Dan Rather Quotes - Page 4

Tonight, savagery in the streets of Iraq. Ten Americans die in a single day, four of them civilians murdered, mutilated and dragged through the streets....What drives American civilians to risk death in Iraq? In this economy it may be, for some, the only job they can find.

Have you ever had any anger about President Bush - who spent his time during the Vietnam War in the National Guard - running, in effect, a campaign that does its best to diminish your service in Vietnam? You have to be at least irritated by that, or have you been?

A lot of tight Senate races out there. Let's hit those chips with another dash of salsa, Ed Bradley.

They may have turned this up, whether you had the Paula Jones case or not. But again maybe not, but again that's like if a frog had side pockets he'd probably wear a handgun.

There are more Muslims in North America then Jews Now.

This much we know: Journalism is not a precise science. It's, on its best day, is a crude art. We make mistakes; I make mistakes. With more than 50 years as a journalist, I have at least had the opportunity to blow more stories, make more mistakes than maybe anybody in television.

He [Mikhail Gorbachev] has, as many great leaders have, impressive eyes....There's a kind of laser-beam stare, a forced quality, you get from Gorbachev that does not come across as something peaceful within himself. It's the look of a kind of human volcano, or he'd probably like to describe it as a human nuclear energy plant.

Despite what many Americans think, most Soviets do not yearn for capitalism or Western-style democracy.

In dealing with the press, do yourself a favor, stick with one of three responses: (a) I know and I can tell you; (b) I know and I can't tell you; (c) I don't know.

And for whatever reason I've loved the news since I can remember. I loved it when I was in elementary school.

We may see Michael Jackson's baby before we know the final outcome of this race for the House of Representatives tonight.

I'm of the belief that you can have only one commander-in-chief at a time, only one president at a time. President Bush is our president. Whatever he decides vis-a-vis war or peace in Iraq is what we will do as a country. And I for one will swing in behind him as a citizen ... and support whatever his decision is.

One finds oneself saying: 'I know the right question, but ... this is not exactly the right time to ask it.'

Those of you watching and listening, get a cup of coffee or a spot of tea and join us back here in just a few moments.

If you liked this broadcast, we hope you'll watch it again tomorrow night and maybe tell your neighbors about it.

Fear rules almost every newsroom in the country.

By more than two to one Americans do not consider what Kevorkian did, injecting a terminally ill patient with legal drugs at the patient's request, to be the same as murder. You may want to note that laws are not supposed to be enforced on the basis of public opinion polls.

If I didn't have a front-row seat on history, it was at least a seat on the aisle.

The great lesson my mother and father gave me was almost invisible. It was a strong sense of being rooted.

I quote the late Ed Murow. ... He said: 'Look, people listen to me when they want an eyewitness account. 'They think I'm a pretty good reporter. But when it comes to my opinions, mine are not worth anymore than the guy at the end of the bar.' And I believe that about myself.

There is no doubt that the way journalism worked when I was growing up and getting started has changed forever.

I'm part of nobody's world except Brezhnev's.

What separated Ed Murrow from the rest of the pack was courage.

Journalism is not a precise science, it's a crude art

From the streets of Cairo and the Arab Spring, to Occupy Wall Street, from the busy political calendar to the aftermath of the tsunami in Japan, social media was not only sharing the news but driving it.