by Dan Rather

This was a sort of a folksy witticism I heard spoken by Rather on MSNBC as he was talking with Rachel Maddow on her TV program. That famous newsman makes a regular practice of describing or summarizing events in humorous ways. The Wikipedia article on Rather has several examples, which the Wikipedia admins are satisfied to see as long as their provenance is given:

"Ratherisms"
------------------
Rather is known for his many off-the-cuff colorful analogies and descriptions during live broadcasts. Similar to those used by baseball announcer Red Barber, cycling commentator Phil Liggett and Formula 1 commentator Murray Walker, these "Ratherisms" are also called "Texanisms" or "Danisms" by some. A few of the more colorful ones, several of which were used throughout the 2008 HBO made-for-TV movie Recount about the 2000 Election, include:

"This race is shakier than cafeteria Jell-O."

"This thing is as tight as the rusted lugnuts on a '55 Ford."

His characterization of the Republican Party's assessment of President Obama: "[He] couldn't sell watermelons if you gave him the state troopers to flag down the traffic."

I'm no expert, but any of these joking remarks could have been reported on in a newspaper story by any of hundreds of reporters who were listening to the interview — a writer for the St.Louis Post-Dispatch, say — without any fear of a claim of copyright violation agains them. Similarly, I may write a book review of a 400-page work, and it is standard practice to quote brief passages from the book under review, perhaps 300 words or so, without any risk of falling afoul of the law.

Reporting the source (Dan Rather) and keeping the amount quoted to a small fraction of the full 10- or 12-minute talk would — to my mind, at least — shield us from such theoretical claims.