Quotes By Dan Rather

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.

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.

Are the Democrats going to dance the mandate Macarena?

Only votes talk, everything else walks.

This race is hotter than a Times Square Rolex.

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

Journalists should denounce government by public opinion polls.

As someone who's been covering presidential campaigns since the 1950s, I have no delusions about political reporting. Candidates bargaining access to get the kind of news coverage they want is nothing new.

Ratings don't last. Good journalism does.

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

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.

I've always tried to be fair, even-handed, not an advocate for any group.

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

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

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

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".

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.

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.

I respect and empathize with reporters and editors who must compete in today's environment. And I know full well that when I've been covering campaigns, which I still do, I've made my mistakes and have been far from perfect.

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

Never eat spinach just before going on the air.

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

One of the most important roles of our journalists is to be watchdogs.

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.

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

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.

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.

Fear rules almost every newsroom in the country.

Performing doesn't turn me on. It's an egomaniac business, filled with prima donnas - including this one.

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