Rather Silly

By Zamboni

James Brady is dead again. We cats say "again" not because the Jodie-Foster-fancier, John Hinckley, managed to do him in back in 1981, but because Dan Rather memorably killed him off on national TV not long afterward.

It was just another reminder for us cats: We are not fans of Dan. When he wasn't using stupid, illogical expressions ("This election is as tight as a tick"), or ending his newscasts with cringe-inducing, hairball-hacking sign-offs ("Courage"), it seemed like he was always giving members of the Bush clan undeserved opportunities to resurrect or redeem themselves.

Remember "How would you like it if I judged your career by those seven minutes when you walked off that set in New York?" Remember the way the Worst Person Who's Ever Lived got off scot-free forever thanks to Dan's screwed-up National Guard story? We cats do, and not fondly.

But in retrospect, we should have known this kind of stuff was coming. Case in point: With the 40th anniversary of the Nixon resignation right around the bend, we're seeing replays of this famous exchange between "Dick and Dan" that, frankly, we never thought was much of a take-down by either man. Sure, Rather got applause when he stood up to ask a question — awkward! But why engage with the ever-petulant Nixon, who needed no help looking more put-upon and victimized? And "No, Mr. President, are you?" makes no sense. Nixon had been re-elected in 1972 and wasn't running for anything ever again.

Watch and decide for yourself, but as far as we cats are concerned — and goodness knows we loathe Richard Nixon — this was not a great encounter. In fact, it gives us the cheaps, and we HISS.