Rather Not

Not on CBS, that is.

CBS executives have decided there is no future role at the network for Dan Rather, making it certain that the man who sat in the anchor chair for 24 years will depart by this fall.

Rather, who has been missing from the anchor chair for over a year now, was demoted to the level of "contributor" and "advisor" to CBS' 60 Minutes news team, has been allowed minimal exposure since his highly visible departure. And now it appears the network is finally ready to move on, dropping the formerly high profile anchor like an aging first wife over a newer model with a sexy pair of gams.

The CBS executives hope a dignified exit can be arranged and that Rather can find a second career, perhaps in cable, the sources say. But they also believe that with Couric debuting as anchor in September, the news division needs to move on from the Rather era. And the fallout over his 2004 piece alleging that the Guard had given Bush favorable treatment -- based on documents that the network later acknowledged could not be authenticated -- has been a complicating factor.

Hat-tip to Austin-American Statesman TV blogger Diane Holloway, who is still pining over the loss that America endured when Mr. Rather was forced off the air due to, as she put it, "a poorly sourced story":

Will we ever see Dan Rather on TV again? Or will we just have to catch him ambling through Whole Foods, near his downtown Austin condo?

It's hard to imagine Rather sitting still for long. Sure, he loves to fish and play with his grandkids, but he's too energetic, smart and restless to languish for long. It would surprise no one if he turned up on CNN — or even Fox — and began trotting the globe once again.

I, for one, would be very surprised to see Rather turn up on Fox. It would require an awful lot of conservative counterweight to maintain that "fair and balanced" equilibrium they so proudly espouse.