Some call them "Ratherisms." Others prefer "Danisms." Either way, it was election time that inspired Dan Rather to come up with his most memorable sayings. A sampling:
NOVEMBER 1984
• "Walter Mondale has seen the light at the end of the tunnel -- and it's out."
NOVEMBER 1986
• "You can pour water on the fire, call in the dogs, the hunt is over, Terry Sanford has won the North Carolina Senate race."
NOVEMBER 1988
• "George Bush is sweeping through the South like a tornado through a trailer park."
• Bush went through Dukakis's hopes in Georgia "like a jackknife through peaches."
• In Florida, "where the flamingos fly, George Bush has taken off."
• Daniel Patrick Moynihan's Senate opponent was thought by some observers to have "about as much business in this race as a moose in a phone booth."
• In the Southwest, "fish gotta swim, birds gotta fly, and Republicans have to win in Arizona."
NOVEMBER 1992
• The election is so exciting it could "make the wax pop out of your ears if you love politics."
• Clinton took one state like "a big wheel through a Georgia cotton field."
