The Wish They Could Forget Him

Dan Rather complains that he has been forgotten by CBS News.

Historical rewrites like this one are the reason why.

Rather apparently hadn't even seen a report questioning Bush's Vietnam-era National Guard service before introducing it on the air in September 2004. When CBS News couldn't substantiate the story following questions about its sources, Rather became a symbol of the incident even as he escaped official blame.

Since then, Rather's on-air appearances have been infrequent. He contributed eight stories to "60 Minutes" this season, about half the airtime of most full-time correspondents there. His most recent "60 Minutes" story, a profile of Whole Foods Market, aired June 4.

In interviews last week, Rather made clear the professional divorce was imminent. He told The New York Times that he wanted to stay with "60 Minutes," but that CBS News offered him a contract with no specific affiliation to any program.