Dan Rather

For years Don Imus was just - boy, he was merciless in his criticism of me. Maybe it was justified, but that didn't mean it didn't hurt.

If all difficulties were known at the outset of a long journey, most of us would never start out at all.

A tough lesson in life that one has to learn is that not everybody wishes you well.

Courage is being afraid but going on anyhow.

What separated Ed Murrow from the rest of the pack was courage.

Performing doesn't turn me on. It's an egomaniac business, filled with prima donnas - including this one.

Well, first of all, I don't want to debate the word conservative, but by my definition, a conservative is someone who wants to conserve the Constitution of the United States and the American tradition and law that no one is above the law.

I respect and empathize with reporters and editors who must compete in today's environment. And I know full well that when I've been covering campaigns, which I still do, I've made my mistakes and have been far from perfect.

I still love following and thinking about politics. I enjoy recommending important journalism I read or see from other sources.

They may have turned this up, whether you had the Paula Jones case or not. But again maybe not, but again that's like if a frog had side pockets he'd probably wear a handgun.

The dream begins with a teacher who believes in you, who tugs and pushes and leads you to the next plateau, sometimes poking you with a sharp stick called 'truth'.

The press is a watchdog. Not an attack dog. Not a lapdog. A watchdog. Now, a watchdog can't be right all the time. He doesn't bark only when he sees or smells something that's dangerous. A good watchdog barks at things that are suspicious.