Rather Reneges on Promise Not to Bash Reagan

CBS anchorman Dan Rather said Tuesday that he didn't think it was a good idea for reporters to attack Ronald Reagan as the nation pays its respects.

"When a twice-elected, two-full-term president dies, it's not the time for a seminar on his strengths and weaknesses, in my opinion," he told the Philadelphia Inquirer. "To paraphrase Marc Antony, I think, by and large, that the good that men do should live after them, and the evil should be interred with their bones."

But in his "Evening News" broadcast that night, the CBS star decided it was time to rehash the Iran-Contra scandal.

As chronicled by the Web site Ratherbiased.com, Rather teased his Reagan retrospective thusly: "Straight ahead now on the CBS 'Evening News,' President Reagan and the missiles-for-Iran deal. Is or is not America still paying a price for what's called the Iran-Contra debacle?"

Rather handed off the segment to Bill Plante, who offered a fairly balanced version of events, but included a few subtle digs.

"The president's full disclosure at home, however, didn't salvage U.S. policy in the Middle East," Plante argued. "Relations with Iran deteriorated further. Iraq, which the Reagan administration had backed in its war against Iran, went on to use chemical weapons in 1988 with little protest from the U.S."

Plante concluded with comments that seemed to blame Reagan for global terrorism.

"An arms control agreement with the Soviet Union refurbished President Reagan's image, but U.S. efforts to deal with the tough issues in the Middle East went on hold, helping to set the stage for the first Iraq war and the rise of Islamic fundamentalism. Bill Plante, CBS News."

Rather said Plante's piece would be the first in a weeklong series examining Reagan's legacy.

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