side pockets, he'd carry a handgun.

I've never believed in measuring one's worth by the size of his or her bank account. I prefer to look at distance traveled.

I got addicted. News, particularly daily news, is more addictive than crack cocaine, more addictive than heroin, more addictive than cigarettes.

The Michigan Republican primary apparently is tighter than Willie Nelson's headband.