Dan Rather is no longer on CBS evening news but still has a place on 60 Minutes Wednesday. The question that comes to mind is "Why?" CBS should just dump him and get on with life. It's like pulling an adhesive bandage off, the slower you pull it off the more painful it is. Rip it off quickly and it doesn't hurt as much.

I love John Wayne movies and one that this situation brings to mind is "Who Shot Liberty Valance" with Jimmy Stewart and Lee Marvin. At the end of the movie after finding out who shot the bully the newspapermen are given this advice from a grizzled veteran: "When the legend becomes fact, print the legend."

Rather's legend has been carefully crafted, and whether you like the man or not he has worked diligently to maintain the legend. I never had much of an opinion about Rather, I usually watched NBC in the old days, probably because my folks watched Huntley-Brinkley. After the change over from the old guard, including Dan's mentor Walter Cronkite, the traditional news sources weren't quite as important as they used to be. They are even less important in these days with widespread cable and satellite channels along with Internet news sources.

Why then the big ado about Rather retiring? I think it is because his supporters can't stand it that Rather has been done in by one of his legendary spats. Remember the spat with the poor cab driver Rather tried to beat out of his fare? Remember the supposed attacker yelling "Where's the frequency," at Rather as he attempted to beat him up?

The spat that did him in was a long time coming. Rather made several mistakes going forward with the bogus National Guard story about President Bush's alleged special treatment.

A lot of people say we should overlook those mistakes because of Rather's long, distinguished career. I disagree. Looking back over Rather's long career there is a pattern of news stories that can't be explained as just simple errors. Don't get me wrong, everyone makes mistakes. I've made my share and, where possible, I've tried to atone for them. The thing is Rather doesn't acknowledge his mistakes. For someone who claims to be a simple Texas boy he does a lot of dancing around the issues without ever accepting responsibility.

Rather refuses to accept the responsibility for the Bush story and still claims, despite the fact all of the documents were proven forgeries, that the story is accurate. It defies reason. A lot of Rather's stories do.

Rather's mistake wasn't simply that he was credulous and let his subordinates pull the wool over his eyes. By her own admission Mary Mapes had been working on the story for five years. That's not journalistic grit -- that's obsession the likes of which Captain Ahab would understand.

Like Ahab, who declared "I'll chase him round Good Hope, and round the Horn, and round the Norway Maelstrom, and round perdition's flames before I give him up." Rather and friends had fixated on their prey and would not be denied.

Those who support Rather, just don't see this obsessive behavior. They like to say Rather is "speaking truth to power" but the problem with that is that you have to be speaking the truth for it to be compelling.

It seems strange that Rather managed to get through all of his years as anchor without ever "speaking truth" to Democrats. The most stomach turning of Rather's powder puff interviews with Democrats was with Hillary Clinton: "Of all the allegations, accusations, charges made, what do you consider to be the most unfair attack?"

Let's face it, Rather would never loft a softball like that at a Republican. He verbally attacked both Presidents Nixon and Bush the elder before taking on Bush II. On George W's first day in office Rather bemoaned the fate of programs he made sure to mention were for the benefit of women and children.

This column is strictly my opinion, and I sound off on all sorts of issues but it is clearly labeled as opinion. A perfect example is the column on the lack of a moral compass in Europe, which I thought might get people to write in. The trouble is that instead of stirring up comment on European morals it stirred up comments about marginal issues.

When I write a news story I do my best to separate my personal feelings from what I write about. I have done stories on individuals I dislike. Some I have really disliked but didn't let that keep me from putting their positive accomplishments in positive terms. I try to stick to, as TV's Sergeant Friday from Dragnet would say "Just the facts, ma'am."

Dan Rather would do well to do the same instead of trying to think up new ways to say the same old thing. Dan, as you face a new phase of your life let me end this column with one last thought. Courage.