AIRBRUSHING THE PAST, IN ORDER TO CONTROL THE FUTURE: Dan Rather Plots Comeback, With Assist From Robert Redford. Here’s a hint: Dan Rather was pushing a lie. And with this, so is Robert Redford. “What actually happened was that Mary Mapes deliberately published a false story in hopes of helping the John Kerry presidential campaign, and was fired for it. It will be interesting to see how Hollywood tries to paper over those facts.”