Dan Rather Quotes

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

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

"Courage is being afraid but going on anyhow."

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

"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."

"Americans will put up with anything provided it doesn't block traffic."

"I'd much rather wear out than rust out."

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

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

"For years Don Imus was just - boy, he was merciless in his criticism of me. Maybe it was justified, but that didn't mean it didn't hurt."

"Now, I know you expected me to say that, well, I just kick back in the rocking chair, fished a little bit, listened to Willie Nelson tapes and watched old baseball games on the Classic Sports network. And, tell you the truth, I have done that for maybe about five total minutes."

"As long as I have my health, I want to be reporting somewhere."

"Start-ups like UniversityNow, a network of low-cost, online colleges, allows students to work at their own pace and pay a few hundred dollars a month for a degree."

"I still love following and thinking about politics. I enjoy recommending important journalism I read or see from other sources."

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

"I don't back down. I don't cave when the pressure gets too great from these partisan political ideological forces."

"What I say or do here won't matter much, nor should it."

"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."

"An intellectual snob is someone who can listen to the William Tell Overture and not think of The Lone Ranger."

"Always marry a woman from Texas. No matter how tough things get, she's seen tougher."

"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'."

"I was really lucky to work at CBS news. I was blessed to be able to live my dream in many ways at CBS news."

"Never eat spinach just before going on the air."

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

"Those market researchers... are playing games with you and me and with this entire country. Their so-called samples of opinion are no more accurate or reliable than my grandmother's big toe was when it came to predicting the weather."

"Only votes talk, everything else walks."

"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."

"I don't pretend to be a digital savant or even a digital apprentice."

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

"Well, first of all, I don't want to debate the word conservative, but by my definition, a conservative is someone who wants to conserve the Constitution of the United States and the American tradition and law that no one is above the law."