Dan Departs: Morning Papers

> Dusty Saunders, Rocky Mountain News: “To paraphrase a favorite bromide of the veteran anchor: ‘The media has been on this story like a raven on road kill.'”

> Verne Gay, Newsday: “Rather’s sin here was the sin of wishful thinking. He believed that if he just kept doing his thing – work, work, work – then the company would come around and let bygones be bygones. He’d get more stories, handle some big interviews, and otherwise assume the dignified mantle that was his due after so many years of service.”

Alan Sepinwall, Newark Star-Ledger: “Rather already was turning into the Ghost of Newscasts Past, so the only surprise to some is the way his tenure ended with such a whimper.”

> Gail Shister, Philadelphia Inquirer: “Several longtime CBS correspondents were asked to contribute to the goodbye piece that aired last night on CBS Evening News. 60 Minutes’ Lesley Stahl was the only one to appear. Moreover, some 60 Minutes veterans who have known Rather the longest…weren’t even approached, sources say.”

> Glenn Garvin, Miami Herald: “”While the controversy over the Bush report undoubtedly sealed Rather’s fate, he was probably headed for the CBS scrap heap anyway for another reason: his failure to attract viewers.”

> Douglas Durden, Richmond Times-Dispatch: “I have this vision of Rather, former anchor demoted to occasional ’60 Minutes’ contributor, being hurried out the back door while future anchor Katie Couric stands poised at the front.”