After years of refusing to watch Dan Rather and the CBS Nightly News, I decided to tune-in on election night just to see if The Dan had changed his attitude, or hairstyle.
Well he hadn’t changed one ounce. There he sat, with his chainsaw haircut, bathing in all his glory, the self-proclaimed prophet to the nation. This time he was trying his best to circumvent the election of 2004, by using early EXIT polls to claim that Kerry was leading and would be victorious, and would become the next president of the United States.
Once again, The Dan was optimistic that Republican voters west of the Mississippi would heed his prophetic utterances and stay at home.
Alas! All was lost! Bush was outta there!
Remember the election of 2000, and The Dan’s attempt to circumvent that election for Gore?
Dan’s west of the Mississippi tactics didn’t work then and they didn’t work this time either.
This is the same Dan Rather, who just two months ago, took a Kinko’s fax and presented it to the viewing public and called it fact.
The Dan has a difficult time distinguishing the difference between fax, fact and faux pas.
In fact, this nation would be appreciative of The Dan if he would just stuff it. Permanently. The logo of CBS is a black eye and The Dan continues to make it blacker.
I watched The Dan for a total of about two hours on election night, and I can think of two words that best describe him. Despicable. Fact!
Perhaps the time has come for Dan Rather to make his final EXIT.
And now to the subject of EXITS, which seems to have dominated the news for the past 10 days.

The EXIT of TennCare. TennCare is a white elephant destined for extinction from its inception.
When a program was infested with dead people, illegal aliens and non-residents all receiving health care, coupled with poor management, it was only a matter of time before the axe was the appropriate course of action.
The governor was justified in his decision, and should be able to take the heat.
Attorney General John Ashcroft, Commerce Secretary Don Evans and Secretary of Education Rod Paige have all made their EXITS official.
Grady’s American Grill, made a late night surprise EXIT from Restaurant Row in Johnson City and the owners had no comment. I wonder if they had the decency to comment to their employees about their decision? Many of those employees were ETSU students who needed their jobs.
Here’s one EXIT that needs to happen but I seriously doubt anyone will look into the matter.
This past Wednesday, Washington County Criminal Court Judge Bob Cupp gave probation to a Telford couple who had recently made their daughter sleep in a dog cage inside their home. Not only did they receive probation, they also regained custody of all their children.
I’m not sure if justice has been served here, but I predict that it will only be a matter of time before this couple is back in Cupp’s court, and if this happens Cupp should resign.
And justice for all? Yeah, right. What about the children?
But justice was served last Friday afternoon, when Scott Peterson made his EXIT from the courtroom and is on his way to the big house.
So many people have suffered needlessly for the actions of one louse.
Hopefully, he has one final EXIT coming to him.
Vitamin E supplements have also been given an early EXIT. It has now been determined that what was generally thought to help ward off heart disease, may actually make the condition worse. No need to worry here, because like coffee – which was good for you, then was bad for you, then was good for you, then was bad for you – Vitamin E will be back.
And finally, the EXIT of the week. With apologies to Elvis, Yasser Arafat has left the building. Hark! Do I hear strains from Handel? I’m not sure how the world will finally view Arafat, but there are some in the news media that suddenly want to elevate him to prominence, and compare him with Nelson Mandella and call him a freedom fighter. Personally, I would compare him with Osama bin Laden.
But there again, this is Viewpoint, and if you don’t appreciate my candor, well that’s OK, too. Take an EXIT. I’m Larry French, and yes, this is my Cannon Corner.

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