$1000 A Person To See Dan Rather
WASHINGTON –– CBS News anchor Dan Rather was the keynote speaker at a Democratic Party fund-raiser in Austin, Texas, The Washington Post reported Wednesday.
Donors paid as much as $1,000 for a private evening with Rather, according to an invitation obtained by the Post. Rather's appearance at the March 21 gathering generated about $20,000 for the Travis County Democratic Party.
Rather was quoted by the Post as saying he didn't know the event was a fund-raiser until he arrived. "I didn't ask the question, and I should have," he said. "I take full responsibility for it. I'm responsible and I'm accountable."
But Rather, a Texas native, acknowledged that he didn't want to sound like former Vice President Al Gore, who denied knowing that money was collected when he spoke at a Buddhist temple.
"When I got there, I was very aware that it was a fund-raising event," Rather said. "I'm not going to say I had no idea what was going on. . . . If someone wants to fault me for that, I wouldn't blame them."
Rather said he agreed to discuss election coverage at the invitation of an old friend, Austin City Council member Will Wynn, who drew 150 people to the event in his back yard. He was not paid for his appearance. Other hosts included Scott Ozmun, the county Democratic chairman, and Robin Rather, the anchor's daughter and a Texas environmentalist and marketing executive.
Robin Rather is considering a run for mayor, the Post said, quoting the Austin American-Statesman. The CBS veteran said he didn't know that his daughter was an official host.
CBS News spokeswoman Sandy Genelius told the Post the station's standards don't allow correspondents to participate in political party fund-raisers.
"No one believes in this and upholds it more fervently than Dan Rather," Genelius said. "This was an honest oversight on his part."
Conservatives have long accused Rather of favoring the Democratic Party. The complaints have spawned a Web site called RatherBiased.com.
"I think the stereotype of Rather is occasionally unfair, but this feeds the stereotype," Republican consultant Mike Murphy was quoted as saying.
© Copyright 2001 The Associated Press
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