Dan Rather in Real Life Form Over Substance Comedy Skit

October 3rd, 2007 8:11 PM

It looks like a comedy skit about a shallow network anchorman who emphasizes form to the total exclusion of substance. However, if you look closely at the featured player in this video, you will see that he is not portrayed by a comedy actor. Instead it is the real life Dan Rather playing himself as a CBS News anchorman completely obsessed by his on-camera appearance. This piece, introduced by Harry Shearer with exactly the proper amount of suppressed jocularity, presents an episode from Rather's past when he was about to anchor the news from a Seattle rooftop on a cold, windy day. Rather is presented with a crucial choice: should he wear a trenchcoat or not? And if he does wear a trenchcoat, should the collar be turned up?

It was getting ever closer to broadcast time, and after 20 minutes of pondering his choices, Rather expounds on one the crucial issues of our time:

We need to make a decision---Coat or no coat?

I won't ruin the suspense by revealing the ultimate decision. For that you need to pull out a bag of popcorn and enjoy the unintentional comedy video of  Dannie's Choice.

(h/t: MindBender26 of the Free Republic.)