I think Rather's strongsuit was investigative and onsite reporting which is why he was better on 60 Minutes then he was delivering the news from his desk. The work he did for 60 minutes can't be overlooked though and he was as instrumental in world affairs then any journalist of his time. He was the reason we got guns into Afghanistan to help them drive the Russians out. That's a huge world event that was told from a point of view the western world had never seen before, going up in the mountains and talking with the guys fighting up there. Same when he interviewed Sadaam for his news show.