I am afraid that I am inextricably linked to Dan Rather. He will appear in my obituary if I am accorded one, although I think I may have done a few more significant things in my life than help expose the fraud he aided and abetted in the 2004 presidential election. The true history of that fraud has already receded into the mists of ancient history.
Although Rather is still around, he is difficult to take seriously. He all but invites derision. Most recently, he took to Twitter to criticize President Trump for raising doubt about a 7-year-old’s belief in the existence of Santa Claus while he himself doubts “climate change.” How “marginal” can you get?
In his memoir Rather Outspoken (2012), Rather purports still to believe in the Bush National Guard story that ended his career at CBS News. Regardless of age, you can’t get more “marginal” than that.
Does Trump not believe in “climate change”? We all know the climate is variable, although that’s not what Rather et al. mean exactly. He means that his friends have a modest proposal or two in their pocket that they want to sell us to master the climate, like the mad scientists of Laputa.
Twitter is not a finely tuned medium and Rather isn’t strong on details in any event. What Trump doubted is the impending economic catastrophe prophesied in the Fourth National Climate Assessment and perhaps the efficacy of the modest proposals to avert it (“modest” in the Swiftian sense). The end is nigh! Or so we are commanded to believe unless we cede control of our lives to the believers. Although the Democrats are roaring back with their Green New Deal to avert doom, I’m filing this under Laughter Is the Best Medicine.
Just a thought: Which should be considered more “marginal” – believing in Santa at age 7 or not believing in climate change at age 72?
— Dan Rather (@DanRather) December 25, 2018
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