by Javier Morales

Created on: June 18, 2007

Dan Rather has the right to criticize, but he is off base in the manner in which he assessed Katie Couric's performance.

Instead of taking shots at Couric, he should have directed his opinion at his former employer - CBS - about what the network deems to be newsworthy for the CBS Evening News. Why stage a personal attack at Couric about "dumbing down" and "tarting up" the news when he should have singled out the managing editors at CBS for their decision making?

Why even bring Couric into the equation?

Rather has a history of being at odds with other journalists, and now it is very apparent why that is the case. He is sloppy with this comments and lacks professional behavior at all times.

Look no further than "Rathergate" in 2004, in which CBS was forced to retract a story Rather pursued concerning President Bush's Air National Guard service. Rather persuaded the CBS brass to air his story on 60 Minutes that showed documents that Bush was deemed unfit for military duty after failing to obey an order to take a physical examination.

The documents later were discovered to be unfounded and CBS retracted the story. Rather left CBS two years later after a 24-year run as anchor of the CBS Evening News.

Even Walter Cronkite was at odds with Rather, who replaced the TV news icon at CBS in 1981. Cronkite said in a 2005 interview that insiders always wondered why Rather lasted more than two decades as an anchor despite poor ratings, which placed him behind Tom Brokaw of NBC and Peter Jennings of ABC.

Rather shied away from Cronkite's comments, saying that he will not respond to Cronkite's "mudslinging".

It appears now that Rather is the mudslinger with his unnecessary statement about Couric. The problem for Rather: He is not on stable ground to sling the mud. At least Cronkite had an honorable career and the audience listens to him because of his credibility.

Rather is as messy as the mud he is slinging at Couric, and not very many care for what he has to say.

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