He has been anchorman of "The CBS Evening News" since taking over the job from the retiring Walter Cronkite in 1981 – through ratings leadership and, more recently, in third place.

And he has faced repeated public embarrassments, large and small, while remaining a favorite target of conservatives, who branded him a leader of the liberal media.

It happened again Monday, as Rather apologized for questionable documents used to support a "60 Minutes" story he reported on President Bush's Vietnam War-era National Guard service.

At a time when he might be proudly taking stock of his CBS News tenure (which began with his coverage from Dallas of President Kennedy's assassination), Rather's admission that he and his colleagues had been misled in a story investigating Bush's credibility delivered a tough blow to his own.

As CBS declared that it would commission an independent panel to review the circumstances of the "60 Minutes" investigation, the conservative Web site NewsMax.com was conducting an online poll. Among its questions: Should Dan Rather resign?

This latest twist in the "60 Minutes" story, which stirred questions almost immediately upon its airing Sept. 8, was a reminder, to many, of Rather's clash with Vice President George H.W. Bush during a live, nine-minute interview on "The CBS Evening News" in 1988.

"I don't want to be argumentative, Mr. Vice President," Rather said at one point.

"Yes, you do, Dan," Bush shot back, managing to frame the interview as an ambush.

The encounter with Rather scored points among supporters of Bush, then running for president, and, for them, it served as more evidence that Rather was slanted against conservatives.

As White House correspondent in 1974, Rather had a memorable exchange with President Nixon, who asked, "Are you running for something?" Rather replied, "No, sir, Mr. President. Are you?"

Rather, who claims independence in his politics, is today the focus of a Web site devoted to his supposed biases, Ratherbiased.com. And 20 years ago, he inspired a campaign by Sen. Jesse Helms of North Carolina, who called for 1 million fellow conservatives to buy CBS stock and "become Dan Rather's boss."

But if he has long been a lightning rod for conservatives, he has also seemed to invite odd occurrences that seemed to be all the odder just for having happened to him.

During a cab ride in Chicago years ago, Rather was forced to stick his head out the window and call for help after the driver took off with him, speeding through the city and refusing to stop.

And in 1986 while strolling home in Manhattan, Rather was stopped by a man who shouted, "Kenneth, what's the frequency?" and then beat him up. The incident was greeted with skepticism by some, and it made Rather the butt of jokes.

A decade later, Rather identified his assailant as the man serving time for shooting to death an NBC technician outside the "Today" show studios in 1994. But this sad epilogue failed to correct the mythical proportions of the tale. What happened to Rather had even inspired an R.E.M. song.

A newsman who has dodged bullets and braved hurricanes to get his story, Rather is also remembered, mostly with derision, for having signed off his newscast by saying "Courage." It was only for a few days, nearly 20 years ago.

© 2004 Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Editor's note: