Top 100 Dan Rather Quotes (2025 Update)

1. “Ratings don’t last. Good journalism does.”

— Dan Rather

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

— Dan Rather

3. “Courage is being afraid but going on anyhow.”

— Dan Rather

4. “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.”

— Dan Rather

5. “And now the sequence of events in no particular order.”

— Dan Rather

6. “I’ve never believed in measuring one’s worth by the size of his or her bank account. I prefer to look at distance traveled.”

— Dan Rather

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

— Dan Rather

8. “The dream begins, most of the time, with a teacher who believes in you.”

— Dan Rather

9. “I think you can be an honest person and lie about any number of things.”

— Dan Rather

10. “I’d much rather wear out than rust out.”

— Dan Rather

11. “I’m proud to say I’ve never been anybody’s lapdog.”

— Dan Rather

12. “It’s the ratings, stupid, don’t you know? They’ve got us putting more fuzz and wuzz on the air, cop-show stuff.”

— Dan Rather

13. “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.”

— Dan Rather

14. “Always marry a woman from Texas. No matter how tough things get, she’s seen tougher.”

— Dan Rather

15. “Journalism is not a precise science, it’s a crude art.”

— Dan Rather

16. “Once the herd starts moving in one direction, it’s very hard to turn it, even slightly.”

— Dan Rather

17. “Be careful. Journalism is more addictive than crack cocaine. Your life can get out of balance.”

— Dan Rather

18. “They say California’s the big burrito; Texas is a big taco right now. We want to follow that through. Florida is a big tamale.”

— Dan Rather

19. “Texas: 32 electoral votes, another of the so-called big enchiladas or if not an enchilada at least a huge taco.”

— Dan Rather

20. “When the going gets weird, anchormen punt.”

— Dan Rather

21. “Journalists should denounce government by public opinion polls.”

— Dan Rather

22. “Don’t taunt the alligator until after you’ve crossed the creek.”

— Dan Rather

23. “If frogs had side pockets, they’d carry hand guns.”

— Dan Rather

24. “Never eat spinach just before going on the air.”

— Dan Rather

25. “I’ve tried everything. I can say to you with confidence, I know a fair amount about LSD. I’ve never been a social user of any of these things, but my curiosity has carried me into a lot of interesting areas.”

— Dan Rather

26. “It is important not to confuse “patriotism” with “nationalism.” As I define it, nationalism is a monologue in which you place your country in a position of moral and cultural supremacy over others. Patriotism, while deeply personal, is a dialogue with your fellow citizens, and a larger world, about not only what you love about your country but also how it can be improved.”

— Dan Rather

27. “To suppress the vote is to make a mockery of democracy. And those who do so are essentially acknowledging that their policies are unpopular. If you can’t convince a majority of voters that your ideas are worthy, you try to limit the pool of voters.”

— Dan Rather

28. “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.”

— Dan Rather

29. “To the pilot of a deep sea submersible, upon finding out what would happen if the craft sprung a leak while submerged. I’ll trust you to make sure that doesn’t happen.”

— Dan Rather

30. “This race is hotter than a Times Square Rolex.”

— Dan Rather

31. “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.”

— Dan Rather

32. “I don’t pretend to be a digital savant or even a digital apprentice.”

— Dan Rather

33. “If you’re in Journalism and you’re looking for friends, you should get a dog.”

— Dan Rather

34. “Turn the lights down, the party just got wilder.”

— Dan Rather

35. “No one has a monopoly on the truth, but the whole premise of our democracy is that truth and justice must win out. And the role of a trained journalist is to get as close to the truth as is humanly possible. Make no mistake: We are being tested. Without a vibrant, fearless free press, our great American experiment may fail.”

— Dan Rather

36. “I had just turned 10-years-old when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor and plunged America into World War II.”

— Dan Rather

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

— Dan Rather

38. “It’s the old shell game.”

— Dan Rather

39. “My cousin just died. He was only 19. He got stung by a bee – the natural enemy of a tightrope walker.”

— Dan Rather

40. “Americans will put up with anything provided it doesn’t block traffic.”

— Dan Rather

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

— Dan Rather

42. “It’s the American way: if you don’t vote, you don’t get to whine.”

— Dan Rather

43. “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.”

— Dan Rather

44. “Art is an attempt to capture the truths of the world as you see it in a medium you can share with others. It is about lending your voice, your perspective to local, national, and global conversations. And that is why, in the United States in particular, our definition of what is art and who is an artist must be as varied as our citizenry.”

— Dan Rather

45. “A free and truly independent press – fiercely independent when necessary – is the red beating heart of freedom and democracy.”

— Dan Rather

46. “I don’t back down. I don’t cave when the pressure gets too great from these partisan political ideological forces.”

— Dan Rather

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

— Dan Rather

48. “I got addicted. News, particularly daily news, is more addictive than crack cocaine, more addictive than heroin, more addictive than cigarettes.”

— Dan Rather

49. “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.”

— Dan Rather

50. “Very big business is in bed with very big government in Washington, and has more to do with what the average person sees, hears and reads than most people know.”

— Dan Rather